Noise coming from the front tire already? - PROBLEM SOLVED

[oswaldters]

I can't say I'm a big fan of the replica racing design - seems like it would be a magnet for law enforcement attention. 

Better to have an ordinary looking scooter that goes fast.

[Rianna]

I think their scoot looks more plain, though.

[oswaldters]

They have some regular looking models, but from the pictures I've seen the fancy ones with the fuel injection have some fancy designs.

[Rianna]

Yeah, those would attract a lot of attention. You'd probably have to strip it down and paint it solid to be discreet at all.

[oswaldters]

So did you make some good progress on getting your scoot back together today?

[Rianna]

Oh I got it back together alright. Took that damn caliper apart more times than I can count, though. I'm hearing noise again. Thought I had it figured out a couple of times. I sat on that cold cement floor for hours today. Until I got disgusted with it and gave up.

[oswaldters]

So the problem is with the calipers and not the rotor? 

Or is the rotor damaged from the calipers as well?

So many questions!

[Rianna]

LOL...I know. You could go in circles all day with it.

I think it can only be the rotor, the caliper or the pads now.

It only makes noise in one spot when the wheel spins. The same spot every time. I'm leaning towards the rotor.

But...that doesn't mean that the caliper was not the original cause of the problem.

How's that for certainty?

[oswaldters]

At least you've eliminated the wheel bearings at his point!

And now I know who to go to for advice if I even need to work on the front brakes!

But that sucks that you're still having this trouble...

[Rianna]

Yeah, it does. Life is funny that way. But a lot of things have been ruled out and I got to learn a little bit about each thing and symptoms of their problems. Who knows...May come in handy one day.

I was reading the Disc Brake entry on wikipedia and it said something about replacing the pads if you change your rotor. So I got to looking at my pads and I'm not sure they are OEM. They have yellow letters stamped on them that say KYMCO, but there's also a funny looking logo that I haven't seen anywhere else on the scoot where it says kymco.

[oswaldters]

Don't know what to make of that.   

So you planning to go ahead and replace at least the rotor?

[Rianna]

Yeah, I'll probably see if they can fix this one, too, though. I searched but could not find a photo online of actual Kymco pads to see what they look like and compare. Everything just brought up the replacement ones.

The caliper slides fine when you squeeze it or squish it or whatever. If the caliper has anything to do with it I'm thinking it can only be that one of the pistons is catching or not doing what it's supposed to. That could be a simple fix like a new seal or some lubrication. I wish it was that simple.

(I'm never that lucky.)

[Rianna]

Hey, that torque wrench is pretty cool, though.

[oswaldters]

Getting the right tools makes a big difference.

I'll be breaking out the torque wrench myself tomorrow.  And the impact wrench.

Wow, doesn't get any more exciting than that!

[Rianna]

I know, right? If I had the cash I'd probably buy that dial thingy to test the rotor runout or whatever myself.

Hope you got good weather to test it out tomorrow!