78 GS850 Front brakes locked up

[Guest]

I just got a call from my friend who has a 78 GS850. He told me the front brakes locked up. Sounds like a brake rebuild is in order.
Where do I get the parts? Pads I can find; where can I find the kits to rebuild the calipers?
Thanks, kk

[mark]

Before you rebuild the calipers, make sure that you've checked and cleaned your master cylinder. Sometimes with a locked brake, the problem is not with the caliper at all, the passages that release pressure at the master cylinder can malfunction or get blocked.

[koolaid_kid]

Thanks, I'll check that first. I doubt that he has changed the fluid since he bought the bike earlier this year.

[Wingnut]

Did he just put brake pads on? If the caliper slide pins are not bolted on correctly they will bind things up. There is a flat side on the slide pin flange that needs to meet up with a flat on the caliper housing.

[rphillips]

The front brake on my GS 1100 started tightening up, on the way home last sat. I stopped at a buddy's house, borrowed a screwdriver, and pryed the two halves of the brake caliper apart. didn't touch the front brake again, & all was well the rest of the way home. At home I took one of the four slide pins out, & it looked pretty grungy. I cleaned it greased it, put grease in the hole it goes in, and put it back in. One at a time, I removed, cleaned, & greased all four of them. Everything back to normal, brakes working fine. I'd heard this could happen, but it's the first time I've seen it.