Honda, you thieving bar-stewards - part deux

Having decided to just 'rebuild the bloody thing' anyway yesterday evening,
I popped down to my friendly (1) local Honda dealer this morning to order a
piston kit for the rear brake master cylinder for the VFR.

So... how much do you reckon this was, together with two small exhaust
clamps for where the rear downpipes meet the main system, and two gaskets
for the same joints?

I would have suggest a reasonable price would have been £45ish.

Just a shade under *£90* ffs, and for that you don't even get the bolts to
do the clamps up with.

I had to change the front discs and pads, and a rear wheel bearing on the
Nova last week and got change from £45, and yes, I appreciate the concept of
'the economy of scale', but I still reckon Honda are taking the piss.

(1) I say friendly - he always greets me with a smile now, which I'm sure is
nothing to do with the distinct possibility I'm about to be torn yet another
new arsehole. ;-)

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

Damn right

 

Through gritted teeth, thinking 'here comes that pikey **** again who
thinks everything should be half price'

 

£5 for the Merc, Mister?

Slitting me own throat an all that...

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

oops just read your other thread, looks like you tried DS (or thought
about it) already.

As you were.

 

Had a look on their website last night - by the time I'd paid the postage
they'd have been dearer.

However, I agree... they're very reasonable on some parts, as in, cheaper in
some instances for original Honda stuff than I've seen it go for secondhand
on eBay.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

Careful, I'm tempted if it's cash

 

The bike stood for about two years before I bought it and it's therefore not
unreasonable to assume, given the symptoms before I made things worse,
suggested that the seals might have started to deteriorate in that time.

Mechanic matey whose workshop I'm using also reckoned it could be partly
down to an inefficient master cylinder, so I might as well do them, not
least because if I get the job I'm going for on Monday, I'll be using it to
do a reasonable commute on.

FWIW, the braking bits were £40s worth of the bill today, the other £49 was
for the exhaust bits.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

Depends on your riding style.

Especially around town.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

<reaches down the back of the sofa>

Ew... I think Whinging Courier has left his calling card.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

Um, no, not really.

I think your mechanic matey's advice is best ignored.

 

I'll have the bestest brakes in the world when they're done.

Oh, and FOYRNB! ;-)

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl

 

I had a bit of trouble with the front brake on the hill climb Morini
earlier this year. I put a new braided line on it and worked through
loads of new fluid. Seemed fine if a little wooden, but after the first
snowy Hartland the lever went floppy and wasn't returning properly.

I thought might have to do a caliper and master cylinder rebuild
(Grimeca with seals at least 20 years old). Many sequences of caliper
piston nearly popped out then forced back in followed by another load of
new fluid got it working properly again (as well as they ever did
anyway). Still a bit wooden, but I'm told braided lines sometimes have
that effect on older stuff. I have some new pads to try next season, but
you can only get Goldfren these days which aren't highly rated.


--
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Might be grot/corrosion behind the seals?

The rear brake on my Pan definitely had a very wooden feel to it when I
got it. Since I don't use it much it didn't really bother me but I did
think that the caliper/pistons could do with some attention at some
time. It passed MOT's ok so again I didn't really worry about it. Then
one day I decided the brake pedal spindle itself looked like it could
with a bit of lube. Sprayed some stuff on it and now the rear brake's
got some feel to it. Why don't I look for the simple things first?

 

The master cylinder moving parts all move freely when there is no fluid
in the system. I don't particularly want to do a full master cylinder
and caliper strip if I can help it, but it may come to it. The last
time the master cylinder was done (by a dealer) it took ages to settle
down. Such a job is a bit beyond 'simple' for me. The brake wasn't
wooden before I put the braided line on and worked pretty well. Just
didn't fancy relying on a 25 year old hose.
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

You're a fool, I offered a grand the other week and got no response

 

If they had, it'd be leaking fluid.

 

When I had to have the master cylinder seals done on the Morini years
ago IIRC there was no leakage at all. It was just crap (well more than
usual) and no amount of bleeding would sort it out.

--
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest * 2 Yamaha WR250Z |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+----------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Possibly gunge in 'oles, but you'll see it as you strip it.

Probably that the seals are a bit past their best, and lost their knife
edge, which is to be expected on anything more than a couple of years
old. Seal kits, especially for master cylinders, aren't fitted often
enough, and should be regarded as high-mileage service items.
Fortunately, such is the design of seals that applied pressure spreads
them out against the cylinder wall, for which lazy cunts can be truly
grateful. This results in a bit of lost motion though, which he probably
means.

 

Ok... going back to why I originally decided to fettle the system, is
because the bite on the brakes when you applied the rear was woefully
inadequate but consistent - having only recently sold on the ex SteveH VFR
which had superb brakes all round, I know what they should feel like when in
good health, hence why I knew for sure the rear on this one isn't 100%.

So that's why I went down the route refurbishing the rear caliper... and now
we have this issue, which it does sound like is to do with air in the
system, but rather than keep doing one part then finding they still don't
work properly, I've decided for the sake of £40 for the piston kit, I'm
eliminating what could still be part of the problem.

Hopefully, that'll be the end of it on Tuesday, as that's when the parts are
due to arrive, and I can fit them.

--
JackH

98 Honda VFR800FiW
05 Sachs Madass
03 VW Passat TDI Sport
89 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 Pearl