About three weeks ago as I was leaving work, I noticed something about my bike that I hadn't noticed before. As I was leaving the parking lot, I came up to the connecting road which was slightly uphill. I was going slow (10-15 mph) so I just used the rear brake to stop and hold the bike on the hill. As I was stopping with the rear brake only, it felt like the rear brake was grinding or shuddering as it came to a stop. It bugged me so for the next several days I would stop using the rear brake in different scenarios to try and determine the cause. Stopping from under 20 mph caused the grinding/shuddering feeling and the harder I applied the brakes the worse it felt.
I did some searches on here and began to think that maybe it was a rear wheel bearing or the brakes? So, last week I took the bike to the local dealer and explained the issue to them. This dealer has had very good service in the past. I left the bike and went to work (couple miles away). After work, I went to pick up the bike and was told that they didn't "hear" anything but went ahead and checked the brakes - everything was good. They said that the battery drain line was rubbing the tire so they rerouted it. I told them that I hadn't "heard" anything either. They assured me they had checked the brakes and put the bike on a lift to check the wheel bearing but everything was OK. I rode the bike home. The next day I rode to work and tested the brakes again. Same problem and it seemed to be getting worse.
On Monday of this week, I got an email from the service department telling me if I had any problems to call or email the service manager. As I said, this service department has worked with me over the years so I contacted the service manager and explained the issue and said that something was lost in the translation between the writer and myself. They were checking for a sound but I felt the grinding/shimming. He asked if I would bring the bike back and he would check it himself.
I took it in yesterday and got a call about 3 PM. Anyone have a guess what they found?Huh? My bike has V&H Power Duals. The right floorboard was less than a piece of paper thickness away from the exhaust. When I applied the rear brake, it would touch the bike and cause the shudder I was feeling. Harder I braked the more it did it. Only noticeable at slower speeds. They put spacers on the floorboard and I picked it up last night.
Good news is that the issue is gone and the bike actually is much smoother. I hadn't even noticed but I was feeling vibrations most of the time. I have to say that the service department manger went out of his way to make sure I was satisfied. He even called me last night around 5 PM to be sure everything was OK. The other good news is that they didn't charge me anything for either service. I did not buy this bike at this dealer but I did buy my previous one. Do have the ESP and always buy parts or have service done there if it is something I can't do.
Just thought I would post in case anyone else experiences something similar and to say how pleased I am with the dealers service. Even though they missed what I said the first time, they made it right and didn't charge me anything even though I would have expected to pay something.
I did some searches on here and began to think that maybe it was a rear wheel bearing or the brakes? So, last week I took the bike to the local dealer and explained the issue to them. This dealer has had very good service in the past. I left the bike and went to work (couple miles away). After work, I went to pick up the bike and was told that they didn't "hear" anything but went ahead and checked the brakes - everything was good. They said that the battery drain line was rubbing the tire so they rerouted it. I told them that I hadn't "heard" anything either. They assured me they had checked the brakes and put the bike on a lift to check the wheel bearing but everything was OK. I rode the bike home. The next day I rode to work and tested the brakes again. Same problem and it seemed to be getting worse.
On Monday of this week, I got an email from the service department telling me if I had any problems to call or email the service manager. As I said, this service department has worked with me over the years so I contacted the service manager and explained the issue and said that something was lost in the translation between the writer and myself. They were checking for a sound but I felt the grinding/shimming. He asked if I would bring the bike back and he would check it himself.
I took it in yesterday and got a call about 3 PM. Anyone have a guess what they found?Huh? My bike has V&H Power Duals. The right floorboard was less than a piece of paper thickness away from the exhaust. When I applied the rear brake, it would touch the bike and cause the shudder I was feeling. Harder I braked the more it did it. Only noticeable at slower speeds. They put spacers on the floorboard and I picked it up last night.
Good news is that the issue is gone and the bike actually is much smoother. I hadn't even noticed but I was feeling vibrations most of the time. I have to say that the service department manger went out of his way to make sure I was satisfied. He even called me last night around 5 PM to be sure everything was OK. The other good news is that they didn't charge me anything for either service. I did not buy this bike at this dealer but I did buy my previous one. Do have the ESP and always buy parts or have service done there if it is something I can't do.
Just thought I would post in case anyone else experiences something similar and to say how pleased I am with the dealers service. Even though they missed what I said the first time, they made it right and didn't charge me anything even though I would have expected to pay something.
