Attempting to do front brake pads | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Attempting to do front brake pads

Tip for cleaning brake calipers (including the pistons).

Get a big bottle of Pine-Sol, the original variety (not the fancy smelling ones). Cut the top off a suitable plastic jug (I used an old laundry-detergent jug), one that is just big enough to contain your entire brake caliper. Support the plastic jug beside your bike in a way that you can hang the entire brake caliper (brake hose still connected but brake pads removed) in the plastic jug and then fill it with Pine-Sol so that the entire brake caliper is immersed. Leave it sit for half an hour.

Now go after the brake caliper pistons with a toothbrush and/or spray them with brake cleaner (the built-up mung will come off very easily), then push the brake caliper pistons back in, then clean the entire brake calipers with soap and water and dry them off, and install your new brake pads. You can re-use the Pine-Sol for the other side ... I keep it for subsequent cleaning jobs.

The Pine-Sol softens the deposits on the brake calipers so that even in the parts of the piston that you can't get at with a toothbrush, the seals in the brake calipers will just push the deposits loose, and then when you clean the calipers with soap and water, the loosened black stuff will come off easily and your brake calipers will look like new. It won't damage the seals.

Nice idea !
I usually add a drop of brake fluid under rubber boots , after the cleaning , to lube the pistons and seal as they are pushed back in . I don't think brake cleaner is a great lube ..
 
Based on how you described the fluid level before, your master cyl reservoir should be crazy overfilled now. Not fixing this problem can lead to fun things like your front brakes locking up on the highway (due to drag & heat). And you REALLY should be bleeding the calipers with the pad change anyway.

This job isn't too hard, but you're not done yet. Mechanic wasn't asking $100 to just unscrew the pad pins and slap new pads in the calipers
 
Based on how you described the fluid level before, your master cyl reservoir should be crazy overfilled now. Not fixing this problem can lead to fun things like your front brakes locking up on the highway (due to drag & heat). And you REALLY should be bleeding the calipers with the pad change anyway.

This job isn't too hard, but you're not done yet. Mechanic wasn't asking $100 to just unscrew the pad pins and slap new pads in the calipers
Yesterday I removed the cap from front reservoir and drained a little fluid out. It is sitting just below the top full line now. I read that if the fluid in top brake reservoir is too full, there won't be any room for the fluid to go when it expands and heats up, therefore the pistons would push out, but now that there is some air in the reservoir all should be ok. I never noticed the front pads dragging while moving my bike in neutral with it turned off. How is the job not done....what do I need to do? Pads have been removed, brakes have been cleaned, pistons pushed in with no issues & weren't seized. All I need to do is throw in the anti-rattle clips which are coming in at some point this week.
 
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Based on how you described the fluid level before, your master cyl reservoir should be crazy overfilled now. Not fixing this problem can lead to fun things like your front brakes locking up on the highway (due to drag & heat). And you REALLY should be bleeding the calipers with the pad change anyway.

This job isn't too hard, but you're not done yet. Mechanic wasn't asking $100 to just unscrew the pad pins and slap new pads in the calipers

that depends on the shop...
good to see op got the bike roadworthy !

edit- to be fair about finishing the job...it would drive me nuts if that was my bike and I didn't flush the brake fluid lol but not a biggie, maybe plan it for later. don't wait for the fluid to discolor and then change it. do the flush while its STILL clear imo.
 
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Friend in my apartment was asking me how I made out, I was telling him about how the fluid was "too full"... Took resv cap off and there is a little rubber piece that goes into it. The piece of rubber (almost like a collapsible bowl) was not collapsed, so it was twice the size it should have been and would dip into the fluid making it rise to the top. We collapsed it into a smaller form and now it is sitting perfect.
Sorry for all the posts, I'm not too mechanically inclined and am slowly learning how all this stuff works. Is it better to have it bigger, dipping into the fluid making it rise, or collapsed how is currently is now. I guess either way it doesn't matter, because if the fluid was to heat up and expand, the rubber piece inside could collapse as well making room for fluid.
 
