On the center stand, having given the front wheel a hearty spin, how many revolutions will your wheel turn? Mine might only do one. Is that ok?
4-5 times... Could be the front caliper/pads are not fully retracting. Gunk/debris,...builds up behind the caliper piston (internal) lowest point of the brake system. First try a "bleed/flush".
Several rotations if the brakes and wheel bearings are OK. If you have friction noise when you spin the wheel, I would suspect brakes. Remove the front calipers and try the spin again. Inspect the pads for wear. Replace as needed. Clean the calipers of dirt and brake dust with brake cleaner spray. Make sure the clips are in good order and are in place.
I replaced the pads not too long ago and recently I noticed the smell of hot brakes. That inspired me to check my wheel. Today I took the calipers off and blew them with the air compressor, reinstalled them and torqued the calipers back on the forks, it spun more easily. But it seemed as though the manner in which I tightened the calipers made a difference to how freely the wheel spun. At any rate, the bearings seem fine. 2004 GS.
I am unfamiliar with your front brake design so, these are merely suggestions; 1- Check the rotors to insure they are "floating" on the bobbins. 2- Check that the new pads are free to move in the caliper. 3- Remove pads, inspect the caliper, clean everything and reassemble. 4- Insure that your master cylinder does not have any debris in the fluid. 5- As previously suggested, flush and bleed the front brake circuit. 6- Open the bleed nut on the calipers and insure that the pistons are free to move in and out.
It occurred to me that you should also check the "pins and pads" in the caliper. Rusted pins and pads with rusted gunk on the edges will also prevent pad retraction/application. A good cleaning and lubing of the pins/pads will help with braking operations.
If I'm not mistaken, your front rotors float on the rotor mounting hardware (bolts and bobbins). If this hardware is corroded or otherwise not properly mounted, the rotor may be restricted from floating freely and therefore your rotor and pads may be in contact even though the brakes are not being applied. Remove the calipers and whack the rotors gently with a non metalic object (block of wood, wooden ball bat, wooden handle of a garden implement) and listen for some rotor slack on the bobbins. Also, examine your new pads and determine (by wear) which pad is being worn excessively. Once you fix the problem, I would use sandpaper on the rotors to remove any traces of pad residue which could cause brake shudder. What pad material did you select for the new pads?
While taking the calipers off you probably wiggled them somewhat, which would have pushed the pistons back into the caliper. Check again after pumping the front brakes.
