Front Brakes

[Anonymous]

Today my front brakes started sticking when i was riding home from work. The bad part i was 55 miles from home when it first happened.
I had to loosen the banjo bolt on the caliper to get the brakes to release. When i got home i took the calipers off to see if the pads were screwed up and they were not. So i put them back on but i cant get any presure now. I bled and bled and bled some more but i cant get any presure in the brake handle. I cleaned the master cyclinder out because the fluid did not look the best, refilled it and tried to bleed the brakes again but i get nothing. I cant even get any fluid to come out the bleeder valves now. So i think I am in need of a new master cyclinder for my front brakes now. Where would be the best place to look for one for a decent price? OR does somebody have on laying around they want to sell for an 83GS750ES. Thanks.

[Rico]

Man I would take the master cyl apart, clean it and reassemble.

Then go on down the line twords the calipers.

Before my trip I had some brake problems and there was not a rebuild kit in sight. SO I just did the "big clean" on the master cyl. only using brake fluid as solvent. I put it all back together and I got brakes.

just my story
Rico

[IanFrancisco]

Took me a lot of pumping on the brake lever to get pressure built up after I replaced pads and flushed the system. My brakes were sticking after I bought a bike that had been stored for years. The pads looked OK but I replaced em anyway. Had a heck of a time compressing the piston back into the caliper to make room for the new pads. I wanted the caliper to be moving back and forth on a different spot than the one where it sat for years, hence the new pads.

I agree that the master cylinder probably just needs to be cleaned. Why would it work fine then quit while you were bleeding your brakes?

[Anonymous]

I took the master cyclinder all apart and cleaned it out with with brake fluid and brake cleaner and put it back together and remounted it back on the bike. I have pumped and pumped the handle but cant get any presure in the brake handle. I gonna mess with it some more today.

[Detman101]

I took the master cyclinder all apart and cleaned it out with with brake fluid and brake cleaner and put it back together and remounted it back on the bike. I have pumped and pumped the handle but cant get any presure in the brake handle. I gonna mess with it some more today.

I did the same thing this weekend and can't get any pressure at the master cylinder lever.

Someone told me that I need to "Bleed the master cylinder" by taking off the banjo bolt at the master cylinder and sticking my finger over the hole and squeezing the lever until the fluid starts to come out of the spigot leading off of the master cylinder where the banjo bolt hooks into it.

I tried it for about 5 minutes but my brake lever won't come all the way back out to where it gets a full squeeze. It only comes out about halfway like the spring is stuck or something. I took apart the Master Cylinder and cleaned out the little spooge holes like it says here....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?s=c5a9ccbd57c887b88b1d45afc0910bc2&threadid=14

But I still can't get the "piston" off because I can't find this "Snap-ring" that the clymers manual talks about. I think that I can't see it because the piston spring will not fully extend and the piston is halfway stuck inside the MC housing.

Any advice anyone?

[Detman101]

Slow pressure buildup on front brakes

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There was a bit of a thread on this on the mail list. My experience was that my front brakes would slowly build pressure (over one to three days) even though I had avoided using them, except when absolutely necessary. I had cleaned the calipers, changed the pads, bled the system well and (I thought) cleaned the master cylinder well.

The problem lies in the master cylinder. With the top off the master cylinder (as well as the rubber diaphragm inside) you can see two holes in the bottom of the master cylinder. You can see the holes best if you remove the plastic reservoir that is held in place by an O-ring. To remove the plastic reservoir just twist and pull and, if necessary, pry gently with a broad, flat screwdriver, being careful not to damage the plastic.

The holes must be clean. The larger of the two, located closest to the mirror, is relatively easy to clean and to see. The other hole, farthest from the mirror, is within a small, scallop-shaped depression in the surface of the master cylinder. The first time I cleaned the master cylinder I missed it and the problem persisted. The second time, I managed to open the hole by reaming it with a 0.008" wire (a piano wire). This started the hole and I completed the cleaning with a 0.014" piano wire that seemed to just fit perfectly. I re-washed the entire unit in solvent and reassembled. It primed and bled easier and the slow pressure buildup no longer occurred.[/size]