'82 brake caliper rebuild

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Well I fell off the face of the earth on this topic!

I found a set of '82 vented rotors on Ebay last spring (cheap) and they were nice and straight. Put them on with new gasket material between them and the wheel and boy did that make all of the difference in the world!
(Now I do not feel like I am getting my teeth worked on when I pull the front brakes! :smilie_happy: )

The kevlar pads broke in reeeeeeal nice and the bike stops on a dime! I still have not rebuilt the front MC since it worked well! (I do have the kit and will be doing it this winter). I am still running the '81 single piston caliper on the rear because...well....it still works and I decided to go riding instead of rebuilding the '82 rear calipers (they are also on the winter list :mrgreen: )
 
mcgovern61":3mlhwai1 said:
The kevlar pads broke in reeeeeeal nice and the bike stops on a dime! I still have not rebuilt the front MC since it worked well! (I do have the kit and will be doing it this winter). I am still running the '81 single piston caliper on the rear because...well....it still works and I decided to go riding instead of rebuilding the '82 rear calipers (they are also on the winter list :mrgreen: )
Might be next winter's list......I still haven't got on the 82' rear caliper yet. :cheeky: :oops:

(I am afraid that by the time I get to rebuild it, the seals in the kit will be dried out! :smilie_happy: )

On another front......those kevlar pads are working really well up front with very little wear in about 4500 miles. (I like em!)
 
mcgovern61":39ihx222 said:
On another front......those kevlar pads are working really well up front with very little wear in about 4500 miles. (I like em!)

Here's where I get my kevlar pads. The last set of 3pairs cost me $40 + $5shipping, but I have bought them a little cheaper. Just keep an eye on the store and catch them when they are auctioned at a lower price. And I highly recommend this seller too!
https://stores.ebay.com/Sixity/Brake-Pad ... d=p4634.c0.
 
That's a good price. You should jump on things like that when you find them, since pads are a wear item and you know you'll use them. That's one of those things I usually end up paying more for if I wait till I need them to go shopping.
 
Finally.........I started working on the rear '82 caliper (can't rush these thing ya know! :smilie_happy: )

Pistons didn't want to play nice! :rant: Tried the air pump trick...no go.....grease gun trick.....no go! :cheeky:

Decided to pull the brake line off the right front brake and use the front brake system. Popped them out real easy! Started the cleanup, slide pin was rusted, pistons were actually better than the front ones. Hope to have them cleaned out and polished tommorrow!

Side note...I installed speed bleeders on the front calipers and they work like a charm!! One man brake bleeding!
 
Cleaned everything up, sanded, prepped and painted! Got a minor issue with one piston not going all the way in? Swapped pistons and same issue????? Looked in the cylinder and there does not appear to be anything holding them up?? Ran out of time today so I will measure the depth to see if there is a difference? (Kinda wierd)

In the meantime....as painted items were drying, I started finishing the slide pins and checking the new rubber and ....for whatever reason........I CAN'T FIND THE NEW PADS!!!!!! :rant: :cheeky:

(Thats what happens when you wait a year or more to finish a job around here!!) :crying: :rtfm: :Doh2:
 
Sooooooo........I get back to work on the caliper determined to find out why one piston goes all the way in and the other sticks out! (PIC):
Rear Caliper 001.jpg


You can see in this pic how the pad rests and the pistons are not even!! :cheeky:
Rear Caliper 002.jpg

I got out my micrometer to measure the cylinders and sure enough, one is deeper than the other! Nothing is stuck in there, nothing broken, it must have been cast this way since it was built! :rant:

To my chagrin.......I was worried for nothing!! Turns out that after I put the pads in and then dropped a rear rotor in between the pads, there is plenty of space and the pistons will extend evenly when the caliper is bled. These are not brand new pads (they only had about 500 miles on them when I pulled them off) new kevlar pads are coming. :party:
Rear Caliper 005.jpg
 

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Are you saying that one bore is shorter than the other? Are the pistons the same height? (not reversed) As long as you have clearance (not binding tight) I suppose the brake fluid will take up the slack since they share volume. "I guess?"
 
scdmarx":2ugj97qd said:
Are you saying that one bore is shorter than the other? Are the pistons the same height? (not reversed) As long as you have clearance (not binding tight) I suppose the brake fluid will take up the slack since they share volume. "I guess?"
Yep, one bore is shorter than the other and it appears it always has been. There is no damage to the outside and nothing on the inside of the bore making it shorter. I can see inside that it came this way from Honda. Both pistons are exactly the same length.
 
Well I finally finished the install! :clapping: (Only took three years to get around to it :doh: ) I now officially have three dual cailper (working correctly) OEM (to this bike no less) '82 brake calipers! :party:

First thing I noticed is how much easier it is to stop with the dual piston calipers now that all three are installed! Face it, the single piston '81 calipers just don't have the surface area that these '82 calipers have. I am pleased! It is also amazing how different the rear control arm for the cailper is between the '81 and '82. Gotta be real careful about which spacers are used between the axle and the control arm or the rotor will rub.
Rear Caliper 009.jpg
Rear Caliper 014.jpg
 
Brake update! In preparation for the Midwest meet, I decided to replace the front pads. There was about 1/3 material left and about 4800 miles on them. They were kevlar, but not the ones from Sixity like the back pads. Checked the rear pads (Organic Kevlar from Sixity) and 1500 miles on them and they still look and work like new! I replaced the front pads with the same organic kevlar pads from Sixity, cleaned up the pistons and decided to try to fit the stainless lines from the '81. It took a bit to find the best fit for them, but I was able to get them on and working. Flushed all of the front fluid out and bled the brakes (using the pistons compressed and clamp method). Bled all in about 10 minutes and the brake handle is real solid. Took her out for a spin, got up to speed and gave them a pull.

:shock: :oops: :roll: :swoon: I almost went through the windshield!!! I did not expect such a dramatic difference with the organic kevlar pads up front but am a firm believer now!!! :heat:
 
FYI....the Kevlar organic rear pads have over 10,650 miles on them now and they are still only about 1/2 way through to the wear mark. The front pads have over 9,100 miles on them and they look even better! Kevlar organic pads from Sixity are the way to go in my book! :yes:
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=179424#p179424:188s6bs3 said:
mcgovern61 » Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:18 am[/url]":188s6bs3]
FYI....the Kevlar organic rear pads have over 10,650 miles on them now and they are still only about 1/2 way through to the wear mark. The front pads have over 9,100 miles on them and they look even better! Kevlar organic pads from Sixity are the way to go in my book! :yes:
That just tells me that you never use brakes Gerry! :smilie_happy: :smilie_happy:
 

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