rebuilding front calipers?

[bradc]

has anyone done this lately? is it hard to do and where do ya get the parts cheap???? haaahhhaaa of course x-mas drained pocket good

[Greg B]

I just rebuilt the front calipers on my 1150. The kit from Suzuki included pistons, O-rings for the caliper bores and the small one that goes between the caliper halves, and the dust boots. IIRC the cost was about $42 per caliper. Took all of about 20 minutes per side.
Greg B.

[rkubik]

rebuilt calipers

were the results good?

I have a squishy front brake, probably need to do both caliper and master cylinder. And replace 23 year-old brake lines...

[Greg B]

Actually I haven't gotten out to ride it yet. Lots of little loose ends to finish. I will say I also installed new braided lines, and new EBC rotors. So it ought to stop real well.
Greg B.

[sharpy]

calipars

Try clamping the brake hose off near the master cylinder and see if the brake presure builds up. That will show how much flex is in the lines

[Ghostgs1]

Hi Bradc, Rebuilding the calipers is really pretty easy and will be a good fix for sticking or leaking calipers. Bike Bandit probably has all the necessary parts. Parts aren't ever cheap, but if you rebuild them they should be good for a long time. I think it cost me about $35 per caliper for my 78 GS 1000. Ray

[crc1214]

Nothing amazes me more than the cost difference in caliper rebuild kits.

I've rebuilt calipers off of Honda bikes, and lemme tell you - those can be a real B&%* to find kits for. I had to go OEM seals and pistons both on a 81 CB650 Custom, and it was like 75 bucks per caliper!

I just got kits to rebuild my 83 GS750E, OEM from Suzuki, and pistons and seals for each caliper were only like 18 bucks! WEIRD.

Anyhow, the hardest part is getting the damned pistons out. If the pistons are seized, I suggest one method and one method only - compressed air.
And it will take about 100-120 PSI pressure to get those suckers out.

And when they come out WATCH OUT!

Clean out all the caked on grime inside the piston bore and seal recesses however you can. I prefer SOS pads for the piston bore, and I use the end of a coat hanger to clean out the ever-so-hard to clean gunk from the seal recesses. I give it a once over cleaning, then I spray brake parts cleaner in it and shoot it with compressed air. Then I repeat and repeat until there's no gunk left.

Lube the seals and new pistons with some brake fluid, re-install, and get ready to bleed, bleed, bleed.

Chad

[bradc]

thanks guys i'll give it a try,lots of good imput so not so worried now
i think i'll go oem hmmm just to avoid problems i think. how smooth do the inside of the piston walls have to be like glass?

[crc1214]

It's good you brought that question up about the bore walls.

The walls are the easiest thing to clean - the seal recesses are the hard part. However, when I get the walls and everything else clean I do take some Mother's metal polish and do a once-over on the walls to make em nice and smooth. I don't think it's 100% necessary though - it's just one of those things that make me feel like I give 110% to the job.

Some people are religious about including this step - and I read that on one of the posts on this site one time, so I just started including it in my caliper rebuilds.

[bradc]

awesome guys the mothers polish is deffently a good idea
i'm trying to find a good place to order what i need now, local suzuki dealer wants alot of money $56.00 each i think alittle excessive to me plus tax and i think even shipping some how hmmmmm think i like that place much not!!!!

[crc1214]

If you want to go the OEM route - I would suggest ordering from www.crotchrocket.com. Awesome prices and awesome schematics to view and get part #'s from, average delivery times, average customer service.

If you want to go the aftermarket route - I would suggest
www.crc2onlinecatalog.com. Awesome prices, awesome delivery times, awesome customer service.

They are in Indianapolis. If you CALL them to place your order (be patient, it may take 6 or 7 tries to get a ring), and the parts are in stock - then they will ship it out that very same day!!

I also believe that there is a place up in your neck of the woods that may be able to help you out with aftermarket stuff -

www.oldbikebarn.com I've never ordered from them, but plenty of people have from this site and seem to have good results from them.

Chad

[bradc]

awesome i'll give em a try thanks for all the help, but still might need alittle more help we'll see if the brakes work after i'm done hahahaha uhhhh ya i hope they work gulp

[Suzuki mad]

Stripped and cleaned both front and back on GS1000 and GS(X)1100 in under a day. It's usual that brakes with an anti unit are soft or spungy without are normally quiet firm with little movement on the lever. Is there air getting into the system?

Still running original rubber hoses on both without problems. Changed the master cylinder piston did help but that was a s*d to get out from the housing.

Suzuki mad
Riding and loving it
1981 GS1000E
1983 GS(X)1100ESD