Brake Problems

[Jomcc]

I have a 02 R1150RT with 9500 miles on clock. Recently I've noticed that it is not easy to push around. I spun the front wheel while it was on centre stand. The wheel was not spinning freely but still not much resistance.

2 weeks ago I went for a spin. I noticed some hesitation when passing some cars. I pulled in and found the right side front disk was almost blue with heat.

Since that I drained the brake fluid in calipers, cleaned break pistons, emptied brake fluid reservoir, re-filled it but now just cannot bleed brakes. I've followed instructions in Haynes manual but I'm getting nowhere. I've never bled brakes on bike before but have done so on cars. Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

Joe.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Your bike has two separate circuits for the brakes, the control circuit and the wheel circuit, if you like.

 

They require a specific bleed sequence and almost all the stuff is up under the tank. I would suggest a trip to the dealer as you have probably run the wheel circuits low on fluid at this point.

 

Jamie, KMG-365 on this board has published a very nice how-to on this very topic. You can get a ministan (fancy word for funnel) here is as well. Spend a bit of time learning the search function and you can do this yourself.

[313_Matt]

Disclaimer: I am not sure this would apply to an ABS bike.

 

Any (non-ABS) bike that has a brake stick so bad the rotor got hot during light riding probably has a worse problem than just bleeding. Something is causing the caliper piston to press against the pads. Rust in the line, rust on the piston, something jammed, something not right. But then you knew that.

 

You said you "cleaned brake pistons." Do you mean that you have disassembled the caliper and cleaned out the old fluid (presumably with alcohol) and put everything back together? (Hopefully with new seals.) If so, you should be fine - just bleed the system properly.

 

Haynes should have the correct bleeding procedure. On my bikes (BMW or not, but non-ABS) bleeding is real easy. I use a vacuum bleeder and just suck brake fluid until it is runs clear and all the air is evacuated. As Ed suggested, there are good bleeding write-ups on the site.

 

Hope this helps.

 

313-Matt

[No_Twilight]

Joe,

A couple of ideas:

 

1. How do you know the brake rotor was almost blue with heat? I can't see "almost" blue. It is normal for the rotors to be too hot to touch. Perhaps you're imagining this whole thing.

 

2. Have you changed your fluid yearly as BMW recommends? I would think the most likely cause is a munged up piston.

 

3. Perhaps the bleeding problem is something altogether different.

 

--Jerry

[Jomcc]

Thanks everyone for the help. Just answering a few queries.

When I say, almost blue, I mean it was very much discoloured due to heat. I work in an engineering business and as steel heats up it changes colour before becoming "red hot". This had certainly overheated. The left hand disk (rotor to you on opposite side of atlantic) is fine.

Change the brake fluid as instructed.....of course not. Will I do it in future?...Certainly.

I am very dissappointed with the Haynes Manual with regard to instructions on bleeding brakes. Perhaps it's trying to deal with too many models. I have a BMW workshop manual on CD ant checked it today. It gives very clear instructions. At this stage, I'm seriously thinking of letting the professionals take over.

 

Thanks,

Joe.

[Ken H.]

If you fill out your profile and tell us where you are at, there maybe someone here near you who can help figure this all out.

[Rt4Me]

Joe,

 

Where you located? If you live in California I might be able to help.

 

Bill

[Jomcc]

Bill,

I'd doubt if you'd be willing to come to help me. I'm in a much colder & wetter place than California. I'm in a town called Portlaoise in the centre of Ireland but you're more than welcome to drop by if you wish.

 

Joe.

[John Moylan]

'frick me, Joe.......I stayed there last night, at the Heritage Hotel...........crumbs, and to think I could have foregone €115 for B&B and no internet access for hanging around a garage at about 0 deg C.........damn!!

 

BTW - I do my own brake work, and it's not hard. I gleaned it all from this site, and bought all the spec tools from a dealer in Germany. I even attended a Tech Daze in Atlanta on it.........sigh........I can still feel the heat........

 

I can tell you the last price I heard quoted from Maddocks for this job was € 500+ for a fluid change. You should try Keary's of Cork - they've just opened a new bike-specific shop on their site, with a full time tech (-ex Maxwell's, Dublin), so they certainly have the know-how. It's all down to $$$ after that.....

 

BTW, as for sticking calipers, I've had that. My cause was showing of the whizz-whirr to fellow enthusiasts, in the garage. All the recent applying, and re-applying of the brakes, and no spin-off help from a moving disc meant it slightly bound. 1.5 miles out, I felt the drag, and yes, it was hot. Pushed back the pad by hand at the side of the road, and all was well. Problem never re-occurred, and that was 7k kms ago.........

 

I'm in Galway, btw..........drop me a line.......

[No_Twilight]

Yep, I'll agree discolored means overheated. You may need a new rotor too. I don't know about ireland but over here in the states, there are lots of front brake calipers for sale cheap since if you change your brake fluid at BMW recommened intervals, they'll last forever and there is no market for the calipers off the parted out vehicles. I'd try to pick up a pair cheap and just swap them out. You can save a mint over what the dealer would charge your. --Jerry