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[BenS]

My front brake actually seems to work as well as any 240mm setup would, and can lock up on dirt with two fingers, but I prefer a 260-270mm setup. I was thinking that a bigger disc might also not suffer from the moaning, but maybe it still might.

[rayivers]

I added the diagram for the rotor machining.  The front brake is still working great, no noise and great power.  I machined the rear rotor too; like the front, it improved consistency but not power.  I'll be working up a rear master-cylinder mounting plate to hold it at a different angle, allowing a new clevis-pin hole to be drilled in the brake pedal closer to the pivot for more mechanical advantage on the piston (I'll post a new thread once it's completed).

Suggestion to Zero; go with standard high-pressure brake designs for 2018 (or earlier if possible).

Ray

[avernon82]

My brakes howled at the dealership when I first picked up the bike. They said to wait 200 miles for them to break in. Why did you have to deal with this yourself? Isnt this something the dealer/Zero should fix?

[Kocho]

I am reading this thread with some interest, because at about 700 miles on the odometer so far on my '15 SR, both the rear and front brakes squeal quite loud when braking gently.

I found that if I do a series of hard stops downhill, that seems to set the brakes and then they are quiet for the next few stops. But the squealing returns after a few gentle stops. I think the pad material is not great, because by now the pats should have set to the rotors.

As for braking power - the bike has more than enough for street riding. The ABS will kick-in during a hard stop and I don't think I am applying excessive amounts of pressure with my foot or hand to do so, so no problems with that. Just the noise, mainly from the rear for me.

I will complain about it to my dealer when I take the bike for an unrelated repair soon, but what can they do? The factory pads I think are not good and I doubt they can do much about it, short of putting aftermarket pads, which might not be covered by warranty and I can do it myself... What they should to is log the problem with Zero, so that issue is addressed down the road, hopefully retroactively so owners of current bikes can benefit from it too.

My brakes howled at the dealership when I first picked up the bike. They said to wait 200 miles for them to break in. Why did you have to deal with this yourself? Isnt this something the dealer/Zero should fix?

[avernon82]

My response is, we bought premium bikes. The brakes shouldn't howl/squeal. Zero or the dealer should fix it. Im willing to wait another 100 miles before going back to the dealer. At least I'm only a 25 min drive. I feel bad hearing of people who have to drive hours!

[melbrader]

I also have that terrible squealing nose on my 2016 SR at 3000 miles. I am very disappointed that ZERO has not addressed this long ago. When I'm driving my Zero down the road I'm so proud of my purchase until I have to stop and let everybody next to me know that my motorcycle has braking problems and it also makes me feel like I'm drive a cheap bike. I love my Zero but as much as I paid for it I'm very disappointed that I have to hear this every time when I have to come to a stop.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

For context, this was true on the 2013 models as well. My 2016 DSR has not squealed at all getting close to 3k miles now.

The issue is definitely a combination of the kind of parts they can afford to source to assemble the brake package; there's definitely a design flaw allowing for vibration modes. Search for "brake pads" on the forum and you'll find alternates for most model-years. I know Zero won't bat an eye if you swap pads as long as those pads are the right fit.

[avernon82]

Why wouldn't our warranty cover this? Why do we have to just accept an obvious problem?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Why wouldn't our warranty cover this? Why do we have to just accept an obvious problem?

Simple: It doesn't exactly affect motorcycle performance or function. The brakes work just as well.


Our comments on the forum do not fall on deaf ears, and the brake situation has been mentioned a lot. I met a mechanical engineer there and we shared a desire for dual front disk brakes but he alluded to the basic constraint of component cost at scale as limiting what they can do year over year.

[GrantMeStrength]

For context, this was true on the 2013 models as well. My 2016 DSR has not squealed at all getting close to 3k miles now.

My 2016 SR front brakes speak like they're made of mice. Very annoying. Waiting until 500 mile service / inspection to mention it.

[Richard230]

The front Nissan brake of my 2014 S has never squeaked and neither has the J.Juan rear brake. 

[rayivers]

If you can find vibration dampers for the brake pads your bike uses, they should at least reduce the squeal and might even eliminate it.

The pads below fit my '14 FX J Juan rear brake - notice the snap-on metal covers:



Each of these holds a Teflon vibration-damper insert (not seen in the photo) against the rear of the pad plate.  This kind of damper is used on auto brakes and apparently does work, although this brake didn't squeal so I didn't need them.

If you can find equivalent Big 4 OEM part numbers for the pads on your Zero, you may get lucky with Google Images to see if the replacement pads come with these dampers, then get the pad kit just for the dampers (and if you order them from your local ICE dealer and they don't come with dampers, they can be instantly returned unopened - I've done this many times with all sorts of stuff).  Maybe the pads will even work well.   I've been unable to find motorcycle-size damper kits separately, but I haven't really looked that hard.

Ray

[ginoverg]

Hello to the Forum guys

I had the squealing noise on the rear brake and I made change the original pads with SBS pads even I had to pay extra to the Dealer but it suppressed the noise and I am happy, now I can enjoy a silents brakes even there is a little clonk when I use it  but that's a lot better now.
I can confirm that the nasty squeaky sound came from the original braking pads that were probably to hard or maybe just low quality.
Just like the Dealer's Service Customer if now I can enjoy my Zero is because I found a Professional Service that corrects all the nasty repair of the Dealer's Services.
I would like to help others Zeroers to avoid all the mistakes I first did it but the Forum help me to understand better and I would like to give a little contribution.
From Ginoverg.

[Kocho]

Thank you! Which part number for the SBS pads?

Hello to the Forum guys

I had the squealing noise on the rear brake and I made change the original pads with SBS pads even I had to pay off the warranty of the Dealer but it suppressed the noise and I am happy, now I can enjoy a silents brakes even there is a little clonk when I use it  but that's a lot better now.
I can confirm that the nasty squeaky sound came from the original braking pads that were probably to hard or maybe just low quality.
Just like the Dealer's Service Customer if now I can enjoy my Zero is because I found a Professional Service that corrects all the nasty repair of the Dealer's Services.
I would like to help others Zeroers to avoid all the mistakes I first did it but the Forum help me to understand better and I would like to give a little contribution.
From Ginoverg.

[ginoverg]

Mister Kocho,

Hello.
I don't have the pads references available because I am travelling at the moment.  I will post photos of the packaging as soon as I came back home but I think you can look for any quality pads that are compatible with the Juan rear caliper.

Please keep me informed.

Kind regards,
Gino Verg