Brake dragging

[Mick_J]

Good to hear 

[T250]

Old thread I know, but I also noticed what appeared to be the brakes binding, now as you all know I have just rebuilt my calipers, new seals pads etc, what I noticed was that the wheel did not spin as freely as I expected, so I removed the LH caliper and everything was fine. I put an old disc in the caliper while it was not attached to the fork and pumped the brake and the caliper was releasing the disc, so obviously not sticking pistons, I did this for both calipers. I put the caliper back on, then slackened off the axle, and everything was fine, it is only when tightening the axle back up that the issue comes back. So wheel torqued up, it only spins about 1/3 to 1/2, axle just nipped up and everything free to spin. Obviously the wheel can't go anywhere as the axle has two pinch bolts either side...

Now where's my Inspector Clueso magnifying glass...

[grog]

i had same once. tighten axle, brakes binding. measured temp after 20 ks and lhs much hotter. didnt know what was wrong, never figured it out. kept riding and sorted itself. no help i know but thats what happened. why? no idea. all ok now.

[T250]

i had same once. tighten axle, brakes binding. measured temp after 20 ks and lhs much hotter. didnt know what was wrong, never figured it out. kept riding and sorted itself. no help i know but thats what happened. why? no idea. all ok now.

Cheers Grog, I'm starting to think it might have something to do with the fact I had mine powder coated, since then there have been a couple of little niggles that I am not happy with,..and that's not a good thing with brakes...perhaps I'll draw a line under this and look at some four pots

[Speedy1959]

Mmmm
4 pots...
You know they make sense !!

[grog]

maybe 4 pots are good, if brakes are dragging, so will they. as long as pistons are free, yours are, has to be another explanation. just changing wont solve prob. imo.

[Speedy1959]

I can now confirm my 4 pots are MUCH better than my 6 pots ever were, now my pads are fully bedded in.

My 6 pots were NOT seized or below parr.

Is it simply that the 4 pots are better/ more efficient ?

[gsxbarmy]

I can now confirm my 4 pots are MUCH better than my 6 pots ever were, now my pads are fully bedded in.

My 6 pots were NOT seized or below parr.

It simplybthat the 4 pots are better/ more efficient !

Sorry Simon, but I disagree that 4 pots are better or more efficient than 6 pots, I understand what you may have found but personally I never found the 4 pots to be any better or more efficient at braking than the 6-pots - just that the 4 pots were more maintenance free than the 6 pots.

Much of it comes down to which pads you are using, and how much the pads are worn - that can make brakes seem better or worse IMO.

[gsxbarmy]

i had same once. tighten axle, brakes binding. measured temp after 20 ks and lhs much hotter. didnt know what was wrong, never figured it out. kept riding and sorted itself. no help i know but thats what happened. why? no idea. all ok now.

Cheers Grog, I'm starting to think it might have something to do with the fact I had mine powder coated, since then there have been a couple of little niggles that I am not happy with,..and that's not a good thing with brakes...perhaps I'll draw a line under this and look at some four pots

Have you checked the bobbins are running free? http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=211.0

[T250]

Have you checked the bobbins are running free? http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=211.0
[/quote]

Yes all cleaned and free, I did this before refitting to the wheels

[Del]

did you try cleaning the pistons with a toothbrush & cheep furniture polish then push them all back in and slowly pump brakes till wheel catches you may just have a bit of crud on one of the pistons and although it was releasing on the spare disc it may be enough to just catch the pad

[T250]

did you try cleaning the pistons with a toothbrush & cheep furniture polish then push them all back in and slowly pump brakes till wheel catches you may just have a bit of crud on one of the pistons and although it was releasing on the spare disc it may be enough to just catch the pad

I rebuilt the calipers with new seals which seemed to move okay, I suppose I could take the pistons back out and try again, but, I removed the wheel,and put it back in, torqued back up, and I can spin the wheel about 1 turn, this is spinning the tyre from just below the front mudguard, so not too much room or force applied, if that makes sense.

[Andre]

Here is a good video on how to reinstall front wheel/brakes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYHV78tWs1c Good instructions here. The bike has radial calipers but it is still applicable for ours. At the end he shows an important part often overlooked! The "free leg" mentioned there is the opposite on the 14.

@T250  Giving the dragging appears only when tightening the axle, lets me think you should watch the end of the video in above link. Not doing the procedure potentially leaves your fork out of alignment and could also affect your brakes.

[Speedy1959]

I let my mate ride my bike after my 4 pot conversion (once pads were bedded in) and his response was "Bloody hell you wouldnt want them any stronger"!

When I meet Seth at the Scottish meet up I have offered him (AND ONLY HIM) a go on my bike to see what he thinks.

If Mr Barmy is correct about pads then I say to you all...
Throw away your EBC HH and fit genuine Suzuki ones.
I fitted genuine Suzuki partly because there was a special offer on at my dealers of £29 per Caliper (down from £44)..
My other reason for not going EBC is they rattled unbelievably in the 6 pots.

Go genuine Suzuki...

You know it makes sense !

[seth]

I look forward to seeing the differences as I'm happy with my std 6 pots on my std bike.
Im always up to change my mind .
On my tuned b/w I'll be fitting bking radial calipers to go with the bking forks as the standard bikes did seam a bit weak.
On a side note many years ago I had a xjr1200 that still used fj1200 calipers as standard ones I fitted later R6/R1 type calipers I had to refit the standard brake hoses as they were to powerful with hell hoses.