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[jotjotde]

Hi there,
For some time now I have a pulsation when front-braking but which is better described as a breaking/non-breaking action in sync with the wheel turning. Especially felt at low speed. I hoped this would fade over time, but that does not seem to be the case.

The lever is not pulsating, so I rule out a hydraulics problem. Research on the web told me that could be either grease on the discs or uneven disc wear, so I cleaned the discs with breaks cleaner but to no avail. Overall breaking performance at high speed appears OK, ABS is working.

Any advice is highly appreciated!

[chisquare]

Not sure if this is relevant for your situation but here we go anyway .

I bought my SS9+RS used with about 3000 miles in one year on it. It was generally ok looked after but there was a problem with the front brakes - just as you described. No security issue but irritating.

Turned out the previous owner drove the bike in winter and let it stand without cleaning the discs. Due to the salt they developped rust in one spot, under the brake pads. No way to remove that chemically as it ate away material. My mechanic advised me not to try (professional) sanding/abrading. Costs wouldn't be much lower and the result uncertain. I had to have the discs changed.
 
Hope your issue is less severe and you find a good and not too expensive solution.

[jotjotde]

Chis, thx for the quick reply!

I didn't clean the discs but I used the bike throughout winter when the weather allowed it. Apparently it is on one disc only, otherwise the frequency of the pulses would be different.
Changing one disc only - would that be OK or do you rather change both?

The other question: Do you happen to have the spec of the discs? On the Brembo website I can find the brake pads but nothing for the discs. A Google search results in the following:

Brembo Oro brake disc for Energica EsseEsse 9 MY>18
Brembo Part Number 78B408B2
Diameter 330 mm
Inner Diameter 72 mm
Bolt circle 90 mm
Disc thickness 5 mm

Cost between 190 and 300 Euro per piece (ouch!)

[chisquare]

Hi jotjotde,

I looked up the invoice, but there was no official number/code for the discs. Not even specifications. Only the price (CHF 235 per piece). Sry.
As the Ribelle and the SS9 have the very same brakes, I guess the spec you found must be correct.

Cheers,
Urs

[Specter]

Take a good look at the disc, a sideways glance, looking down the axis of the front face / rear face.  Can you see any spots on it where it may look rougher etc?

Agreed, sanding or anything like that really does not help, would only make you eat brakes faster, and could damage stuff.  What about the brake pads themselves?  Do they look ok?  have a spot in them or anything?  Is there any warping?

Aaron

[Richard230]

I had a similar problem with my 2018 Zero S. It was solved with a new set of EBC brake pads. I have had no more front brake pulsing since installing those pads about 10K miles ago.

[most]

Jotjot, are you sure it is not the very common issue of warped brake discs? I’d recommend to measure the parallelity of the discs to rule that out.
I saw a posting on FB once where someone pretended to resolve that by careful cleaning of the disc floaters. Will give it a try myself before filing in a warranty claim (my Energica discs begin to wobble). I had this on my Ribelle as well - but not at all on my EsseEsse9+.

I wasn’t able to find the Energica/Brembo brake discs. The Oro type you’ve mentioned above are optically different to the ones Energica fits on the bikes - although they might fit physically. But the same also goes for the calipers - I was comparing the Energica’s calipers with Brembo’s aftermarket portfolio - looks like they sell special made equipment to the OEMs that are not publically available in the aftermarket business…

[jotjotde]

Thanks @all for your valuable input!

I am still doubting that it is a problem of the brake pads which look OK to me. The pulsation in sync with the wheel turns lets me still think it is something coming from one disc.
Visually I cannot see anything, the dics wear appears very even and I cannot detect any wobbling.
As explained this is not a safety issue (I think). I will monitor it and when the next tire or brake pad change is due, I will ask the workshop to have a closer look.
Then I hope, I can see if any parts number is visible.

