Rear brake caliper

[Twofeather]

Hello All, Where is the best place to get a rebuild kit for rear break caliper? I was going to change the brake pads on my bike this last weekend but couldn't get the cylinders to go back in to the caliper so I'm thinking I'm going to have to rebuild them. After reading on here I think rebuilding is the way to go. What do you think?

[Grandpot]

I use www.brakecrafters.com . On the rear brake there is a difference in diameter of the pistons between the Interstate and the others.  You my need to call them to make sure you get the right kit.  Very good company to deal with.

[Earl43P]

Its very possible that your Master Cylinder has a blocked (tiny) return hole.
Spooge hole, as it’s commonly called.

Do the pistons push in if you open the bleeder? Then, clean the spooge hole

[CoreyP]

I used brakecrafter rebuild kit on my front brakes. In my case one of the pistons was all corroded, glad I got the rebuild kit with new pistons. The one piston was shot, the other one was fine and could be cleaned up but if yours is stuck to the point you can't get it back in I would get new pistons. Not sure if the back has two pistons?

My front brakes were stuck on so I had no choice. These bikes are getting old so I would just rebuild it and it will be good for another 20 years or so. I couldn't get one piston to come out no matter what I tried. Ended up taking it to a brake and tire shop, thought being they will have a big compressor. Took a guy a good 10 minutes to pop that piston out. He tried turning it with vise grips etc. Caliper was fine but that piston wasn't. While I was at it I also got a rebuild kit for the master cylinder.

Had this happen on an old car not that long ago. Went to change the back brakes, caliper was seized up on one side.  You couldn't notice it driving the car but you could see the difference in the brake pads. One was just about at the wear tab and the bad one had much more meat on it.

[luftkoph]

FYI red eye sell stainless pistons

[Grandpot]

All calipers on Valkyries have 2 pistons. A good way to remove stuck pistons the easy way:

Rear Caliper
1. Do not remove the hydraulic line until after the pistons are removed.
2. Remove the caliper from the rotor.
3. Get a wooden paint stirring stick (or similar thin piece of wood) and cut it so it will go across both pistons at the same time.
4. Stack the wood between the pistons and caliper until it is within 1/8" of the pistons.
5. Pump the rear brake pedal until BOTH pistons contact the wood.
6. Remove one piece of wood.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 until the pistons are out.
8. Remove the hydraulic line and commence with the rebuild.

Front Calipers
1. Remove a FRONT caliper from the bike, including the hydraulic line.
2. Remove the REAR caliper hydraulic line.
3. Connect the FRONT caliper to the REAR caliper hydraulic line.
4. Bleed the caliper.
5. Perform steps 4 through 8 from the Rear Caliper instructions.
6. Do the same with the other FRONT caliper.

[Tfrank59]

Last winter I rebuilt all three calipers on my 98 tourer using brakecrafters kits and it turned out great.  Never knew my bike could stop so good

[Twofeather]

Thanks everyone, I'll be rebuilding my brake caliper this weekend if I can get the kit in time.

[Twofeather]

Up Date, I rebuilt the rear caliper last night and I have a problem. I bought a rebuild kit from Brake Crafters and one of the pistons that came with the kit is smaller than the other. I've checked the old ones and they are the same size. The one new one is the right size and it fits in the caliper prefect. So now I'm waiting to call them and see if they are going to give me a hard time on getting what I need. Looks like I'm going to be down another week. This sucks! Anyone ever had a similar problem with Brake Crafters?

[Grandpot]

Up Date, I rebuilt the rear caliper last night and I have a problem. I bought a rebuild kit from Brake Crafters and one of the pistons that came with the kit is smaller than the other. I've checked the old ones and they are the same size. The one new one is the right size and it fits in the caliper prefect. So now I'm waiting to call them and see if they are going to give me a hard time on getting what I need. Looks like I'm going to be down another week. This sucks! Anyone ever had a similar problem with Brake Crafters?

They will not give you a hard time.  I had a similar problem. The pistons on the rear of my IS are smaller than the pistons in the front.  Tell them the size you need and they will send them free of charge.

[Twofeather]

Ok I just got off the phone with Brake Crafters they are sending me the right one. Hopefully it won't take to long to get here. The guy I talked to was real nice but couldn't explain why it was wrong and I said we are all human and sh.t happens. We both laughed and life will go on. It just sucks I'll have to wait another week before I get to ride. Such is life!

[Tfrank59]

Yeah and it’s especially weird that you got a kit that had two piston sizes because obviously one caliper will have the same size pistons.  Must’ve been automated packaging

[Bagger John - #3785]

May be a little off-topic to the thread but not to the general subject of brakes:

I've continually owned multiple Valkyries since buying my second in 2001. At one time I had five in the garage. Coming from the IT world and dealing with such things as BCP/DR and service availability, the concept of hot-swappable parts or assemblies has been drilled into my head many times over a rather long career in the field.

