What is wrong with my brakes??

[Nessism]

Tieing the lever back helps firm up the lever by giving the caliper pistons some time to migrate closer to the disc. If the caliper pistons are hanging back the lever will be hopelessly loose.

Did you use original equipment Suzuki brake caliper seals? I've seen similar problems after using crappy aftermarket K&L seal parts.

[Colin Green]

Tieing the lever back helps firm up the lever by giving the caliper pistons some time to migrate closer to the disc. If the caliper pistons are hanging back the lever will be hopelessly loose.

Did you use original equipment Suzuki brake caliper seals? I've seen similar problems after using crappy aftermarket K&L seal parts.

I have had the same problem with original piston & seal replacement kits. Maybe they should have used a wider seal to stop the roll over effect.

[JimmyR]

Yup real Suzuki piston seals. Thanks Colin - I mentioned the little fountain because of what you said. I have made a little spacer and placed it between the lever and the MC piston. It's probably 4mm. It has reduced the size of the little fountain! So now as I squeeze the lever I get a small gurgle similar to what happens on my other bike.

Lots of good tips here - I will act on these and report back. Thanks guys!

[Colin Green]

4mm packer! That should go a long way to firming your lever up.

[JimmyR]

Hey Colin - just checked your suggestion again. What I have is a little different from what you have. My MC looks exactly like yours. But I put my spacer (actually more like 3mm) between the lever and the piston. It does help get rid of the fountain though!

I tried a few things today. I have done a lot more bleeding of each caliper - no bubbles at all. I have removed the T-section from the lower triple tree and moved it around in all directions, tapping it with a mallet. I have squeezed the lever and while squeezing it released the bolt at the splitter to let some fluid out, tightened it and then released the lever. I also did that with the MC banjo bolt with my wife holding the lever. All good messy stuff. Did I mention that I hate brake fluid??

I'm stopping for the day because I'm starting to get ****ed off! I have a guy coming around this week to help with the cam chain so I will ask for his help. Maybe sometimes you gotta know when to ask for hands-on help.

[chuck hahn]

mighty vac it again. This time pump the thing till the guage is as far up as you can get it. Have the wife stand at the master and pour fluid in so it doesnt run dry. Now crack the valve open as far as you can so the vac sucks an extreme amount of fluid out of the calipers suddenly..do this a few times for each side. IF theres any air in the splitter then the sudden and rapid flow should suck it out.

[JimmyR]

Well I was going to try that Chuck but I managed to destroy my mitivac. I was trying to get the pressure up and it just imploded. Plus it leaks air at the bleeder anyway. When I used it before it always pulled in air at the bleeder and looked like you had bubbles even if you didn't.

Anyway I have a horrible feeling that Colin is right. I just bled my rear brake and it took all of 2 minutes. Piece of cake. The feel is good and firm. I notice with my new front MC that even when I am pushing out bubble-free fluid that there is not the same amount of fluid coming out nor does it rush out like it should. So I suspect that I might not have bubbles in the lines but the piston in the MC is too small. I do have some pressure, and it is enough to turn on the hydraulic brake light. But there is no way I would consider the bike safe to ride like this.

[JimmyR]

In case anyone is interested, my brakes are now fixed. The problem may be of interest to those who are having similar issues. I had bled the brakes perfectly I am pleased to say, but in reassembling them after completely overhauling them I overlooked the way the bolts that join the two halves together were oriented.

The inside part of the caliper which holds the pads has two slightly different sliding parts (no idea what they would be called!) into which the bolts go. Once slid into the cailper there is a rubber boot which goes over the exposed end and then the piston side of the caliper is bolted to these two bits. The two sliding bits have a 2 flattened sides on the very ends into which the bolts go. You can't see the flattened sides when the rubber boots cover them. So I thought I had aligned the flattened sides with the piston side of the calipers when I put everything together, but apparently I hadn't.

Once we aligned them everything worked properly. The calipers joined up better and now I will be able to stop. To be honest the way these brakes work is beyond me - I have tried to work it out but can't! But at least they now do work. I only mention this in case someone out there some day has the same problem. It's one more thing to check.

[Colin Green]

In case anyone is interested, my brakes are now fixed. The problem may be of interest to those who are having similar issues. I had bled the brakes perfectly I am pleased to say, but in reassembling them after completely overhauling them I overlooked the way the bolts that join the two halves together were oriented.

The inside part of the caliper which holds the pads has two slightly different sliding parts (no idea what they would be called!) into which the bolts go. Once slid into the cailper there is a rubber boot which goes over the exposed end and then the piston side of the caliper is bolted to these two bits. The two sliding bits have a 2 flattened sides on the very ends into which the bolts go. You can't see the flattened sides when the rubber boots cover them. So I thought I had aligned the flattened sides with the piston side of the calipers when I put everything together, but apparently I hadn't.

Once we aligned them everything worked properly. The calipers joined up better and now I will be able to stop. To be honest the way these brakes work is beyond me - I have tried to work it out but can't! But at least they now do work. I only mention this in case someone out there some day has the same problem. It's one more thing to check.

Ahh! I hadn't even thought of the problem being at the calipers. Can't say that I have experienced that particular problem, though potential caliper resistance problems due to lack of (or use of wrong) grease on the slide pins has been discussed here before. You need to use an extreme heat resistance type grease like 'Copper Slip' on the slide pins.

Pleased to hear you got it all sorted out and are closer to getting her out on the road, but I wouldn't have thought that would have caused excessive lever travel. How is the lever feel and travel now?

Got any pictures of her?

[JimmyR]

Lever feel is good. Not as good as the lever on my other bike which has a 6-pot PF brake, but pretty good. There are pics on my GS1100G rebuild thread. Right now it looks as bad as it ever has because I have the original tank and seat on it ready for rego. It's not good!

What the hell = I'll go take a pic of the front wheel for you...

[chuck hahn]

Jimmy...next time if the vac sucks air around the bleeder nipple, try putting a few wraps of teflon tape on the threads..seals them so air doesnt get sucked past the threads. More suction power goes to the lines and masters.

[JimmyR]

That's a very good idea - thanks! I just put a new petcock in my "new" tank and used some teflon tape on the bolts just in case.