front brake rotor

[larswlvs]

hi all,
  my left front brake rotor is loose and has about a 16th of an inch free play in it. Is there any way to tighten it up or with floating brake rotors is this common.I noticed this when i was putting on new brakes brakes and the right rotor does not have this free play. The bike stops normally.
  Thanks in advance.

[Ricky-D]

There's no problem there. Ride it!

***

[Tfrank59]

Guess I'd be concerned if it's only the one side. Things like that bug me.  If it's radial play (circular) and not sideways, then probably no big deal.  Keep an eye on it and see if it worsens.  Those are rivets holding the rotor --as you know--so don't know about tightening them.

[98valk]

I'd be concern with the one with zero free play. they are floating rotors. corrosion can set up in the rivets. loosen them up.

[Tfrank59]

My '98 tourer with 42K doesn't have any play on either rotor.

[BobB]

My '98 Tourer has 95k on the ODO with absolutely no play in the brake rotors.  The brake caliper is meant to slide side to side to align its pads with the rotor.  There should be no play in the rotor itself.  Movement between the inner and outer rotor parts will only increase do to wear and probably indicates a rotor that is warped.  I would not hesitate to replace it...

[vanagon40]

Is the word "rotor" being used to describe a caliper?  I do not believe the rotor should be loose and I do not believe the bike has "floating rotors."

Wow, learn something new everyday.  My mistake.

[98valk]

Valkyrie's have floating brake rotors on the front.

https://www.google.com/search?q=floating+brake+rotor+valkyrie&biw=1120&bih=533&tbm=isch&imgil=bwIQdBMDBm5rGM%253A%253BXI9qN2rOfYwg-M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.carbibles.com%25252Fbrake_bible.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=bwIQdBMDBm5rGM%253A%252CXI9qN2rOfYwg-M%252C_&usg=__Yd5T43hj0fFnFaVCCMyVfBBDP34%3D&ved=0CGcQyjdqFQoTCKiXwdq5tccCFY_9gAod4bMIHg&ei=RZ_UVejgNo_7gwTh56LwAQ#imgrc=bwIQdBMDBm5rGM%3A&usg=__Yd5T43hj0fFnFaVCCMyVfBBDP34%3D

[Tfrank59]

Wow that's a weird link you gave... Lots of images.  Well the calipers are definitely floating and self aligning, as has been pointed out, and the Rotors could be classified as "Floating" because they are attached by rivets.  If The rotors have a little bit of free play, and it's not side to side, my take would be that's not an issue.  But for those of us whose rotors are solidly riveted to the inner mounting plate, I don't think we have to worry either.

[98valk]

http://www.carbibles.com/brake_bible.html

Floating rotors are typically cast in two pieces - the rotor and the carrier. The carrier is bolted to the wheel and the rotor is attached to the carrier using float buttons. The other method of floating a brake rotor is to have the rotor bolted directly to the wheel itself without a carrier, but the bolts have float buttons built into them.

These buttons allow the brake rotor some freedom to move laterally, but restrict the angular and rotational movement as if they were bolted directly to the wheel. This slight lateral motion (which can be less than 0.03mm) is just enough to prevent vibration in the brake system. As the calipers are mounted solidly, any warping or misalignment in the wheel or brake rotor mounting face can be compensated for because the rotor will "float" laterally on the float buttons. This side-to-side vibration is separated from the carrier by the float buttons themselves, so none of the resulting motion is transferred into the suspension or steering. Clever eh? The rendering to the right shows an extreme close-up of the brake disc shown above. I've rendered the components slightly transparent so you can see what's going on.

[Tfrank59]

OK, Good to know, so a little side to side play is permissible, actually desirable, but .03mm ain't very much, Just over a thou.  And that's probably why I can't feel any play on my rotors.

[larswlvs]

Well the bike is stopping great with no vibration or noise with the new brake pads and front tire. I am not going to worry about the play in the rotor

[Tfrank59]

Yep, it ain't broke so don't fix it.  Anyways, the only thing you could do to fix it would be replace it so if it's not getting worse with time it's not an issue.  Ride safe!