Why Does My Brake Squeal

[jsoko]

1978 FLH - Stock Rear Banana Caliper with 10" Disc

when I leave the house why does the rear brake squeal the first few time I use it

after driving around or even stopping for a while it does not squeal

the first time it did this i was coming up to a Stop Sign and though to myself, I hope that car behind me stops and not run into me

come to find out it were my brakes doing the squealing

pads look good
disc is not worn or grooved, but is smooth and shinny
has not gotten wet

[66glide]

Metallic pads. Proper shimming and silicone lube on the slides and pad backs might help, but...

[66glide]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayof...brakes.squeal/

[madrat]

i have found there are numerous causes for the dreaded squeal. even a particular dust pattern on the pads that doesn't mate well with the rotor.....

[JB in NC]

Rear brake boomerangs are notorious for being out of square, so much so that there are factory tools to check and bend them. For those of us without those rare and expensive tools, minimize the alignment problem by checking the reaction link, and while you are at it, that the rear wheel is square in the swingarm. The better the alignment of everything, the quieter the brakes will be.

Jim

[jsoko]

I will re-check the rear wheel alignment

now that you mention it I replaced the chain in September

I use a rod bent on one end that I hook over the front of the swing arm on both sides to get it equal

is there a better way?

[Bone Head]

Joey, you sure your swingarm isn't bent?

[huckster]

Moisture

[jsoko]

Joey, you sure your swingarm isn't bent?

I wouldn't think so, as nothing has happened to cause any damage (just normal riding on the smooth roads

Moisture

Bikes stay in a conditioned garage, very low humidity, no moisture and brakes did not get wet

this just started
and only squeals the first few time i apply the rear brake

[mike the snake]

I'd try spraying the brakes with brake cleaner, see if that doesn't quiet it up. Easy to try before taking anything apart.

[66glide]

When I took my '84 banana front brake apart to look for cause of horrendous squeal, I found somebody had put the pad shims in backward so pressure was applied to the back of the pad more than the front instead of vise-versa. If shims are installed, they should orient so the front (or trailing edge) squeezes on the rotor before the rear.

Swapping reversing the shims immediately cured my terrible locomotive like front brake squeal.

Now only the rear brake squeals...