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that diaphragm should be collapsed (smaller) on re-assembly
it will move on it's own based on pressure/vacuum
 
.... Is it better to have it bigger, dipping into the fluid making it rise, or collapsed how is currently is now...
The purpose of the bladder is to reduce the hygroscopic nature of brake fluid from absorbing moisture from the air, ideal is for the area below the bladder to be completely full of fluid, area above is vented to atmospheric pressure, water condensation will tend to accumulate in the top part.
 
Sounds like fluid wasn't added. Just the bladder doing it's job and extending to take up space in the res. In that case no fluid needed to be drained.
 
Friend in my apartment was asking me how I made out, I was telling him about how the fluid was "too full"... Took resv cap off and there is a little rubber piece that goes into it. The piece of rubber (almost like a collapsible bowl) was not collapsed, so it was twice the size it should have been and would dip into the fluid making it rise to the top. We collapsed it into a smaller form and now it is sitting perfect.
Sorry for all the posts, I'm not too mechanically inclined and am slowly learning how all this stuff works. Is it better to have it bigger, dipping into the fluid making it rise, or collapsed how is currently is now. I guess either way it doesn't matter, because if the fluid was to heat up and expand, the rubber piece inside could collapse as well making room for fluid.

Roger, was just going off your description. Don't want to see anyone get hurt, enjoy the bike
 
I put on the anti rattle clips/spring clips and am still getting a squeal/squeak when coming to a stop under 30km. If I pull the clutch in and apply more pressure to the brakes there is no noise present. The rattling is gone now though. There is about 120km on the pads. Never had to put new pads on a bike as I've always sold it before it was necessary. Is this normal for the 1st couple 100kms? Maybe the EBC HH Sintered pads are just noisy in general?
 
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Try cleaning your rotors with a scotchbrite pad.The idea is to get rid of the "mirror" like finish on them.I use a rotor hone on my bikes when they need it.
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If the pads don't seat well or make excessive squealing noises I usually take it back apart, clean the disc and lightly sandpaper the face of the pad to remove any glaze that might be on it, then try reseating the pads again. 100k should be plenty of use to seat the pads provided your brake disc is not badly scored.

... that scotch bright thing would be a very good way to clean and hone the surface of the disc, I'm cheap so I just use emery cloth :|
 
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may need to be burnished

apply gentle brake while riding
keep going, but not to the point of overheating

would suggest this only after the deglazing has been tried

this can also be a sign of overly hard pads
were they OEM parts OP?

I know in the car world, you can get pads with lifetime warranty
they never wear out, because the rotor wears out instead
to be avoided
 
not OEM...EBC HH Sintered pads.

As stated try cleaning up the surfaces and maybe add some anti squeal between the shims and pad.
 
If the pads don't seat well or make excessive squealing noises I usually take it back apart, clean the disc and lightly sandpaper the face of the pad to remove any glaze that might be on it, then try reseating the pads again. 100k should be plenty of use to seat the pads provided your brake disc is not badly scored.

... that scotch bright thing would be a very good way to clean and hone the surface of the disc, I'm cheap so I just use emery cloth :|

this^. lay the sheet of sandpaper on a perfectly flat surface and then run the pads over the flat sandpaper. doing this will help to keep the pads surface perfectly flat while you remove the glaze. Do the final cleaning of the rotors with brake cleaner.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I always wipe down the rotors with some brake cleaner before putting in new pads (changed many times on car, never a bike).
I was at Burly cycle this morning to get an OEM Kawi oil filter and crush washer. Guy at parts took a quick look at the rotors and said they are slightly glazed, which a lot of people get after putting in new EBC HH pads. He recommended 2 things:
1. Get to a speed of 80km or so in a large parking lot or in the boonies. Pop the clutch in (no engine brake) and use mid/gentle pressure until I am almost at a stop. Not to fully stop because I will want everything to cool down while moving.
2. Get some fine grit sand paper and horizontally scrub the rotor itself to remove the glaze. He recommended 80-100 grit and be gentle with the pressure.
I see you recommend using sand paper on the pads rather than the rotors. I am going to try just the rotors first as it doesn't involve me taking anything apart. If that doesn't work I will sand down the pads a bit.
Have you guys ever used EBC HH pads? They seem to have fantastic stopping power, but I've never had a squealing issues with 10+ pads I've put on cars before.
Thanks again!
 
