(PBR, Curling, Crak 600) I'm an idiot : Motorcycle Brakes!!!!!!!!!!

[patsfan1379]

yup ebc's. I also ordered a vac bleeder so I dont mess it up.

god this better be ready for saturday. i got a 200 mile ride!!!

 

[curling]

See, that is the same thing my shop try to blame it on too. But all air would cause it to do is to not have brake(you know the lever will go all the way to the grip and you have to pump it to get brake) I mean how could air lock it. I still think there is something wrong with the piston in the caliper. Be safe petsfan.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

Curling, air in the lines can do interesting things to brakes. In a car it's going to be more of a constant thing, as the lines are a lot longer. In a bike, there's such a short distance for that air to travel that it might not seem like there's air in the lines yet there is.

A friend has a TL1000R. Hydraulic clutches on those bikes. He had to do something to it and ended up disconnecting the line and then flushing the clutch fluid. He messed with it for hours and the clutch was giving him a lot of issues. He put the vaccuum thing on it 5 different times before he finally got the air out of the line.

 

[curling]

Curling, air in the lines can do interesting things to brakes. In a car it's going to be more of a constant thing, as the lines are a lot longer. In a bike, there's such a short distance for that air to travel that it might not seem like there's air in the lines yet there is.

.

I know that. Sometimes the brakes would work and sometimes they won't with air in line but I don't think it would EVER make the brakes lock up. I mean the fluid is what puts presure on the pistons to come out so without fluid there would be no brake which it means it couldn't lock.

Another question for you on the clutch. My wheelies are getting harder to come up could a weak clutch be causing that? But I don't feel any slippage btw

 

[Buddy_Christ]

I know that. Sometimes the brakes would work and sometimes they won't with air in line but I don't think it would EVER make the brakes lock up. I mean the fluid is what puts presure on the pistons to come out so without fluid there would be no brake which it means it couldn't lock.

Another question for you on the clutch. My wheelies are getting harder to come up could a weak clutch be causing that? But I don't feel any slippage btw

You could be wearing it down. Have you tried adjusting it yet?

You know what brake fade is, right? When you use the brakes aggressively repeatedly in a short period of time and they heat to high hell and your next stop isn't all that great. Anyway, you can get the same thing with a clutch, but unlike brakes, once the clutch cools down it doesn't want to go away as much.

Try an adjustment on the cable if you're burning the clutch a lot. How many miles are on the bike? Some people end up replacing clutches every 12K miles if they're extremely aggressive on them.

 

[patsfan1379]

OK, I put the old pads in last night and again started pumping the lever. I can hear and see the right caliper compressing and releasing, but the left one is still "grabbing" on the disc. So hopefully that eliminates the Master Cylinder as the problem point.

 

[curling]

I would replace the left one then. I am not sure how much they are but it would be worth it. That caliper must be warped where the piston moves which makes it stick coming back in.

Like you said at least it saves you from buying the right one and the master cyclinder and the brake line.

Crak I have about15k miles on the bike so far and I am very hard on the clutch. I probably pop anywhere from 20 to 30 wheelies everytimes I ride it. So I guess it is time for a new clutch. Do you think barnett is that much better than oem?

 

[patsfan1379]

I would replace the left one then. I am not sure how much they are but it would be worth it. That caliper must be warped where the piston moves which makes it stick coming back in.

Like you said at least it saves you from buying the right one and the master cyclinder and the brake line.

Crak I have about15k miles on the bike so far and I am very hard on the clutch. I probably pop anywhere from 20 to 30 wheelies everytimes I ride it. So I guess it is time for a new clutch. Do you think barnett is that much better than oem?

I have bids on eBay for stock "direct bolt on" calipers from an '02 which I will most likely rebuild and install.

 

[curling]

How much?

 

[Buddy_Christ]

OK, I put the old pads in last night and again started pumping the lever. I can hear and see the right caliper compressing and releasing, but the left one is still "grabbing" on the disc. So hopefully that eliminates the Master Cylinder as the problem point.

And she's fully bled, right? If one caliper is working and the other isn't, then it's down to one of 2 things - either the one caliper has a problem OR there's a blockage in the brake line. If you have not removed the brake lines yet and checked them to see if there's a blockage, I suggest you do so. A brake line is a lot cheaper than a caliper. Just trying to get you to fully eliminate any other possible problem before you spend money that you don't need to spend.


Curling - I couldn't see a caliper warping. Not enough heat generated inside the caliper to warp anything. Rotors can warp, yes, but you'd have to take a blow torch to the caliper to make it warp.


Patsfan - if you're going to get new calipers and rebuild them, why not just rebuild the ones that are on the bike now? Save yourself some money, unless you want to have a spare set around now, which I don't see much reason for.


Curling - I've been told Barnett makes better than OEM clutches by a few people, so I'd say go for it. If you want to save clutch life a little, the next time you replace your chain and sprockets, get a rear sprocket when 3 more teeth than the original. It'll make it to where you can just rip the throttle and power the bike up without a problem. You'll also take off a bit faster. If you still have to clutch it in 2nd (or 3rd) to pull it up, you won't have to be as aggressive.