@most:
Warped discs - idk how could that happen, hot spot due to emergency breaking?
Cleaning the floaters - how can I do this? Flooding them with brake cleaner or WD40?
The discs were OK for several thousand kilometers, do you think I could claim this under warranty?

[most]

@most:
Warped discs - idk how could that happen, hot spot due to emergency breaking?

My guess is as good as yours, so I will not speculate. I just see many claims regarding warped front brake discs and already had my Ribelle‘s discs changed under warranty TWICE.

Cleaning the floaters - how can I do this? Flooding them with brake cleaner or WD40?

Didn‘t do it myself yet - but yes, cleaning with brake cleaner would be my 1st choice. WD40 probably not as it contains anti-corrosives. I‘d avoid this stuff on my discs by all means…

The discs were OK for several thousand kilometers, do you think I could claim this under warranty?

I would claim anything that is less then perfect on the bike. Your 25000 (probably more) money units have been flawless, haven’t they? So why should you accept any flaws on the bike? However, I always factor in a good working relationship with the shop. So careful consideration and reasonable approach is king…

[Pard]

[jotjotde]

Thanks for the quick replies!

So I will try cleaning the floater this evening (without WD40  ) and give you feedback about this. If that doesn't do the trick, I will talk to my dealer.

[Specter]

Pard, I am going to have to say the WD-40 is not a good choice.  It has moved over the years from being a decent lube to mostly a detergent now and does not do a very good for long job of lubrication anymore,  IMO.  Ie the quality has gone down over the years, gee whuda thunkit!

IF you must, Id use a 3 in 1 oil or a decent lube that will last a bit.  I wonder what a silicone would do.  The biggest concern is when the 40 starts drying out it will get sticky and grab every speck of dust that gets there and that thing will become a sticky mud cake and cause more problems that you started with.

The part about cleaning very well with brake cleaner, yes a good idea, ALSO,  be VERY careful NOT to get any of that oil on your brake pads, No you can't really wash it off, NO it won't wear off, and can cause them to give you grief, especially on a hard or prolonged stop once that spot heats up and glazing that nasty oil in it.

I have seen pads that look fine, but when you used them they grabbed, chattered.  There could be cracking you don't see, and once you put forces on it, and it heats up, things don't work right.  Pads are relatively cheap, brakes are ...relatively vital.. don't skimp.

Aaron

[Richard230]

When cleaning the rotors you might also want to scrub them with a plastic dish washing scrubbing pad while using your brake cleaner. Then of course, toss the scrubbing pad away.   

[SBK74]

Energica use OEM Brembo Ducati Scrambler rotors. I had a pair that were extremely out of true.  Also judder. Got a replacement ( dealer and me split, Energica did not warrant), these are better, although I have again some brake judder at 100km/h and the sensation of uneven friction. For a replacement I will go for at least  serie Oro in the future, because quality of the (probably outsourced by Brembo) rotors is disappointing.

[jotjotde]

Bad news: Cleaning the floaters with brake cleaner unfortunately did not change anything. Wait, that's not true! Afterwards I was floating as well because of the fumes 


To summarize so far:

All this makes me come to the conclusion that one of the discs is worn unevenly, probably due to corrosion on one spot e.g. underneath a brake pad during one or two weeks standstill in wintertime as suggested by @chisquare.

If the disc would be warped or not being true as indicated by @most I think I would feel the brake lever pulsating - wouldn't I?

@Richard230 wrote, a brake pad change helped to eradicate the pulsating.
I am probably due for brake pad change within the next month and I will report if this was successful. Maybe I will let the shop change the discs as well, but spending those 500 Euros is something I am not keen to do 

Regarding OEM brake discs:
Spending quality time with the discs yesterday evening made me realise that @most & @SBK74 were right noting that the original discs are optically different from the Brembo Oro 78B408B2 which appear to be the right choice at least for EsseEsse and Ribelle. For everyone intending to change the front brake discs, I attached the official flyer of Brembo.