Clean Brake Calipers

[gsxbarmy]

HOW TO Clean Brake Calipers

NOTE: This thread is also available to download as a PDF file from the Downloads (General) Section

WARNING:  If you are not sure ask questions before tackling anything SAFETY CRITICAL such as brakes, ask a more experienced friend to come and lend a hand the first time, but with care and a methodical approach, almost anyone can clean and check their calipers.

I thoroughly recommend a workshop manual before you start fiddling with your bike, it is invaluable for wear limits and torque settings, and the photographs speak a thousand words when you have forgotten where the pile of bits lying on the floor came from!

A nice clean work area and if you have to sit on the floor get yourself a cushion for your poor little bum. A container with clean water and a paint brush for cleaning the calipers I find ordinary bike cleaner (like muck off) does a good job of the cleaning, if the calipers are particularly crusty the Meguiar’s alloy wheel cleaner does a great job but you do need to wash it off swiftly and thoroughly.



So we take the brake pads out first for inspection and to enable us to remove the caliper from the fork leg. (if you intend to put the old pads back in, it is a good idea to make sure you know where they came from so you can replace them into the same side of the same caliper, doing one caliper at a time helps with this task).



Now take a good look at your pads, they should still have the wear grooves showing and they should both be worn evenly, if one is worn markedly more than the other you have problems with sticking pistons (that may need a bit more effort to free off but more of that later) as you can see my pads still have plenty of meat on them and are worn nice and evenly. Minimum thickness specifications are shown in the workshop manual if you are not sure.



Now we can remove the caliper from the fork leg, do not twist or strain the brake hose and do not allow the caliper to hang from the hose, keep the caliper supported at all times (a bit of string between caliper and handle bar if you get disturbed and need to leave the job for a while).



Filthy caliper yuck! Now I squirt on the motorcycle cleaner (muck off etc.) and give it a good scrubbing with my paint brush and then a good scrub around the pistons using an old tooth brush using plenty of clean water to rinse the cleaner and dirt off. Aerosol brake cleaners may help with the final cleaning if you still have hard to shift filth.



Once clean I use my fingers to push the pistons back in to the caliper body as far as they will go, they should slide easily if they are clean and in good condition, I would not attempt to push rusty pistons back into the caliper as doing so will damage the seals (not good, refer to manual and experienced friend if you have rusty pistons).



When pushing one piston in it is quite common for another to attempt to come, out this is to be avoided by developing fingers like octopus tentacles and keeping an eye on all six pistons at the same time (taking the fluid reservoir cap off can help reduce pressure but if the same pads are going back in is not always necessary) if a piston is sticky a g clamp can be used across the piston and caliper body to help push it back. Be gentle and do not operate the brake lever without the pads and something the same thickness as the disk in the caliper as you could cause a piston to pop out (not a total disaster but will require the system to be bleed of the air you just let in!)



So the caliper is nice and clean, all the pistons move in and out smoothly, all that remains is to put it back on, whilst servicing this time I thought I would change the Nasty Crusty standard caliper body screws for some nice shiny S/S ones that I bought off e-bay. I use copaslip where ever possible, that way hopefully I only struggle to disassemble things the first time and all subsequent work is relatively free of stuck fasteners (copaslip is particularly important when using S/S fastenings in aluminium).



I also always use a torque wrench on all safety critical components (and delicate expensive ones!) and recommend you get one if you want to do this sort of work yourself (one buggered thread with the agro of getting a repair/helicoil/weld and it would have paid for itself) some people have a knack for tightening things by “feel” and are very good at it, most people tend to over tighten and are surprised when a thread strips.



I then replaced the caliper body screws one at a time remembering both the copper slip and the torque wrench.
Then it is time to put the pads back in (remembering what side of the disc they came from and replacing them in the same side!) copper slip on the pad retaining pin, refit the anti-rattle shim and lastly give the brake lever a few pumps to bring the pads back into contact with the disk (you don’t want to forget this bit as it will scare the sh*t out of you on your first ride and can end in disaster).

Stand back and admire shiny clean caliper that I now know is working fine.



One down one to go, exactly the same with the other side.
I like to do this to my calipers at least twice a year, at the end of winter to thoroughly wash all the salt away, and at the end of summer ready for the crappy weather when sticking substandard brakes are a nightmare.

Playing like this with your bike lets you get to know it better, gets you to clean it better, gives you a better chance of spotting things that need attention before they let you down or cause more problems. And it’s a pleasant way to spend your time rather than rotting away in front of the box.

[Del]

I find Mr Sheen polish is great as it has a form of degreaser in it

[Noddy]

Great article. What calliper bolts did you use and what grade stainless steel are they?