Pads are relatively soft and the material is porous as it is made largely from rubberized cork, the disc is extremely hard steel and tends to polish. The glaze I sand off normally looks like foreign material on the face of the pad, kinda appears like burnt coffee stuck on there. ymmv.

.... brake cleaner evaporates extremely quick and can leave a residue that will subsequently get picked up by the pads, be careful of that.

"lay the sheet of sandpaper on a perfectly flat surface" <- that is important, you want to make the mating surfaces very flat not rounded.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I always wipe down the rotors with some brake cleaner before putting in new pads (changed many times on car, never a bike).
I was at Burly cycle this morning to get an OEM Kawi oil filter and crush washer. Guy at parts took a quick look at the rotors and said they are slightly glazed, which a lot of people get after putting in new EBC HH pads. He recommended 2 things:
1. Get to a speed of 80km or so in a large parking lot or in the boonies. Pop the clutch in (no engine brake) and use mid/gentle pressure until I am almost at a stop. Not to fully stop because I will want everything to cool down while moving.
2. Get some fine grit sand paper and horizontally scrub the rotor itself to remove the glaze. He recommended 80-100 grit and be gentle with the pressure.
I see you recommend using sand paper on the pads rather than the rotors. I am going to try just the rotors first as it doesn't involve me taking anything apart. If that doesn't work I will sand down the pads a bit.
Have you guys ever used EBC HH pads? They seem to have fantastic stopping power, but I've never had a squealing issues with 10+ pads I've put on cars before.
Thanks again!

de glaze both the rotors and pads at the same time. this is important ! doing one and not the other...will just mean you will end up being at this point again. YOU NEED TO DEGLAZE BOTH THE ROTORS AND PADS or you may end up doing the whole thing again. imo do it right once. and use some anti sqeel when you put the pads back in..
 
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had a few minutes to kill, here's the bedding-in procedure from EBC:
note the time it takes to complete the break-in, 1000 - 1500 MILES
that could take 5 years for some riders

9) Bedding in EBC pads

In Street use situations …

Best procedure is to drive gently avoiding harsh braking unless in an emergency for first 100 miles. In the second 100 miles (up to 200) you can use gently increasing brake pressures when using the brakes.

Only after 200 miles urban driving (not 200 miles on a freeway where brakes are almost unused) should you attempt to apply heavy load and heat to the brakes. To do this final bedding on a QUIET ROAD in safe traffic apply the brakes and slow from 60 to 10 MPH five times in a row. Then drive slowly for a few minutes if safe to do so to allow the brakes to cool. Try to avoid coming to a rest whilst the brakes are heated.

A smell may be noticed from the warm brakes, this is normal. Repeat this procedure a second time after the brakes have TOTALLY cooled down. EBC pads get better with miles. Even after this bed in procedure it can take up to 1500 miles before the pads are at their best. In the meantime the pads will be good and safe but true potential not realised. EBC makes performance pads that last, they do not bed in within 5 minutes driving. Noises will be more likely during the first 1000-1500 miles use whilst this chemical bedding takes place.

NEVER attempt to sand or scotchbrite brake pads to assist it bedding in or noise reduction,this will only make things worse by taking the pads “Off-Flat” and require hundreds of miles driving to seat them again during which time the brakes will feel very dull. The only way to seat pads is against the rotor they will be used on and by following our bedding recommendation.
 

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