Favor For A Friend

[FRR]

A friend of mine who is not a member of this form asked me to pose this question to Harley members.

In May 2014 he purchased a new Triglide from a local dealer. After 2500 miles he noticed that the rotors were terribly scarred. He also noticed a terrible squeak whenever the brakes were applied. The dealer told him the brakes squeak on all Tri glides and that it was normal. The dealer agreed to replace the rotors but insisted that the brake pads were fine. At 7500 miles my friend had the brake pads replaced. Last fall while on a trip with several other writers he wrecked in South Carolina. When he applied the brakes only the front brakes worked. The guy behind him swore that when my friend locked up the brakes the rear brakes just kept spinning. After having the trike for 3 1/2 months to repair the damage from the wreck, the local dealer still would not replace the brake pads. When my friend insisted that they certify the brakes before he took possession of the vehicle they refused and finally agreed to replace the pads. When he finally did take possession of the old parts he found that the brake pads were fried at less than 4000 miles.

Have other owners of Triglide's experienced problems with the brakes, or the apparent short life of pads on the new Triglides? I'm sure he would appreciate any feedback or experiences that owners have had.

He obviously will never do business with this Harley dealer again.

 

[rhino 2]

A lot of questions and just you as a' third party to answer.. Maybe your friend should log on:Shrug::Shrug:

 

[flatfrog]

I had to replace Pads and Rotors on my 2012 Triglide at 6000 miles.
No problem with dealer.

 

[Steve on 3]

If there is a problem with rotors at any speed, I would think standard SOP would be to change the pads alos. It's cheap insurance. Besides, is something on the original pads caused the old rotors to have a problem, he can expect the new pads to develop those problems too. With a wreck involved, it may be time for your "friend" to get himself Lawyered up.

 

[Gorilla]

Rear Brake pads have been a problem on the TRI since it was first produced to some degree or another. If you search the forum there is alot of input on the subject. To repeat it all again would be very time consuming. Most of us have changed to a different pad then from HD. Lyndall and EBC seem to be what most are switching to. EBC was my choice. I put them on before I even had 2k on the trike. 14k now with no rear brake issues on my 2013 Tri. Please advise your friend to sign up here. He or she will learn alot.

 

[rap47]

Got 10,000 miles on my 2011 rear brakes. I use both brakes when braking, always have.

 

[msocko3]

Got 10,000 miles on my 2011 rear brakes. I use both brakes when braking, always have.

:Agree:You hit the nail right on the head, using both front and rear brakes. There are a lot of folks who are rear brake stompers, they use a lot of rear brake and little to no front. They then wonder why the pads only last 5,000 miles or less. In the 50,000 miles my dad has ridden his 09 I have only replaced the rear brakes twice and the front once.

 

[HDB0B]

I've got 7K miles on my 2014 with no rear brake issues. I also will change to EBC HH pads when the time comes.

Bob orag:

 

[rhino 2]

A lot of questions and just you as a' third party to answer.. Maybe your friend should log on:Shrug:

BUMP.......

 

[Sloufoot]

If the Trike is a '14ym it has the dual brakes on the foot brake. One more reason I wouldn't like that system. You might think you have brakes because just the front brakes are operating.
That being said if you are doing your own maintenance then the problem could very possibly be your fault. If your dealer or anyone else is doing your maintenance the brakes are a BIG DEAL TO CHECK each time any maintenance is preformed.
It might sound dumb, but when I get on any gravel I slide the brakes just to see if both sides lock up. If they aren't adjusted properly in an emergency stop they will pull you to one side or the other. Bad thing ! Or you can do a hard brake on pavement to see if either side will lock up. Hopefully both will together. Not a lot, but just a short test never hurts !

 

[mastergunz]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones, I still am running the original rear brake pads on my 2012 TriGlide, with a little over 42,000 miles and they are still about 50% of the original thickness. Front pads have been replaced once.

 

[msocko3]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones, I still am running the original rear brake pads on my 2012 TriGlide, with a little over 42,000 miles and they are still about 50% of the original thickness. Front pads have been replaced once.

Do you do a lot of freeway travel?

 

[mastergunz]

Do you do a lot of freeway travel?

Not too much, I ride a lot of back roads and mountain roads.

 

[msocko3]

Not too much, I ride a lot of back roads and mountain roads.

You must not use the brakes much, that type of mileage is extremely rare.