Front Brake is tight

[Anonymous]

Recently purchased 82 GS450T, and it's GREAT! However, I noticed that my front disk brake is tight. When up on the center stand, and on it's back wheel, the front whell does not spin much at all. Also the front brake is VERY responsive. The Haynes manual has little/no advice on loosening the front caliper. Any advice?

[focus frenzy]

the one main draw back with disc brakes is the fact that they drag.
with disc brakes there is no mechanism to retract the pads, so they rub against the disc.
now if the drag increases as you ride and use the brake, you have a master cylinder piston that is not retracting all the way and bleeding the presure that bulds up as the fluid warms up.

[redliner1973]

Clean and flush the Master Cylinder. Sounds like the check valve in it is getting clogged.

[Anonymous]

If you don't get good results from those suggestions, you probably need to rebuild the front calipers. Typical on these old bikes, more often then not the brake fluid is decades old. Eventually, if the caliper is clogged up, you won't be able to move the bike around without using the engines power. To add to the flame, unless something happened to cause the rear brakes to be drained, you will get the same thing on the rear caliper before too long.

[redliner1973]

midnight is right on there, too. Most people never change the brake fluid on bikes ( and cars, for that matter, too). try the flush first, then go from there...

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. I like the idea of bleed 1st and rebuild later. I'll give it a shot here soon. Fortunately, my back brake is a drum, and I won't have to worry about all this stuff twice.

Chip

[Don Lobacz]

You should spray all inside the caliper (where the pads are) with brake cleaner to remove dirt, grease and brake dust (wear safety goggles). You should then smack the caliper body inwards on the big round caliper body with a rubber hammer (don't hit the bleed valve). This should loosen up the binding on the disc, but it will be only temporary if there is jellified fluid or the cylinder has buildup in it (If it doesn't loosen up, then the relief hole up in the master cylinder is plugged). Pump the brakes to retighten the caliper and see if it loosens up better than before. Repeat the brake cleaner and smacking a few more times if you are seeing results.

[Poot]

I also found that my rear wheel is hard to turn......is this unusual?

Brake fluid is brand new...

[argonsagas]

This condition is quite common, and often is very easily resolved.

Before doing the work mentioned above, park the bike in front of an auto parts store, then go in and buy a can of spray brake cleaner.

When the bike is back home, place a bunch of newspapers or something else at least as absorbent, then spray the brakes thoroughly. Let it run away black.

This stuff makes a mess, but it evaporates VERY quickly, and it is not good for you, so stay upwind of it when spraying.

You may be lucky and find this is all you need to do. The brake pads commonly collect worn bits and dirt, and it eventually builds up enough to grab.....the spray releases and washes it away.


My GS1100G was just like you described when I got it.
I might not have noticed it, except that the battery went dead and I tried topush the bike, and couldn't. Even on a slight downhill slope, the bike would not roll unless I kept on pushing it, and I could not get it to move fast enough to start. Ended up getting a battery boost.

At home the spray cleaned it off, and the bike moved easily.