Brake dragging

[mlivkovich]

Few days ago I noticed that when I try to rotate front wheel brake pads drag
Cleaned calipers, put new brake fluid, cleaned master cylinder, done bleeding (reverse) and now is even worse! Now I can't turn front wheel more than a 1/4 turn when try to spin it. I also retightened front axle hoping that would help...
Any sugestions?

[seth]

Sounds like a sticking piston
Can you move them freely ?
If you cleaned them it's normally corrosion under the seals .

[gsxbarmy]

I agree could be a sticking piston or it could be that the disks are no longer floating and the bobbins need a good clean - see this thread for how to check/remedy

http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=211.0

[mlivkovich]

Oh, forgot to say... pistons move freely (pushed by fingers) and disc bobbins are also cleaned so free to move discs!  Brake lines were blown with compressed air before new brake fuid put in. Have no idea anymore!

Could it be that I have to replace caliper seals or cylinder seals? They don't leak and braking was normal.

Calipers are only thing I did not reassemble, because I am afraid that I'll have to buy new seals in case I can't reuse old ones (not recomended).

Maybe someone reused piston seals with success?

[KiwiCol]

It sounds like there is a bit of residual pressure in the brake circuit. 

If you take the calipers off the forks, does the wheel spin freely?  If Yes, then it's definately in the brake assemble somewhere. Check run out on discs?  Try opening the bleed valve & see if any pressure relief there allows the wheel to spin freely. 
Have you put new pads on?  Could be just them grabbing / rubbing just a bit. 
My boat trailer does this, no issue with overheating of bearings, just stiff to rotate, I take them off & wheel spins freely, it's just my pads slightly touching & causing drag.

[gsxbarmy]

I agree with Col, take the calipers off and then try spinning the wheel.

If that works and its not pressure in the brake system, try taking the front wheel out and putting it back in again - sometimes just resetting that works. Also check for brake disc run out, its possible you may have one or more warped discs

[grog]

agree Barmy, once re fitted front wheel, was dragging big time. took it out, re fitted, no prob. no idea why.

[mlivkovich]

Will try to re fit front wheel in next few days and let you know was it worth...

[mlivkovich]

Removed brake calipers and wheel is spinning freely, no bearing failure. Removed wheel and loosen fender bolts and after refitting everything I still have brake dragging, little less than before but still not as it should be Only 1/2 turn when spin it by hand

[gsxbarmy]

Ok so sounds like one of the disks are warped and/ or the pistons jammed in a caliper.
We need to determine which side.
If you take off just the LH caliper does it spin freely? If so then the LH caliper is the problem
If you take off just the RH caliper does it spin freely? If so then the RH caliper is the problem

Try each caliper one at a time to see what happens

[seth]

The only way to work through each part .
Lh caliper Th caliper discs and deal with what you find.
Great advice barmy 

[mlivkovich]

Tried left and right side method and on each side dragging is same only lighter (1 caliper drags at time). As I mentioned....all 12 pistons move freely, disc are not wraped as they were fine before winter. Oh, now I can move wheel about 3/4 turn with both calipers......something is happening but can not figure out what!?!?

[seth]

Did you try releasing the bleed nipples to make sure you don't have excessive pressure in the brakelines.
The things you looked at can be the only cause of your problems you need to go back and check again .

[gsxbarmy]

This is baffling. There will always been some drag from the brake pads when you spin the wheel as they never completely lift off the disk when the bike is at a standstill, so its never going to spin 2-3 revolutions. Whilst 3/4 of a turn isn't bad (at least it shows the pads are not solid on), maybe it should do a little more.

If everything is working properly, and given you have 3/4 turn, it may be time just to leave it for a while and see if it improves.

I wonder if someone else could check how many revolutions their front wheel turns, as that would give some indication as to whether we have no problem / slight problem or major problem. As I don't have a 14 any longer that's a bit difficult for me.

Are there any members who can do this as a check please?

[seth]

Only other thing I can think could possibly be wrong is if you fitted new pads they might be at maximum thickness and on with discs need to bed in a bit to get the clearance needed to run free .