BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Has anyone got any experience with Galfer replacement discs?

Have been thinking for a while now about changing out my originals to cure the annoying rattle from particularly the right side. There's no cause for concern with regard to disc thickness, but the non-replaceable bobbins have for some time allowing quite a bit of both lateral and rotational movement. Brakes work fine but the noise, especially over bumps at low speed, is driving me nuts. Motorworks don't seem to list the standard Brembos and now seem to only offer the "serie o" upgrade at £150 a pop, but a set of Galfers including bobbins is available on Ebay for £200 with free shipping.

The bobbins on my originals appear to be riveted on and thus not replaceable - but is there a workaround that I am perhaps unaware of?

The bike is a 2012 twincam model.

How many miles have you done on the existing discs MarkW?

I'm sure you know that they are supposed to 'float' slightly. I have a 2012, but I don't hear mine knocking.

I had galfer discs on the TL1000s

Fantastic stopping power and quality

MarkW wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 1:05 pmThe bobbins on my originals appear to be riveted on and thus not replaceable but is there a workaround that I am perhaps unaware of.

The Disc Doctor, https://www.thediscdoctor.co.uk/Bobbins.htm may be able to help.

"We offer a full range of replacement Disc Bobbins, CNC Machined in a wide range of sizes to fit all bikes.
Also Oversized Bobbins to remove excessive play in worn Discs."

Sullivj wrote: Wed Jun 19, 2024 4:37 pm How many miles have you done on the existing discs MarkW?

I'm sure you know that they are supposed to 'float' slightly. I have a 2012, but I don't hear mine knocking.

The bike has done just over 60k. I'm aware of the floating nature on these, having come from many years on an r1100rt, and I'm not anxious about either performance or safety as they are - it's the low speed clonking over speed bumps and the like that just annoys. I'm funny like that

David. wrote: Thu Jun 20, 2024 7:21 pm The Disc Doctor, https://www.thediscdoctor.co.uk/Bobbins.htm may be able to help.

"We offer a full range of replacement Disc Bobbins, CNC Machined in a wide range of sizes to fit all bikes.
Also Oversized Bobbins to remove excessive play in worn Discs."

That's interesting David, thank you, will give him a shout when I'm back from holiday week after next.

Thanks for the replies chaps, most helpful.

The bike's due it's MOT in a couple of weeks, and this is the only thing that is any kind of concern. I've been picked up before on the same issue with my previous bike - 1100RT - and got an advisory for "excessive rotational play". It really does depend on what mood my guy is in though. When i got the advisory I ignored it, and it was never mentioned again despite me not making any changes in the following 2 or 3 years

Am sure I fitted EBC disc to the rear. I had Galfer pads on my Tiger 1050 and hated the feel. Changed to EBC HH. Transformed the braking

You were lucky you only got an advisory, side to side play is allowable but rotational wear is actually a reason for failure as technically it effects the performance of the brakes.
Sorry I don't have any opinion on the Galfor discs as the only ones I have knowledge of are the wave type and wasn't interested in them but that was a couple of years ago.
I did fit EBC replacements to my ST1300 Pan and they were a good replacement, performed well and were easy enough to fit.

I need to replace the front discs (rotors) on my 2012 Camhead.

Has anyone had experience of doing this themselves. Did the bolts come out easily. BMW do like to use bolts that are micro-encapsulated with locking compound. Was any heat required to free the bolts off.

The bike has done 58,450 miles and the discs are down to the minimum wear limit.

I took a set of discs off some wheels that I was having powder coated.

The bolts are 'threadlocked', but it's not very strong and the torque setting is not very high.

To avoid damage, I used an electric soldering iron, applied to the bolt heads. The heat transfer through the bolt is enough to soften the the threadlock, avoiding direct heat from a blowlamp etc which could damage the paint.

It's worthwhile to run a tap down the bolt holes when refitting the discs. The recommendation is to use new bolts, but I just cleaned mine up with a wire brush and used a very small drop of threadlock on reassembly.

Thank you for your reply, I like the soldering iron idea.

For the cost involved, I have ordered some replacement bolts.

Bought a decent quality Halfords Professional T30 socket bit and used a 10" ratchet wrench. Have slackened off all 10 bolts without using any heat.