Toml Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Hello... I've had a problem with a sticky front brake on my '04R150RT for the last two rides. On both rides, the brakes seemed fine for about 10 minutes of riding but then the front brake started dragging. It was enough to almost stall the bike at low RPMs (2k). When I got home, the right front caliper was very, very warm (but I could still hold my hand on it). The left front caliper was just a little warm. There was a strong smell of burning brake pad. When the bike is cold, the front brake drags a little more than normal when I try to spin the wheel by hand. Other info.. I live in New England and have been riding it a lot this winter on sandy, salty roads. I usually hose the bike down after a ride but I didn't really blast the calipers with the hose. The air temp was about 38-40 F during the two rides when I experienced the problem. The bike has 12K miles on it. Had the 6K check up but not the 12k (yet). The hoses look good. I see no evidence of leaks or crud around the calipers, hoses, etc. I've read through several brake threads but most were about the R1100 and/or did not appear relevant. Can someone recommend a few tests I might try to isolate the problem? thanks... Link to comment
T__ Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Tom, well if you smell brakes burning you probably do have a dragging brake.. It seems that if they were dragging very bad they would be hot enough to not touch though.. I really don’t know what to tell you as about all you can do is go over everything from the lever pivots to the calipers & pistons to make sure nothing is hanging up or sticking.. Can you hear the ABS pump stay running even with the brakes released? If so then you probably do have a sticking switch or lever.. How long has it been since you flushed the brake fluid & bled the system? If everything EXTRNALLY checks out to be free & not hanging up then maybe a problem with your ABS controller.. Twisty Link to comment
Toml Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 Thanks Twisty. I think I heard a pump on (and different than the servo mechanism) but I'll have to go double check. Lines have never been bled or flushed. You're making me think this is going to be beyond my limited DIY capabilities and I should take it into the dealer (and get my 12k check up before the Americade rally) thx... Link to comment
Jeff from Massachusetts Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Lines have never been bled or flushed. Tom, I'm pretty sure you should bleed brakes once each year. Link to comment
ianboydsnr Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 sounds like you need a caliper clean. Link to comment
Redbrick Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hello... I've had a problem with a sticky front brake on my '04R150RT for the last two rides. On both rides, the brakes seemed fine for about 10 minutes of riding but then the front brake started dragging. It was enough to almost stall the bike at low RPMs (2k). When I got home, the right front caliper was very, very warm (but I could still hold my hand on it). The left front caliper was just a little warm. There was a strong smell of burning brake pad. When the bike is cold, the front brake drags a little more than normal when I try to spin the wheel by hand. Other info.. ............... thanks... Just had a similar situation with Kathy's 1150....One front brake pad was worn a lot more than the other three....The pins were "grooved and corroded" and the pad was hanging up against the disk...All new pins and pads installed by dealer fixed it...He installed new slider pin kits..... Phil.........Redbrick Link to comment
nldaniel Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I vote for taking the caliper off the disk and giving it a very thorough cleaning. The slider pins for insctance, as well as all places the pads contact (slide over) at the shop I used to work at the intgeral brake equipped bikes were notorious for having sticking front brake pads. especially whenever there was salt on the road.. HTH, Daniel Link to comment
AndyS Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I've had a problem with a sticky front brake on my '04R150RT for the last two rides.... The left front calliper was just a little warm... There was a strong smell of burning brake pad. thanks... I have had this problem a couple of times. The brakes hung so badly that the bike actually slowed down and dreadful smell of burning brake pad. I stopped and the disc and calliper was V hot. However a few seconds later the problem had apparently disappeared not to return until...the next time several weeks later. The callipers were unshipped, cleaned and the pins polished and refitted. This was many thousands of miles ago and the problem has not yet raised its head yet. So, that was the long way of saying +1 on replacing the pins (and clean the calliper components at the same time). Use copper slip on the relevant bits. Andy Link to comment
Woodie Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Come to the NE Tech Daze, all the tools will be there for the 1150 brake bleed. Not to mention advice (good and bad) and great fun! Link to comment
Toml Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 thanks for all the advice so far... I took the caliper off to clean it. But I have some real newbie questions. I searched these forums a million times and read just about every brake thread but perhaps this is too simple... What are the pins and where are they? Are they those tabs that appear to guide the edges of the pads? I think at least a couple threads talked about "removing the pins" and cleaning them with steal wool but these appear to be an integral part of the caliper body. Is it okay for me to pry the pads out with a flat blade screw driver to clean in there? What is the proper torque value for the two bolts that hold the caliper to the fork? I need to finally by a service manual! thanks again... Link to comment
Toml Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 I found this... Front 1. Place the bike on the centerstand. 2. Remove the front caliper bolts that hold it to the fork leg, 8 mm hex bit socket 3. To remove the caliper, gently rock it back and forth on the rotor to spread the brake pads. Warning! Do NOT compress the front brake lever while the calipers are removed! 4. Remove the keeper from top of the caliper with pliers. 5. Drive out the pin from wheel side with a hammer and punch 6. Remove the old pads. 7. Push the wheel cylinders in all the way with your thumbs. 8. Insert new pads (no anti-rattle spring on EBC pads). 9. Drive in the pin, turning it with a screwdriver so the keeper hole is on top. 10. Insert the keeper 11. Spread the pads again if necessary. 12. Install the caliper onto the rotor. 13. Install the caliper bolts, torque to 30 ft.lb. (40 Nm). 14. Pump the front brake lever until pressure returns!!!!! 15. Repeat for the other front caliper. 16. Pump the front brake lever until pressure returns!!!!! 17. Check the brake fluid level in the front reservoir. Here... http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/R11Manual/Oilhead_Maintenance_2-25-02.pdf It seems to answer a lot of my questions. Is this what I should be doing? Is the "pin" in step #5 the pin folks are saying need to be cleaned? thanks... Link to comment
AndyS Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 [ thanks for all the advice so far... I took the caliper off to clean it. What are the pins and where are they? I need to finally by a service manual! thanks again... The pin can be seen in this picture. Using a snipe nose pliars, remove the spring clip that goes over the pin (make sure it doesn't ping off down a drain)!, the use allen key to unscrew the pin out of the calliper. I do recommend you get a haynes manual or the like, then you will be set for all forrays into looking after your bike. Andy Link to comment
Toml Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 ah perfect! Thank you very much Andy! Link to comment
Toml Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 My brakes are working now, after cleaning the calipers, pads, and pins. It was a very easy operation thanks to all the advice from you guys. Thanks very much... Time to make those cool custom tools for brake line bleeding and flushing... Link to comment
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