Sportster Floating Rotor

     I have been wanting floating rotors for some time. These are the Harley Davidson black floating rotor. First thing, I don't think they are truly floating. The part that allows the rotor to move separate from the hub assembly appears to be a rivet. It is too solid to allow the rotor to "float" between the caliper brake pads. 

     I have read that removing the rotor bolts might require an impact driver to get loose. I didn't have any problem, the torque for these bolts is 16 to 24 ft.lbs with blue Loctite., so other than some steel/aluminium corrosion these bolts shouldn't be hard to remove.

Hub plate and hub casting

     When the stock rotor is removed you can see the casting of the hub and when the rotor is placed over the casting it just doesn't look right to me.  

Rotor in place without hub plate

    So I checked with the supreme authority, the Harley Davidson Factory Microfiche. As you can see from this unauthorized cell phone photo of the Official Microfiche, part #9, officially called a Hub Plate and often called (unofficially) a hub cap, goes between between the rotor and the hub. 
     I ordered a "Hub Plate" and it just didn't fit. The plate is thin but still moved the rotor to the very side of the caliper and the rotor bolts cleared the fork sliders by about the thickness of a sheet of paper. 
     I ditched the hub plate, painted the mating surface of the hub black and mounted it all up. I think it looks good.