Are those my brakes I smell?

[daddystarr]

I have had my new-to-me '01 Tig for 3 days. I am getting more comfortable on it and just ran it through 70 milesof twisties, a lot of steeply downhill.



During the 60 mph or so downhill I am definatly smelling something burning. Brakes, ya think? I am kinda worried here.  Stopping and sniffing up close (don't laugh) turned up nothing particualr.



Anyone experience something similar?



That aside, my god that bike is a monster. I am in love.

[Brock]

I can't imagine you'd cook the pads enough to make them smell. You'd also have warped the discs by now I would think!

Maybe there's some oil or grease used by the dealer in a PDI that's dripped onto the exhaust system? Sometimes after a good clean and manicure they smell for a while whilst the excess burns off. Take her out again and see if the smell comes back...

Whatever you do, don't get yer face too close to the disc when you're sniffing...you could weld it permanently to the sucker!

You're right about the bike, though!

[echoyankee]

I also like the motorcycle "dressing" cooking off theory.  



Time will surely tell the tale.



Best,



echoyankee

[daddystarr]

That  does make sense. The seller may have put some make pretty juice on it like armorall or something.



Time WILL tell.

[RedMenace]

If the brakes are hot enuf to smell, the rotors will be hot enuf to boil spit. Have you checked to see if they are getting hot? A hard ride will probably get them hot anyway, but if you take an easy lap you should be able to tell if they are heating up. Discolored high spots on the rotors would be another clue. Don't know about the newer Tigers but the Steamers all seem to drag the rear brake a bit. You need to keep some slack at the pedal, maybe even drop it a bit to avoid accidentally depressing it with your foot, and keep the brake pins clean and smooth(yeah, right :-/  Even then, you will find the rear pads go away quickly and  one side will wear off sooner than the other.

Let us know what you find out. Here's hopin' it is just a bit of chain lube burning off your pipes!

[Guest]

I firmly believe that if you can smell hot brakes when on your bike then it's not coming from your bike. Any smell from your own bike would be carried away behind you by the airstream.

More likely to have been a car or truck in front of you. Especially a heavily laden truck.

Also, if it's a still day. i.e. no wind. That smell can linger quite a while.



Best way to check if it is your bike is to piss on the discs.