front brake caliper - bent bracket

[Anthony]

During cleaning & inspection of my front brake calipers, i found out that my right front bracket is bent.
nr 7 or 14 in

it was very hard to move and remove the bracket from the caliper.
when i compared the alignment of the chamber for BOLT A ( nr 8 ) and "BOOT, PIN BUSH" (nr 10 in pc) on the 3D measuring table at work, they were off by 1,3mm on that short length.

left side bracket is OK : alignement= 0,015mm

1998 Standard, 50.000 km, second owner since 2002, no drop downs known.

1) anybody have any idea how this can happen ?
too much braking stress on the bracket ?

2) did anyone replace their OEM nissin brake calipers with an upgrade ? Brembo's or other brands ? are there any bolt on kits available ?

Thanks in advance,
Anthony

[GOOSE]

i must not be following this thing correctly or something.......that part is a cast piece......it would seem that it would crack or break long before it would bend....maybe the bushings (the pins in the rubbers) need to be greased/lubricated.  these calipers are floating calipers, and as such need to stay lubricated in order to float.  maybe somebody else has your answer better than this.....i just don't see how it could bend.

[Gryphon Rider]

i must not be following this thing correctly or something.......that part is a cast piece......it would seem that it would crack or break long before it would bend......i just don't see how it could bend.

What makes you think that cast parts won't bend?  I've seen many examples of cast steel and cast aluminum bending.  Also consider that there might occasionally be some extra heat in the front brakes.

[roboto65]

Yep cast levers bend very easy well when forced that way LOL

[Ricky-D]

Heck, just grab a good mallet on a solid surface and bang the thing back into spec.

The way I see it is: if it is bent it must have been smacked by something so simply smack it back into shape.

The fewer smacks the better so proceed cautiously.  I've straightened many a cast levers, without them breaking and most are still in service.

Don't be skeered!

***

[Chrisj CMA]

If it really is bent, throw it away....buy a new one.......well, its only your front brakes, I mean how important is that............dont take chances, if its bent it has a stress fracture, bend it again more stress fractures........what will it take after that to snap it say in a panic stop, maybe it will be fine............not on my bike

[Anthony]

Buying a new one:
Yeah, i tried, but my Honda dealer says delivery date for bracket, or whole caliper, is mid june, maybe...
I can wait that long, got a 4000 mile trip to EU inzane5 in sweden coming up.

So i just ordered a set of 6piston calipers from www.pretech.Co.uk.
Looks good, bolts right on, works with std brake pump.
Anodised in my preferred colour and delivered in 2 weeks.
Thanks to the tip from the UK board.

I have no recollection of such a fact, but a hard start with the disc lock in place is the only thing i can think of that could have whacked it like that.
Wont happen again to me, i promise
Anthony

[hubcapsc]

Yeah, i tried, but my Honda dealer says delivery date for bracket, or whole caliper, is mid june, maybe...

Holy Cow! Because you're in Belgium? Because of the disaster in Japan? Anyhow, it's too late now, but Pinwall's got a
set of the brackets for $5, and he sells calipers for $25...

So i just ordered a set of 6piston calipers from www.pretech.Co.uk.
Looks good, bolts right on, works with std brake pump.
Anodised in my preferred colour and delivered in 2 weeks.


Cool... I've had this place bookmarked for a while... let us know how your calipers work!

http://www.billet.co.uk/honda.htm

I have no recollection of such a fact, but a hard start with the disc lock in place is the only thing i can think of that could have whacked it like that.
Wont happen again to me, i promise


-Mike

[Anthony]

the good news today is that my honda dealer got back to me with the info that the bracket could to be available already by end of next week, even after i had told them to cancel the order earlier this week.

at least a sign that they do care about a customer.

so i guess it wasn't a 'japan' or 'belgian' problem, just logistics.

will post an update when i get the pretechs.

Anthony