front brake maintenance...

[hubcapsc]

When I first got my bike (end of 2006) I got new brake pads, mashed the
dirty pistons in enough to put in the new pads, flushed the fluid and
called it good. Not long after my rear brakes quit working right, one
or both of the rear pistons didn't move easily and the brakes would
drag and my rotor got HOT.

Since then I've always taken the calipers apart and cleaned everything
as close to new as I could and put in new seals and the whole thing, always
works good  ...

When I put new pads on the 1800 recently I used the "push the pistons out
some with hydraulic pressure" until the clean part starts to emerge from the
caliper and cleaned the dirty part and then mashed the pistons back in.
Lots easier. So I'm doing The Log Truck that way this time...



I could probably get the calipers cleaner if they were off the bike, but the one I cleaned
up already is lots cleaner than the other one...



Don't forget to clean the pin that the pads slide on. I always use never-seize when
replacing the pin and its cap, I got the cap off with that sissy little screwdriver you
see there  ...

I see that I don't need to have new pads on the front, but I work on The Log Truck less
often than I did before I had two bikes, so I'm taking some time now to refresh stuff.
My new Cobra Chrome tire is installed on the front. Its not really chromed, but it should
be for the amount it co$t!

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

I always use never-seize when replacing the pin and its cap, I got the cap off with that sissy
little screwdriver you see there

I guess I jinxed myself  ... the other side was much harder...



After I hosed up the allen head on the pin, I went around to Napa and Harbor Freight
to look for some kind of extractor. They had a normal easy-out kind of thing at Napa,
but the Napa guy suggested I go look at the ones at Harbor Freight, they'd work
much better. I got several sizes with the kit at Harbor Freight, the one you see
there locked right into the rounded out hole that used to be the allen socket in
my pin. The pin resisted the whole way out, but the extractor never turned loose  ...
Fortunately I have a couple of ebay calipers, and I got a good pin from one of those. It
had a good cap too, but I have several new caps, I think I'll use one of them.

I had to push the pistons way out to get to the clean place...



After cleaning the pistons up, I mashed them all the way back in and cleaned up the caliper.
Then it started raining (thank you Lord) so I put my stuff away and called it a day...

-Mike

[The emperor has no clothes]

I guess there are some advantages to living in a blast furnace desert. As dry as things are here, I seldom need to clean stuff up like many do. (Nice job on working thru some pitfalls) 

[hubcapsc]

Hey guys.  Consider using Loctite Blue instead of anti-sieze paste.  Blue is not a heavy-duty threadlocker.  It seals moisture out of the threads to prevent galling.  Honda used threadlockers all over when they built the bike.

I could barely pull my pin out when all the threads and half the shaft was out,
I'm not sure what was up with it... the "new" pin goes right in and spins into
all the threads with ease...

-Mike

[hubcapsc]

Daggone, Mike.  A new mystery for the week.  Parts just don't do that alone.  Something else is going on to make it happen.  Was bent it out of shape?  Hopefully this is a one-time happening for you and everyone else.

That awful looking stuff on it... maybe I splashed through something at some time? Maybe it is bent, I should try to
roll in on a pane of glass or something flat... the other side was a breeze, as normal...

-Mike