I was wondering how difficult it is to replace the rotors on the bike or it it would be better to have a shop do it. What does changing the rotors intail? Harder or easier then a car rotor? Thanks

 

Much easier than a car... unless you don't have a way to support the front of the bike whilst you remove the front wheel. Just make sure not to destroy the paper/fiber washers that are between the rotor and wheel as you will need them for the new rotors. Use some locktite when reinstalling new rotors. Got metric allen wrenches?
Good luck. Easy for me since I have all necessary tools but hard to say for you. Does that help?

 

as long as you have a jack or front end stand to hold the front end up, the rest is gravy.

 

That gives me a giant boost of confidance, I can easily obtain a stand. I was looking more at the aspect of is there anything tricky I need to know, or that I can easly screw up? Im no mechanic but Im mentally capable of auto repair (if that gives any indication to my capacity). My 89 is new to me and is my first bike so I want it to last me a while, figured Id check with someone with more experience first!

 

Caliper comes off, with a bolt or two.

Rotors come off.
New rotors go on.
Calipers go back on.

You ride bike. Fun!

Make sure you change your pads, too. That's actually harder than changing rotors, but it's really easy too.

 

Sounds easy enough. Is it safe to assume that they cant be spun down?

 

spun down?

after you change pads or rotors or both, spin the wheel and pump the brake lever a couple times to seat the pads. remember,do not throw away the paper washers.

if you are changing the pads, you will need to remove the slide pins. there are 2 per caliper. to get the pin plugsoff, use a screwdriver with a nice wide blade. if the pin plugs are tight, don't force it, the slot strips easily, take a hammer and tap the screwdriver a couple times to break it loose and then it should turn. i use some anti-seize on the pin plug threads before they go back in.

 

I havent gotten right down into check the rotors, but I know the front is grabby as all hell when you first squeeze. It is my experience with my cars brakes that once they are grabby there is generally a grove, pit or warp in my rotors. They can commonly be "spun down" where they thin the rotor to eliminate the grove or imperfection. I didnt know if cross drilled aka ventilated rotors could have this done to them. Its no big deal I have an extra set of rotors, I just wanted to sqeeze the life out of these.

 

you will see on the rotor a set of numbers stamped into it and there you will see the min thickness in mm. usually, you could just put new pads in and get them bedded in and then you'd be okay. it won't be worth the trouble to turn the rotors if the grove is so deep that it takes away thickness. as long as the rotors aren't warped, you're okay. get a good set of pads. this could help eliminate the grabby feel. pad material makes quite a difference in brake feel.

i forgot to ask, are you grabbing a handful of brake or are you gradually applying the brake? application could also explain a "grabby" feel.

 

Even if I slowly apply the handgrip there seems to be a point where the brakes grab, hard. I believe the rotors are in good shape, maybe a little thin, I havent measured. Either way what pads would you suggest to run with the new rotors to eliminate the grab.


Thanks again for everones input.