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Spent most of the day going through the brakes on my 81 GS750E. I'd noticed the pads were dragging a little, so I opted to pull the calipers and give them a good looking at. Well... let me tell you... I'm glad I did. I may have also solved my "Fuel Economy" question from last week too, but I digress.
Folks, If you haven't inspected the calipers on your bike in a while (or ever) -- you really ought to consider it -- especially those of you getting a bike that sat a while on the road again. There was considerable corrosion and rust and gummy old brake fluid in all of these parts. I'm just amazed the bike would actually stop with all the crud I removed from these parts. Brake pads need to be able to relax when the brake lever is released, and none of mine were. I'm sure, after close inspection, that most of this corrosion occured just from road spray from the outside (carrying dirt and such) and moisture in the brake fluid working from the inside out. At $200 bucks a pop for new calipers, I wasn't far from this potential. So, I took everything apart (front and rear) and even the rear master cylinder, which was really ugly. It's all better now, but I really didn't expect this much corrosion on a low milage bike that's never really been neglected. But apparently, it was.
Food for thought when you go to replace your pads next time. You can, as I did, just take all of these parts apart and (if still good) reuse the old seals and dust boots. I'll probably order some kits and do a winter rebuild with new parts, but surprisingly they were is really good shape when I cleaned them up in fresh brake fluid. It's amazing how much better it (rolls) now that I've done this. And stops.
Cheers,
Roger Moore
Folks, If you haven't inspected the calipers on your bike in a while (or ever) -- you really ought to consider it -- especially those of you getting a bike that sat a while on the road again. There was considerable corrosion and rust and gummy old brake fluid in all of these parts. I'm just amazed the bike would actually stop with all the crud I removed from these parts. Brake pads need to be able to relax when the brake lever is released, and none of mine were. I'm sure, after close inspection, that most of this corrosion occured just from road spray from the outside (carrying dirt and such) and moisture in the brake fluid working from the inside out. At $200 bucks a pop for new calipers, I wasn't far from this potential. So, I took everything apart (front and rear) and even the rear master cylinder, which was really ugly. It's all better now, but I really didn't expect this much corrosion on a low milage bike that's never really been neglected. But apparently, it was.
Food for thought when you go to replace your pads next time. You can, as I did, just take all of these parts apart and (if still good) reuse the old seals and dust boots. I'll probably order some kits and do a winter rebuild with new parts, but surprisingly they were is really good shape when I cleaned them up in fresh brake fluid. It's amazing how much better it (rolls) now that I've done this. And stops.
Cheers,
Roger Moore
as is many of yours too -- I'd bet. Brake fluid has a "NATURAL" tendancy to collect moisture, so 20 years of that and wal-la - scary brakes.
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