Warped front brake rotor

[ISU Cyclone]

I have a 2013 TTSE which I purchased new in September 2013. I think I've had all the updates done including 2 ECU's. Sometime around 20K miles I had the front brake rotor replaced because it was warped. My dealer mechanic caught it after he'd done some routine maintenance & took it for a test ride. Then sometime between the 30K & 40K service it was warped again. I don't ride it hard or anything, I'm an old guy!! This time the mechanic says there is something causing this & after tearing the front brakes all apart he said that one of the calipers was hanging up. So now at 42K miles I have a whole new front brake system. All of this was covered under warranty. Hopefully this cures the problem.

[big bird]

My many years working on race car most rotor that warp were because of high heat .Did you notice the front rotors getting hot and were both front rotors warp .
BB

[ISU Cyclone]

I really didn't notice anything other than the surging when the front brakes were applied. I did touch them a few times after riding & they were hot but I had just applied them to come to a stop. One or both probably were over heated but I never really checked. O should have been more observant.

[Volfy]

It seems that the heavy STs tend to see reports of warped brake rotors more often than lighter bikes.  That was the case when I owned a C14 and read about it in C14 forums quite often.  Sticky caliper piston(s) is a possibility, but I would imagine it i difficult to go unnoticed every time you let off the throttle.  If you ever ride in hilly terrain, use a lower gear to slow the rate of descent, instead of riding on the brakes... particularly when 2up and loaded with gear.  Not to say it couldn't be a mfr defect. but you can minimize the chances of it happening to you.

[w8d4it]

I haven't had any problem with my brakes, other than the pads don't last very long.  But when I read several reports of warped rotors I get concerned because I am well out of warranty.  I've often wondered whether operator riding habits might contribute to the warpage.  Volfy if I read your comment correctly you have considered the same?

[Saaz]

I noticed some pulsing at times with the OEM pads, went away a bit with really hard use. No such pulsing with feredo pads at all but they lasted a bit less.

[Volfy]

w8d4it, yes, I do think quite often the cause is other than mfr defect in the material and/or construction.  It could be as innocent as your hot rotors (after a good bit of riding) getting splashed with water, say, from running over a puddle.  I don't ever wash my bike right after riding for this reason.

Or it could be from a careless tech inadvertently bending the rotor while changing out your tire.  I myself was guilty of that once, right after I bought my Nomar tire changer and hadn't quite figured out what I was doing.    That one: $200 lesson learned.

IMO, for this to be a genuine mfr error, the failures would have been much more consistent and widespread.

[ISU Cyclone]

 I appreciate everyone's input. But I have been riding bikes for many years with most of my bikes going over 70,000 miles and I have never had a warped rotor before. I have not changed my style of riding, most of my rides are a minimum of 20 miles up to several hundred per day. Now to have warped rotors warp 2 times in 42,000 miles leads me to believe there is a problem with the bike, not the way I ride.