question about front rotor???

[bigwake]

i just got an 03 yz450f..i was working on it 2day and i noticed that when on the stand..i let the front wheel off the ground and pull the front break, the outer part of the disc (which is grabbed by the pads) has slight movement from the inner part of the disk(which is mounted onto the hub of the rim)..is this normal? i have never noticed this slight wiggle..like the front disc is a 2 piece system?..i need to know if this is normal.. any help? thanx-josh

[ben_suhard]

Yeah, a slight movement is normal, it's called a floating disc. It's designed that way so that the disc doesn't warp when it heats up from use.

[bigwake]

ok sweet!..no probs then! thanx a lot

[Ridein]

How much should the rotor move from side to side?

While cleaning my bike on the triangle stand, I noticed when I hold the front brake and rock the bike a bit it feels almost like a bad bearing. Which I know it's not because I replaced the front hub bearings and the steering tube bearings less than 40 hours ago. And on the bike stand the both are steady.

[grayracer513]

As long as it isn't loose (like, it rattles, or moves very easily), it wouldn't worry me too much if it moved as much as .060-.080", side to side.  Once it loosens, it usually gets even looser fairly quickly.

 

The chucking you hear/feel when rocking your bike against the brake is probably the pads shifting back and forth in the caliper.  Clearance at that point is necessary, but shouldn't be excessive.  If it is, look for wear at the caliper.

[Ridein]

Ok, so I did some more poking around. And I can move the rotor back and forth pretty easily, with one hand. As for side to side, it move about .125 without to much force. The rotor doesn't look like it has to much wear. But I did swap out the front pads a few rides ago. I wonder if the new grippyer pads wore the rings loose?

My guess is, I should swap out the rotor?

[grayracer513]

Check how tight it is when it heats up. (watch your fingers).  A lot of times they show loose when cold, but as soon as they warm up a little they're tight again. 

 

I wouldn't worry about it much unless it gets quite a bit looser, but you could replace it if you want to.  Might be a good time to go with an oversize rotor kit, too.

 

Sometimes, the rotor cab be tightened back up.  Remove it from the hub and set it on a solid metal surface so that only the rivets contact that surface.  Then strike the facing side of the rivet with a hammer and the back of a socket a couple of times on each. 

[Ridein]

I'll keep an eye on it for sure, and I’ll try tightening the rivets back up like you said. But I think I will eventually end up buying an oversized rotor kit before the year is out. I've always been heavy on the font brakes (maybe to much), and a lot more as of late, dong REM. At least now, I might have a justifiable reason to upgrade.    

 

Got any recommendations? I've herd Tusk makes a good one? 

[grayracer513]

Tusk actually doesn't make anything.  It's all re-branded.  I'd use Braking or Galfer, but I've heard OK things about the Tusk kit, too.

[Ridein]

Yeah the Galfer Wave Rotor Kit seems to look nice, and the reviews all seems great. It's just the price I need to get over now. 

  

Any idea what brand Tusk is using?

[grayracer513]

None.

[torkd14]

When I was younger and didn't have money or the brain to do maintenance, I had a 2003 YZ450 and the rotor jingled while riding. You could hear my bike coming just from the rotor bouncing around. It never failed but it was replaced right before it did I'm sure.

 

I honestly wouldn't trust a Tusk part to stop a bike. Its a good price but its made cheap to keep it low. Don't cheap out on brakes especially if you ride quite a bit.

[Ridein]

Don't cheap out on brakes especially if you ride quite a bit.

 

Good point.

 

Plus, I did some digging around, and I could not find one hint anywhere online, of what brand Tusk re-brandeds/re-packages. And when people have asked on other forums, they seem to get a lot of slack for asking, like “Why” or “Who cares, it’s cheap”. Which I find very odd honestly, I think it’s pretty normal in the MX/Auto world to know where parts are coming from and how and who makes them, after all we are "kind of" relying on the parts to work as expected.

 

It's almost like The Tusk brand is some kind of cult. 

Edited July 24, 2014 by Ridein

[torkd14]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think RockyMountainATV owns tusk, they probably buy cheap crap from china and stamp the Tusk logo on it.

[MXRider72]

Make sure you have the wheel centered properly as its possible to have it a little out of whack which can cause excess brake drag and will make the disc float more than it needs to.

Regarding the disc replacement, I went with Galfer 270mm kit. I'm not chancing my brakes to an unknown quality component.

Edited July 24, 2014 by MXRider72

[FRANTIK1]

I've had the tusk rotors on my 09 for over a year now. Zero issues. I would buy them again in a heartbeat.

Next time around I would get the tusk oversized front though, as the regular tusk is not a floating rotor.

Edited July 30, 2014 by FRANTIK1

[FRANTIK1]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think RockyMountainATV owns tusk, they probably buy cheap crap from china and stamp the Tusk logo on it.

I bought a stainless steel Tusk front brake line from RM for my sons CRF150R. It has Galfer printed on it.

[LiamRM212]

What is a "floating" rotor?

[torkd14]

I bought a stainless steel Tusk front brake line from RM for my sons CRF150R. It has Galfer printed on it.

So they must buy bulk from Galfer at a killer deal because they sell the tusk stuff for cheaper. I'm not sure how they would make money on those parts otherwise.

A floating rotor from what I've put together looking at mine is a two piece rotor held together by (for lack of a better word) rivets. It allows a bit of movement but I'm not 100% sure why. Greyracer is the guy to ask.

[Hans Schmid]

So they must buy bulk from Galfer at a killer deal because they sell the tusk stuff for cheaper. I'm not sure how they would make money on those parts otherwise.

A floating rotor from what I've put together looking at mine is a two piece rotor held together by (for lack of a better word) rivets. It allows a bit of movement but I'm not 100% sure why. Greyracer is the guy to ask.

Tusk rotors are made in China of cheaper quality material...

Tusk SS lines are of high quality, Galfer quality...