Brakes...since our GL1500s all use the same front calipers, I got hold of a decent set and am going to rebuild them, install new pads then park them in my spares stash. The I/S uses a different rear caliper (and IIRC, different caliper bracket/rotor?) so the plan is to update my Tourer's rear end to I/S spec then keep one spare (rebuilt) I/S caliper on-hand. Should I ever get another Standard I'll have the Tourer's leftover rear caliper as a spare for it.

Ditto master cylinders. I have rebuild kits plus rebuilt front and rear master cylinders ready to go. If a minor rebuild turns ugly I can just swap the larger assemblies, add fluid and bleed then away I go.

I've also extended this concept to wheels/tires, alternators, water pumps, driveline parts...even a fresh bank of carbs stored in a sealed container is at the ready. This approach may not be for everyone, but from the day I threw a leg over my first Valkyrie for the first time, I knew I'd ride these bikes until I can't ride any longer. Thus, I planned for many years into the future.

[Twofeather]

Well I got the right piston last night and got it all put back together. I rode it down the road and I think the brakes are hanging up or I got the rear axel to tight (is there such a thing as to tight) the bike does not roll real easy like it did before. It was late by the time I got that far so I'll get back to it tonight and see what I did wrong. Has anyone had that happen to them?

[Bagger John - #3785]

"I got the rear axle too tight" - did you take the wheel off the bike?

[Twofeather]

All I did was take the axle out far enough to get the caliper off.

[Bagger John - #3785]

OK - so no chance of misplacing the thrust washer in the final drive. Can you jack the bike up and swing the caliper out of the way to see if the rear wheel turns freely?

Also...did you loosen the final-drive mounting nuts before torquing the axle, then re-torque them to spec? Follow the procedure and torque values listed in the service manual.

[Tfrank59]

This is kind of a late note, but when I did my rear caliper I didn’t even have to take the axle out. I just took the caliper off and rebuilt it.At any rate your problem sounds like improper reassembly. I would suggest going into shoptalk where Chris J shows how to service your rear wheel including reassembly. And if it’s not something to do with the axle, could it be improper reassembly of your caliper?

[Twofeather]

Thank you for your help. I'm sure it was something I did or didn't do.
When I get home tonight I'll be checking everything I did to see what could be wrong. I just talked to the PO and he thinks it might be that the new pad haven't seated to the rotor yet. He thinks I should ride it a bit and see what happens. I think I'll go back over it real good before I go anywhere on it.


Bagger John, I never took the final drive apart. All I did was take the axle nut off and lightly tap the axle out just far enough to get the bracket off that holds the caliper on. Everything went back together very easy. I didn't check torque vales yet. I plan on checking everything tonight.

[Tfrank59]

If your caliper was rebuilt properly, and assembled properly, there won’t be any big drag on the rotor with new pads. In fact it won’t have any grab until you bleed it. So I have to disagree with the previous owner’s theory.

[Valker]

I have no clue how this would happen with only what you did, but that exact symptom happens if you leave the small, flared tube out of the final drive unit.

#20 in this diagram: https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/hon/506cb6fcf870023420a41a0c/final-driven-gear

[RonW]

 that exact symptom happens if you leave the small, flared tube out of the final drive unit.

Would installing the flared tube backways also have the same effect? if memory serves the fiche has the flared tube backways.

[Valker]

 that exact symptom happens if you leave the small, flared tube out of the final drive unit.

Would installing the flared tube backways also have the same effect? if memory serves the fiche has the flared tube backways.

I do not know. I seem to recall it only actually fits one way.

[0leman]

 that exact symptom happens if you leave the small, flared tube out of the final drive unit.

Would installing the flared tube backways also have the same effect? if memory serves the fiche has the flared tube backways.

From what 2F said, he only pushed the axel far enough in to remove the caliper, so the part #20 would not be a problem. 
I do not know. I seem to recall it only actually fits one way.

[Twofeather]

It is definitely the brake caliper. When I got home last night I put the bike back on the lift and jacked up the back tire and discovered the brake caliper was hanging up. Looking at my manual I did not get the pad spring or retainer back on the caliper. When I first took it apart I did not see either one. I don't know what happen to them. I looked all around and could not find them. I don't know if the PO took them off or if I just lost them. I have some on order now. I can't believe that I would have lost both of them, maybe one or the other but not both. So that tell me they were never on the bike.  Who knows, but I think I got it fixed now. Thanks for all your help.

[Tfrank59]

Yep, that would explain it. Let us know how it turns out

[Skinhead]

I assume you replaced the piston seals when you replaced the pistons, but did you clean the crude out of the seal groves in the calipers?  I have always bee amazed by how much build up there is in those grooves, and if not clean, they can cause the pistons to not retract when brake is released, resulting in brake drag.

[Twofeather]

Yes I cleaned all of the caliper inside and out. I have ordered new pad clips and I hope that is the issue. They should be here today so I'll find out tonight.

[Twofeather]

Update, Ok I got in the pad spring and the pad retainer clip last night. I got it all put together and that seems to have fix it. I got to ride my bike to work this morning and IT WAS SOOOOOO NICE!

[Grandpot]

Good job.