This one has me baffled: multistrada 1260S, anything under 10mph and there’s a pulsing to the friction of the front brakes, not at the lever, just the amount of stopping friction there is. There’s also noticeable squeaks at slow speeds. Anything faster than 10 mph and it’s not noticeable at all. If it was a warped disc surely I’d feel it at all speeds and also at the lever? Bit odd.
I had the same, 1200 Enduro, tried freeing up the bobbins and rebuilding the brakes, same issue. Changed discs for Brembo Series Oro, problem gone. MOT chap was ready to fail it on the old discs but didn't when I promised to change them.
There’s pages and pages of this on the internet, seems to effect ktm adventure bikes to a greater degree. Same brakes. Many different thoughts and cures. Some have been content with the ORO upgrade discs, others just ensured bobbins are free to turn, deglazed and removed brake build up on the discs. One thing that did come through was not stand at a halt with a very hot set of discs and the lever pulled back, it can apparently transfer pad resins into the surface of the discs, causing uneven slow speed grab and release of the brakes, no lever pulsing. Have a good read and decide for yourself. It’s not quite as bad as an oil thread!
I think this could be it. There’s some pad-sized marks on the discs which have been there since I bought the bike. I’d assumed they were from the bike standing after being washed but it does make sense now. It’s only annoying in traffic so they can stay annoying for now.
I had same and replaced discs with Oros as had 45000 miles done. Naturally this was better than new. I do think sticky pistons and dust have an influence here too.
I put Oro’s on and after a while it did it with them too. It drives me nuts, had callipers off, cleaned up etc. The pad resin/heat transfer sounds like a feasible explanation. What would clean that off?
Mainly with o/e I think, many of these bikes were still under warranty. People had tried premium quality after market pads with varying results. It’s been going on for a long time now with various makes of bikes fitted with these particular Brembo brakes. It was a known KTM Warranty issue depending on your relationship with the dealer. Trouble is, as you replace pads, other variables are at play, many have thought a pad change was the answer together with cleaning up discs and pistons etc, only to find out 5K miles down the road otherwise.
Seems the one thing in common is the calliper not being changed. We see different discs and different pads used, makes a difference but depending on mileage old issues might return sooner or later. So I think it mainly comes from a calliper issue, dust build up around pistons? Even simple cleaning might not help unless pistons and seals are completely cleaned, not saying it’s the answer but you never know, most people won’t go the calliper strip down route as too complicated.
Had a closer look at the discs Weird sort of pitting, tried cleaning with green scrubbers and brake cleaner. Definitely pad sized marks.
Looks like corrosion that tends to start behind the pads when put away wet, or salty. It’s actually very small pitting that will only machine out mechanically. Could be enough to put a surging effect into the low speed stopping. To prove a point, remove 1 disc and refit at 180 degrees circumference. In theory the two marked discs will cancel each other out. If they are both pitted that is?
Yes both pitted in the same area. As said it’s totally unnoticeable at anything higher than traffic light speeds. Think I’ll just live with it, maybe it’ll get better as the discs wear, the pitting is not deep
I’ve also got a 1260 but base model and have had the same problem. After trying lots of tricks I’ve come to the conclusion it’s a build up of pad material from either gentle braking or wet pads and putting the bike away. It seems to go away if you came the brakes a few times from high speed. I’ve got used to it and learnt to live with it.
I have experienced a close call due to this issue on a ktm 1190 Adventure R. Abroad, fully loaded for 2 weeks touring and with pillion. Gentle braking to a standstill downhill in heavy traffic. Close to dropping it at zero miles an hour. The KTMs a tall bike which doesn’t help, pillion shifted as brakes grabbed. The heavier the load the greater effect this has on the bike. Speed not the issue. I always come to a complete stop loaded with a pillion using the back brake to finally stop since that day.
rear brake is recommended to be applied as it lessens front end dive, also changes the wheelbase length so normally lessens the chance of the rear wheel leaving the road thus keeping maximum braking forces being transferred to the road. In rider training we always advocate the use of both rear and front be applied , and in many test scenarios only using the front would be a test fail.
Ive always tended to use front and back together, probably initially applying the front slightly ahead of the rear. Since that episode I described, I usually come to a halt releasing the front brake just before stopping, coming to a slow halt on the back brake alone. Keeps the steering straight as the rear wheel drag slows the bike.
