I need feedback

[wildhorse]

Anyone ever tried these brakes??
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.d2moto.com/p-21260-1984-1987-honda-gl1200-ai-goldwing-1200-kevlar-carbon-front-rear-brake-pads.aspx">http://www.d2moto.com/p-21260-1984-1987 ... -pads.aspx</a><!-- m -->

I lost my interconnected brakes today, had to bring Freedom home on just the single font break... Have to do a break job fast!

[Frank]

They are listed as organic pads so I would think that they would work just fine. I just used some cheap organic pads on my last brake job and I'm happy with them

[wildhorse]

Thank you Frank

[admin]

Anything but metallic pads. Metallic pads gouge the rotors and they take a long time to warm up before they become effective, great for racing but not street. Organic pads, especially Kevlar are great because they warm up rapidly making cold braking more effective. You might notice a lot of brake dust due to the carbon but those pads should work just fine.

[wildhorse]

I just cleaned the brake that was locking up on me... Metallic pads... The pads themselves are showing some gouging in them but no damage to the rotor (thank goodness)

But the minor gouging in the pads tells me I better change them out very soon before I lose a rotor... After all I'm riding around 1000 miles a week.

[Frank]

I like using a softer pad. Pads are cheap, rotors are expensive.

1000 miles a WEEK! What have you got a paper route? :lol:

[wildhorse]

No, times are tough so I have been doing some Secret Shopper jobs to help make ends meet, Doing jobs up to 100 miles away from home. But hey.. If I can line jobs up, where I actually get paid to go out and ride my wing... Makes it a win win situation!

[Frank]

Now your secret is out

[wildhorse]

Has anyone posted a pictorial/step-by-step of a Caliper Rebuild?

Waiting for my new brake pads to get here and plan to rebuild my calipers when I do the brakes... I have never undertaken a caliper rebuild before.

[Frank]

The calipers are the simplest thing on these bikes. Once you remove the caliper from the bike the hard part is getting the pistons out. Remove the pads, put a piece of wood in there so that the piston has room to come out some, then use compressed air where the banjo bolt went. Keep putting thinner and thinner wood in until you have them out. You can pump them out with the brakes, just make sure the M/C stays full but it makes a hell of a mess so keep plenty of water on hand to spray any paint that gets brake fluid on it, water will neutralize brake fluid. Once you have the pistons out you can remove the o-ring, be sure and scrape all the corrosion out from the groove where the o-ring sits. You can clean everything up with hot soapy water. Scrub your pistons with 0000 steel wool, make sure everything is clean and back together it goes. Use some never seize on the rods that the pads slide on.

[admin]

When you clean out the o-ring grooves be extremely careful not to scratch the aluminum because it could leak with a big enough scratch. Ideally, making a small tool out of metal shaped to the groove size would work great if you have a grinder and a small piece of heavy sheet metal because sometimes the corrosion in those grooves can be awfully stubborn to remove. It is critical that you get it all out otherwise you could end up with sticking pistons which causes premature wear on the pads. Also, pick up some high temp, non melting brake grease to lubricate the pins and the slides. If you do the job right you will be amazed at the improvement in the braking power afterward. Good luck and don't chance anything on the brake rebuild, if you don't know something do not be afraid to ask here, even if we need to explain to you 10 different ways on how to get it done. As Frank stated earlier, these brakes are simple to repair, but, you must follow exact procedures to make certain that your brakes safe.

[wildhorse]

Thanks for the feedback Vic and Frank. Today is the first I have been able to get on the site since I asked, been getting nothing but resourced limited messages.

My brake pads finally came in today, have to work tomorrow and Sunday so it looks like rebuild of the brake system will come on Monday. Will be nice to get Freedom on the road again, been borrowing a friends Suzuki Boulevard... It definitely isn't a GoldWing!!

[Frank]

But still not a bad bike!

[wildhorse]

Update on my Brake Issue

The new pads came in the mail on Saturday, I went to a buddies house on Monday, rebuilt all 3 Calipers and installed the new pads.

Bleeding the brakes was a bit tricky and I still don't have as firm of a pedal on the rear as I had before the brake job... But I do have stopping power.

Took the bike over to a friends shop for him to double check my work (prefer to be safe that sorry), He took the ol' Wing out for a test drive and heard a chirping noise that concerned him.

He took the front wheel off and found that the left wheel bearing was missing half the ball bearings in it...

Bike is still at the shop, awaiting the new wheel bearings arrival so he can put it back together... Looks like either Friday or Monday I'll get Freedom home.

[admin]

The brakes will become even more powerful once the pads seat into the rotors, because, now you're just getting your braking power from the raised edges of the pads and rotors. After my last brake job I was actually able to completely lock the front wheel on my bike, at 30 mph, with a good squeeze of the lever, fortunately, I released the brake lever just before I almost started testing the crash bars. After you get your bike back on the road again take it for a good ride down some rough roads in order for the air bubbles in the brake system to rise to the top and then release those air bubbles with the bleeders or banjo bolts at all high points in the system then finish bleeding at the bleeders. I have even had to smack calipers and hoses with a plastic hammer to rid air from the system, because, the darn bubbles stick to the pistons, calipers and inside the hoses. Don't forget to keep the reservoir filled with DOT4 fluid or you'll need to start all over again. Note: it is possible that if your wheel bearings were that bad that could be the cause of your loss of a solid brake feel at the lever, because, if bad enough wheel bearings can cause the rotor to push the brake pad inward and not permit an accurate bleed job. Good luck.