front brakes....is it normal for them to...

while testing the front brakes on my kz650 (dual calipers) i noticed that when just using the front and trying to brake hard it wants to pull one way or another sometimes if im slightly leaning in that direction. is that normal or should they brake evenly even when leaned?

I would look to elevate the from wheel and spin the wheel to determin if there is excessive drag, especially from one side... check again with light pressure. You will be able to hear the drag, and my consern would be that one caliper is freezing or less reactive.

cannibal440 wrote:

while testing the front brakes on my kz650 (dual calipers) i noticed that when just using the front and trying to brake hard it wants to pull one way or another sometimes if im slightly leaning in that direction. is that normal or should they brake evenly even when leaned?

I think if you are leaning and hit the front brake, it will tend to pull toward the direction you are leaning.

Does a bike with a single front rotor pull when you brake? I don't know, I have a dual rotor in front, and it's been too long since I rode a single rotor bike. But I don't think it should pull, even if only one caliper is braking. Braking when you're leaning in a curve tends to make the bike stand up and straighten out. That's why its important not to brake hard in the middle of the turn. Right?

"Braking when you're leaning in a curve tends to make the bike stand up and straighten out. That's why its important not to brake hard in the middle of the turn. Right?"

CORRECT

+1 on determining caliper drag. If neither caliper is dragging and you're still noticing funny braking it might be time to flush your fluid, replace brake pads, rebuild calipers and MC.

I would check the bearings in the wheel. Even if only one caliper is working it won't make it pull. But, if the bearing on that side have a bit of play then yes it would pull because it would cock the wheel a bit. And you want to straighten the wheel before you brake, not doing so is an easy way to dump the bike. If you get used to having the wheel straight all the time, in an emergency stop, and we all have them once in a while, you will automatically straighten the wheel. Same as automatically counter steering in an emergency.

You may also have a line expanding. Insead of making pressure the line swells.

i flushed the fluid out and put fresh in (by pouring it in the res and pumping it out of each caliper one at a time. some dark brown fluid came out. no help. i pumped the MC till i had good pressure then ziptied it to the handle for about 12 hours. no help. i dont have consistent pressure. sometimes i have good strong pressure on the handle and other times it'll pull in much further. rotors dont feel warped...they pull smooth. brake pads have plenty of material left and rotors dont have any bad trenches in them. rear brake is consistent. i have a harley with single rotor on front and ive never had a problem like this.

on my way home from work alot i notice that the pavement isnt flat, when i hit my front brake on these areas at lights the wheel wants to climb the rut in the asphalt alot depending on the side of the rut that i am rolling on.

It could only be the surface of the street you are running on, getting a power bleeder would help alo, but tearing down your front brake system and installing new seals wouldnt hurt and its fairly cheap to do.

it could also be a steering stem on the tripples that is semi loose, but tight enough that you cant notice it without the bike being jacked up in the front off the ground. pressure from the weight of the bike off the frontend will let you feel if its looser than it should be, then just tighten it.