Brake disc lock - I'm an idiot

[WJS]

I don't normally put the this lock on the rotor on but I was someplace where the thought occurred that I should, so I did. Not being use to having it on and be slightly rushed to leave/distracted by a conversation, i forgot to remove it. <DOH!>

I wasn't moving fast but I had lifted my legs and when the lock hit the brake calipers, it torqued the the wheel and the bike began to fall and I immediately knew why (shit). So I cut the throttle, hit the back brake and and let it fall as softly as I could. A good scratch on the handlebar weight but that's it.

Riding home I began to hear a rub that was new and and figure it was the rotor rubbing on the pad of the now, unaligned calipers. Spinning the front wheel when I got home, there's a lot more resistance now so I'm going to bring it to the dealer. My question is what should I be expecting the dealer to tell me?

 

[showkey]

Bent rotor.............would be the first suspect from the description

 

[WJS]

The sound of the rub is consistent as I spin the wheel and I'm not sure if the pads have been moved a bit by the impact. I took some photos if it helps.

 

[Beemerphile]

It looks like the outside pad might have been knocked out of square and could have bound on the pin. I don't think it would be a bent rotor because the impact would have been on center of rotation. A rotor would be more likely damaged by a side impact. I would unbolt the caliper (two bolts) and remove it from the disk. Remove and reseat the brake pads and try it again.

ETA: I guess its possible that the pins between the caliper halves are bent rather than just the hanger pin being bent or jammed. Hopefully that is not the case. With the caliper off the disk, you should be able to compress and expand the two halves of the caliper on the pins. If the two halves of the caliper are in a bind, then more damage has been done.

 

[dduelin]

I did the same thing one time with my 721 lb ST and in the "oh crap" moment rushed to pick it up and threw my back out. I literally couldn't move for several hours. I was in a hotel 350 miles from home. Eventually I could halfway stand up and amazingly found I was almost pain free in the riding position so I packed my gear and rode home. My affected brake was not damaged.

 

[670cc]

What I do is attach the disk lock key to the bike key when I've locked the disk. I normally never have any keys attached to the bike key, so if I see this key attached with a ring, it's quite obvious and I can't forget to unlock the disk.

 

[Deleted member 1183]

I was thinking bent pins also.

Too late now but one can get a coiled plastic tether which loops between the lock and the handlebar to remind you of the disc lock. They are usually in fluorescent colours and very obvious. I never use a disc lock without them as I also once suffered this little issue but fortunately without damage. The owner of my local bike shop currently has a broken ankle because of a similar accident. He borrowed a staff members bike and took off without realising the lock was in place. The bike's owner forgot to tell him.....

 

[DirtFlier]

Some riders tie a brightly-colored string to the lock then loop the other end around the handgrip as a reminder. Many riders have made the same mistake so don't beat yourself up too badly.

 

[Beemerphile]

I have one of these on my disk lock that gets clipped to the instruments when the lock is on.



I couldn't find one that said REMOVE BEFORE FALL ON BUTT

BTW, if you are an idiot for doing this, you are in a very large club.

 

[fratermus]

Not being use to having it on and be slightly rushed to leave/distracted by a conversation, i forgot to remove it. <DOH!>

I've this before on another bike. When I bought the disc lock for the NC I got one of those REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT streamers that I put in the lock before attachment.

Hard to miss.

 

[WJS]

Thanks for the advice and making me feel better, guys. I like the idea of attaching something to the bars as a reminder.

I have the service manual but I've never worked on an ABS brake. I might leave this one for the shop to fix. Any issues if i drive it there? It's about a 10 mile ride.

 

[670cc]

A brake caliper is a brake caliper whether it's ABS or not. If you've worked on calipers in the past or changed pads, this is no different.

Personally I would not drive it until fixed, and I would fix it at home, but only you know what your limits are.

 

[WJS]

If that's the case then I'll give it a shot.

 

[dduelin]

After my incident I attached a piece of light line to it long enough to slip over a hand grip but I never used the disc lock again. I put it on a shelf and it's still there.

 

[mike5100]

What I do is attach the disk lock key to the bike key when I've locked the disk. I normally never have any keys attached to the bike key, so if I see this key attached with a ring, it's quite obvious and I can't forget to unlock the disk.

Not a bad idea.
Thought it might be worth posting an idea mooted on the english forum. One contributor said that because of exactly this problem with disc locks he had stopped using them and now used a padlock fastened through the rear sprocket and around the chain. He claimed the advantage was that if you forgot, then it was just the back wheel that locked and nothing got damaged .... but I have to admit I can't see how he was proposing to fit the lock. If anyone can work it out, it might be a good alternative. A locked back wheel is much easier to control than a locked front.
Mike

 

[Beemerphile]

A brake caliper is a brake caliper whether it's ABS or not. If you've worked on calipers in the past or changed pads, this is no different.

Personally I would not drive it until fixed, and I would fix it at home, but only you know what your limits are.

I agree. You do not have to disconnect the hoses. Just the same two bolts that you would use to remove the caliper in order to change a tire.

 

[Old Can Ride]

Just like Beemerpile stated, only need to remove Caliper bolts. Bolts #17 and #19

 

[Harald]

Great minds think alike apparently. I also have the Remove Before Flight banner for use with my disc lock. My banner is 3 foot long and attached to the disc lock itself so that it drapes along the ground and hopefully won't get missed when I ride off. It's one of the ones with a motion alarm built in and I only use it when traveling to deter theft.

 

[showkey]

So...........any update on the damage ?????

 

[WJS]

Not yet. I was going to work on it this weekend but as a result of dropping the bike and lifting incorrectly, I threw out my back. I know, from bad to worse. It's an old injury and stupid stuff like that aggravates it. Hopefully this coming weekend I'll be up to it and post results too.