Brake calipers

Anyone have any hints on disassembling single sided brake callipers? The
front brake on the Revere is binding.

Ta, Bill

 

Just spray the crap out of everything with Silicone spray Bill. A few
stops and it'll burn off the bits it's not s'posed to be on.

 

You may avoid a complete disass. by just forcing the piston/s out far
enough to clean the seals. (toothbrush and some cleaner..be gentle on
the seals).

Remove caliper off discs then pump brake to slowly move piston out.
This will expose clean piston and allow you to get the grunge off the
seal/piston interface.

make sure the top reservoir does not go too low and allow air into the
system.

Then press piston back by hand and place on disc. Completely flush
through new fluid.

 

Cleaning them with brake spray as they are stripped and an assembly with
silicon spray or a smear of fresh fluid and then a good bleed usually
sorts them , if they are going west you normally get a spongy feeling
and a sick stomach about the same time
If you are unsure then pay someone competent

 

Pfft! Lever, piston, pipe, piston(s), pads, disk(s). What could be
simpler?
Has anyone you know ever suffered a genuine (problem-causing)
brake-failure? (Apart from maybe a snapped cable on a drum)

 

Yes
It's a sickening feeling - similar to accidentally opening the
throttle wide as hell.
I'm with Moike - don't play with this shit unless you know exactly
what you are doing.

 

Plize exploin.

 

Erm... brake failure is no fun at any speed..?

 

George, I have to disagree with you there,
In times gone by, and I am only going back 30 - 40 years, there was no such
thing as a motorcycle mechanic, an owner had to do any repairs himself or
take it to a motor car garage and get the mechanic there to fix the problem,
or attempt to fix it.
No-one knew knew exactly what they were doing, they learned along the way.
Most repairs were done by the owner at home and that was where you learned
about how the bloody thing worked, or didn't want to work.
You madew a lot opf misteaks, but in all, you got your bike going one way or
another.
You pulled things apart and learned how it went together, you read up books
written by others who had the same or similar problems and you fixed it.

In saying that, I am, not suggesting that everyone starts fixing their
broken or near broken bike, I am saying that look at and try to work things
out yourself.
You will save a lot of money that way and also learn about how bikes work
and run.

Also, given that, there are some riders out there who wouldn't have a clue
how to fix anything

 

Neither are old wives' tales

 

Yeah fair enough George. I can relate to a lot of what you are saying.
I also know that brake failure is bad for your health. Time bombs like
using the wrong cleaners, wrong fluid, leaky joints, contaminated
fluid (air or dirt et al) are all things that all too often creep up
on you when you least expect them, ask anyone who has spent a decent
amount of time in a repair shop. Then there are the mistakes that are
just plain expensive like incorrect assembly, mis-wired electrics...
I learned a lot of what I know through trial and error too, but I
suggest that things like brakes should not be treated with cavalier
arrogance (and ignorance) as suggested elsewhere in this thread.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:45:32 +1100

What?

it is now 2010. 30 years ago was, I regret to inform you, 1980.
Rather a lot of motorcycle mechanics around in 1982 when I started
riding, can't believe they all sprung up in 2 years?

Even 40 years was 1970. Now it might be that there weren't massive
numbers of motorcycle shops with mechanics in Oz then, but considering
there were ones in the 1920s there had to be some.

Hey Theo, when did Ted Stolarski start? Pitmans in Adelaide dates
from at least the mid 70s, ditto The Bike Factory. I'm pretty sure
Central had been in business since the mid 50s.

Then there's all the ads in my early 70s copies of 2 Wheels for shops
and people offering service.

Even in country towns!

So better sigh, count the grey hairs, and change the whine to "50-60
years, in country towns"

(Because in those aforementioned 70s mags are ads for places
announcing they've been in the motorcycle business for 20 years...)

Zebee

 

When I was living in Unzud in the 1960's the local bike shop in Petone
had started just post war , the same owners until the retired around
1970 and several of the larger shops in Wellington had traded from the
1920's. I would expect the same in Au

 

I bought my first Guzzi from Ted in 1976, but he was supplying
scooters (real Italian ones) to Perth City parking Insoectors for at
least 15 years before that.

I can't agree with that Zebee. My country town, Northam, with a
population of 8000, had two motorcycle shops, both with excellent
mechanics, in the mid-fifties. That's 65 years ago and they were both
well-established businesses.

Theo

 

I witnessed a sidecar race where a rotor shattered at Wanneroo
raceway. The outfit didn't make the corner. I spoke to the driver
afterwards, John Bertina, I worked with his Brother Hans for 25 years
at NCR.

Theo

 

Pal & Panther in North Perth has been in business for three
generations, since 1928.

Theo

 

I bought my first Guzzi from Ted in 1976, but he was supplying
scooters (real Italian ones) to Perth City parking Insoectors for at
least 15 years before that.

I can't agree with that Zebee. My country town, Northam, with a
population of 8000, had two motorcycle shops, both with excellent
mechanics, in the mid-fifties. That's 65 years ago and they were both
well-established businesses.

Theo


***********************


Shit, what happened to the past 10 years?
you have us in 2020 already Theo.

 

Maybe I should have explained what I meant,
I presumed everyone would understand
although there are some who don't want to understand or even try to

What was meant, was that 30 - 40 years ago,
there was no fully qualified motorcycle mechanics around, they were all self
taught and learned from their experiences.
Ands by fully qualified, I mean Trade School taught,
there was no official training course for motorcycle mechanics.

There may have been motorcycle shops and motorcycle repair shops, but they
didn't have full Trade School training

 

I witnessed a sidecar race where a rotor shattered at Wanneroo
raceway. The outfit didn't make the corner. I spoke to the driver
afterwards, John Bertina, I worked with his Brother Hans for 25 years
at NCR.

Theo]

**************

That was luxury to ride in an outfit with hydraulic disk brakes
I learned on a pre-unit Triumph with drum brakes and the luxury of the day,
was to have twin leading shoes.

 

Of there were correctly trained bike mechanics , either ex factory or ex
military remember many were European hence trained