cheapest i found was $1.97/ea from servicehonda, but ****, $25 for some paper washers!!?!?!?!?

SIRR1, did you use multiple layers of paper to build up to the desired thickness?

 

You should be able to find fiber washers at your local hardware store. They are there to absorb some of the heat transfer between the metals.

 

you know michigan, i was thinking about this some more. do you think maybe that the rotor drags when you put them back on there b/c the pads had worn according to the position of the rotor with the shims? if i were to remove the shims and ride it some, i am sure i would get the same kind of drag when adding the shim since it would have changed the location of where the pads were wearing. i realize i need them for heat disipation, but i am not so sure the alignment theory adds up to me.

anyone know the orinigal thickness of an oem shim?

 

new rotors and new pads. remember, the calipers are 2 piston, not 4 (2 per side of caliper) and so will not self center. without the shim, the rotor sits more inboard and drags on the inboard caliper pad. now, if the shim goes back in, the rotor moves outboard of the rim by some distance and does not contact the inboard caliper pad to the point that it drags greatly. it is not for heat dissapation. the rim soaks up alot of the heat through the rotor bolts. the shims are fiber, not metallic, so there is no heat being conducted by them and thus cannot dissipate any. they are there for alignment. as i said before, all other models thereafter do not use the shims, rotors contact the rim directly. trust me on this one. when new rotors and pads went in without shims, the rotor had a very slight almost unnoticable bend to it and the front wheel does not freely rotate as much. if you think this isn't the case then run without the shims. what's the worst that could happen?

 

if you are putting on new pads and rotors, see what happens with or without the shims on. spin the wheel a few times. if one way isn't any different than the other, then i will take back everything i have said.

 

i wasnt saying you were wrong, just trying to think about it some more, i believe you. i am going to put some on there, but i still dont want to buy them from honda. although, i may end up doing just that, i am still considering other options. i just put new pads on, have not ridden since, but they are tight as hell anyway and the wheel drags as is, so i dunno, is that normal? i did not putting new rotors on. whatever i do, i have to do it quick, my wheels came back from PC today.

 

here is another way to look at it in terms you can relate to. the propeller magnet for your aquarium pump. when it is clean it spins pretty freely till it slows down by itself. but any fish bits caught inside and it doesn't spin very much if at all. your front wheel should make the rounds a few times before it starts to slowdown. if it only makes a short rotation, then you know you have a problem.