Foam ring between spokes and disc
 

Ok - maybe this is a stupid question but I've been staring at this thing for almost a year....There is a foam rubber ring that is wedged between the front wheel spokes and the brake disc. Does anyone know why it's there??

Stop brake noise? Stop spoke noise at high speed:D? Protect something? Should I leave it there or save some weight and chop the thing out?

Jeff

It must be there for some reason, I just don't know what.

I can't see anything in the parts diagram for the front hub, wheel, or brake that shows anything like what I believe you're describing. I can't see anything like it on mine, either. Can you show us a pic?

My '09 has one.

show us a picture.

My totally uninformed WAG on it would be some kind of sound damping effort for the rotor/disc brake operation.

they call it a "DAMPER, FRONT WHEEL" on the parts fiche?

i thought it was a donut for the seat on long trips??

Ahhhh...I was looking at an '06 parts diagram. I keep forgetting that Kawasaki made this fancy-shmancy '09 and later model with all of these high tech doo-dads.:D

The 06 model had a floating rotor, I believe the 09 model had a solid rotor the foam ring is to dampen brake rotor noise.I have a 91 kx 250 wheel installed and with the solid brake rotor and there are some noises that are produced when you apply brakes hard at slow speeds!!!

I'm glad that is sorted out - I thought it was packaging that had been left on the wheel, I was just about to bin it!

oh so we can use 91 KDX wheels??

Maybe its packing from shipping...LOL

TNC - what parts file did you see this? It's not shown in my shop maunal (08-09 models). I'll get the camera tonight and shoot a pic. My original thought was some kind of "damper" but it seems too flimsy to last long. Guess I'll leave it and let it rot - I'm sure some day I'll see it fly by when it falls off.

And....What's wrong with the "fancy - shmancy" 09????:-)

Doc, I looked on the Bike Bandit OEM parts diagram. I have the '06 model...mine...saved as a favorite, so that's why I missed it for the '09. The '09 does indeed show this part with the front brake group, and it is a sound damper.

Back in the olden days here on KF there was a much loved feller from Iowa who spouted his "infinite wisdom" :) here on the forum. He was mighty proud of himself when he got one of the very first 2009's around. He later brought up the same question about the foam ring. I don't think he ever got a definitive answer, but if I remember right he ended up cutting the foam thingy out of there. You might get lucky and find a post about it.
Dan

95 KLX650C has one on the rear too. I figure it's a sound damper... that or some Japanese engineer is sitting there laughing his a$$ off.

I never bothered the ring and the ring hasn't bothered me, so we live our separate lives only getting together for rides.

Yep, keeps the brake noise down. Leave it on. I'm sure it's weight is nothing to be concerned with.

It is a fenordon ring which is a type of vebalfetzer dampening system. They are widely used in F1 racing as a calhoun balancer. Except in F1 they are made of carbon fibre and cost millions of dollars. I have no idea what they do on our bikes though.

Another point of note is Kawa' cheaped out on the facelift of the 09. Solid disc up front and the 07 and earlier get a fully floating disc.:D

Note that the new SF model gets a larger "floating" disc. Also by the looks of things the 07 and earlier bikes get a true Nissin brake caliper, do the newer bikes? ???Unbranded

http://www.kawasaki.ca/flx/technolog...chimages-9.jpg

07.
https://i143.photobucket.com/albums/...uard1227sa.jpg

09.
http://www.kawasaki.ca/flx/technolog...tech03.jpg.jpg

Ok then - the fenordon ring stays on. Besides, why not provide a bit of humor for the Japanese Engineer.

Or maybe we should suspect a Thai engineer.:D

Yeah...he cut the foam thing out and we cut him out of the forum. ;)

Good ol IG LOL

Vebalfetzer? Is that German? LOL Hey remember Fletch? "was it the Fetzer valve? Yea I thought it was." hahaha Sorry not enough coffee yet this morning. :p

deej...I heard he moved to Texas and is now posting under another name.:D

One our customers was an "accessory engineer" for Kawasaki. He told me all bikes are designed and prototyped etc in Japan. Most street, high dollar bikes are mfg'd in Japan. The rest are made all over the world. Funny he quit Kawy, moved to Tailand and is working as a scuba instructor.

It's there to help keep rocks from getting wedged in your front brake.

If rocks are big enough to jam there no foam is gonna stop it and you'll be replacing your bent rotor! Besides, my 650 has one on the rear and none on the front. Definitely there to damp rotor squeak or other brake/rim related noise. In Kawasaki's parts list it is called a Damper-Rear Wheel and Damper-Front Wheel.

It cuts down on vibration and rocks from getting jammed in there. Leave it be. How heavy could a piece of foam be..??....LOL

It's memory foam. After every event it remembers, it gets heavier. I read that in a Beauty Rest manual.:D

i removed mine when changing to a new floating rotor it is only there to stop the disc from screaming during breaking
it is about 500-800 gram of weight btw

SAVE IT! You never know if you need a "donut" to sit on if you get hemorrhoids.:eek: :rolleyes:

gonna use it for something later :P

Cut mine out years ago, never missed it. It looks stupid and that bothered me. Absolutely no difference in noise or performance.

Hello there.

I wander, what rotor did you use? I found only one fits. It is from EBC - MD6329C. What is yours?

Thanks

I second this hijack/resurrection. I've wanted to upgrade to the SF style rotor (EBC SM6329C) and it's perpetually on backorder/pushed back/unavailable.