[gsxbarmy]

Personally I used the Stainless caliper bolts from Probolt for the caliper body and the Titanium ones for bolting the caliper to the fork slider.

Caliper bolts (Front):
https://www.pro-bolt.com/stainless-steel-front-brake-caliper-pinch-bolt-set-6ssfbcalip20.html
Caliper bolts (Rear):
https://www.pro-bolt.com/stainless-steel-rear-brake-caliper-pinch-bolt-set-3ssrbcalip30.html

Caliper to Fork Slider Mount Bolts:
https://www.pro-bolt.com/titanium-front-brake-caliper-mount-bolt-kit-26-1.html
Caliper Rear Mount Bolts:
https://www.pro-bolt.com/titanium-rear-brake-caliper-mount-bolt-kit-116.html

UPDATE October 2021: Probolt have re-numbered some of their kits
- Front stainless Brake Caliper Pinch Kit (x8) Part ref:SSFBCALIP20
- Front stainless mounting bolt kit (x4) Part ref:SSFBMON90

[MarkN]

Great article, better than a Haynes manual know what I'll be doing this weekend

[Basil Brush]

I'll vouch for the twice a year rule. Normally I never do the mileage to need doing twice. I find they start to feel 'wooden' and go off mid-summer.

Again - I'll give a shout for Mr Sheen. Great stuff. Spray on. Leave. Wipe off with a microfibre cloth. It just eats all the dirt outside the callipers.

Top article...

[Hooli]

Car alloy wheel cleaner gets 99% of the crud off with little effort, just scrub it on with a paint brush. It's designed to remove brake dust from alloy stuff after all.

I'd also recommend a dab of thread lock on the pad retaining pin as over the years I've now had two fall out.

[Jambo]

This thread is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

I actually have done the cleaning as showned. But the brakes are still grabbing on to tight. The callipers were so dirty. I spent 2 days scrubbing and still they were far from perfect shine.

So I decided to rebuild both front callipers. What you guys think. The bike has 66000km, never has it been done I suspect and neither has it ever been clean properlly on previous brake pad changes. All the dirt which accumulated has been pushed in through the seals...and that is a no no.

Do I have to order the Nº 3 which is part Nº 59100-40870-000? that would be the correct set, wouldn't it?

Cheers

[KiwiCol]

What do you mean 'grabbing on too tight'?  Are they not releasing when you let go of the brake lever? or are they 'severe' & snatchy?

Either way, I'd be inclined to strip apart n have a look inside, might be full of gunk, seen it before on another thread on these.  The pistons are most likely to be OK, just seal / overhaul kit at hand then strip down.

[Nic]

I recently put 4 pot calipers on mine, today I thought I'd see what's what with the 6 potters, pistons are rooted, seals look ok but at around $300 for pistons I don't think I'm gonna refurb these ones.

[Jambo]

What do you mean 'grabbing on too tight'?  Are they not releasing when you let go of the brake lever? or are they 'severe' & snatchy?

Either way, I'd be inclined to strip apart n have a look inside, might be full of gunk, seen it before on another thread on these.  The pistons are most likely to be OK, just seal / overhaul kit at hand then strip down.

What I meant by grabbing too much is, with the wheel of the ground, it's kind of hard to spin it. Shouldn't it slightly grad the disk? They seems to brake fine with two fingers only!

Thanks for the tip. I will just perform a complete service and change the boots and seals!

Cheers

[Andre]

What do you mean 'grabbing on too tight'?  Are they not releasing when you let go of the brake lever? or are they 'severe' & snatchy?

Either way, I'd be inclined to strip apart n have a look inside, might be full of gunk, seen it before on another thread on these.  The pistons are most likely to be OK, just seal / overhaul kit at hand then strip down.

What I meant by grabbing too much is, with the wheel of the ground, it's kind of hard to spin it. Shouldn't it slightly grad the disk? They seems to brake fine with two fingers only!

Thanks for the tip. I will just perform a complete service and change the boots and seals!

Cheers

"kind of hard to spin" is relative. Try this: Loosen the mounting bolts (both sides) then finger-tighten them and unscrew them again just a touch. Now spin the wheel and pull the brake lever at the same time. Hold the lever and tighten the mounting bolts.

Is the wheel in properly? When installing the wheel, the pinch bolts on the right should not be tighten until after you pushed down on the top yoke a few times.

[gsxbarmy]

Might also be that the discs are no longer floating - try freeing the bobbins https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=211.0

[Irish in Oz]

I'm sticking with 6 pots.

[DP1400]

I reckon your disc is below the wear limit, you may need to consider a new one before the MOT.......