1st gen front brakes

[Judd]

Mine have alot of miles and alot of abuse. My right caliper sticks from time to time I have to remove, work the piston in and out to get it loosened up. In any event, the calipers either need rebuilding or,,,,,,,, they need replacing. I'm wondering if there is a fairly common swap out there that would do me some good, maybe kill two birds with one stone. Replace a couple of aging calipers and end up with better than new braking. Any ideas?

 

[RossKean]

Mine have alot of miles and alot of abuse. My right caliper sticks from time to time I have to remove, work the piston in and out to get it loosened up. In any event, the calipers either need rebuilding or,,,,,,,, they need replacing. I'm wondering if there is a fairly common swap out there that would do me some good, maybe kill two birds with one stone. Replace a couple of aging calipers and end up with better than new braking. Any ideas?

Keep an eye on Fleabay for a gently used set. Otherwise, if the pistons are in good shape a new set of seals and maybe sliders etc. will bring them back to new in terms of functionality. May have to polish cylinders/pistons but things should certainly be rebuildable if you are so inclined. I would expect 2-3 hours, and I haven't priced the parts.

 

[trimmantom]

Mine have alot of miles and alot of abuse. My right caliper sticks from time to time I have to remove, work the piston in and out to get it loosened up. In any event, the calipers either need rebuilding or,,,,,,,, they need replacing. I'm wondering if there is a fairly common swap out there that would do me some good, maybe kill two birds with one stone. Replace a couple of aging calipers and end up with better than new braking. Any ideas?

Hey Judd, thought you sold the 03? doesn't your bike have over 70-k on it? prolly needs a rebuild on the calipers.

 

[wfooshee]

New seals will do it. BTDT.

There are 2 part numbers for the front seal sets, and you need 2 of each set.

Make sure the pistons are nice and shiny before they go back in or you'll just eat the new seals.

 

[McRide]

Over time, lots of brake dust (from after market brake pads IMHO) gets accumulated inside the caliper and around the pistons.

Be prepared to bleed the system but...

simply remove calipers from fork, leaving lines connected, remove pads and squirt brake cleaner

all around the pistons. Work them manually with the fingers as you drench with brake cleaner and in

a few minutes they will be loosened up and clean. No big deal if a piston pops out, just squeeze it back in at the the seal.

That said, it is a good opportunity to replace the seals now, but they do get many miles so they may be just fine.

 

[wfooshee]

Nah, I think if the piston's not releasing cleanly, it needs new seals. The old seals stiffen up, and it's not so much a mileage thing as a time thing, just the age of the pieces.

Doing all that working disassembling and cleaning is 95% of the work of replacing the seals, and is a stop-gap, temporary fix. Even if the sticking stops, it will come back fairly soon.

 

[Judd]

Mine have alot of miles and alot of abuse. My right caliper sticks from time to time I have to remove, work the piston in and out to get it loosened up. In any event, the calipers either need rebuilding or,,,,,,,, they need replacing. I'm wondering if there is a fairly common swap out there that would do me some good, maybe kill two birds with one stone. Replace a couple of aging calipers and end up with better than new braking. Any ideas?

Hey Judd, thought you sold the 03? doesn't your bike have over 70-k on it? prolly needs a rebuild on the calipers.

I tried to sell back when I bought the Buell but I was sorta dismayed at what people were willing to give for a high mile FJR and decided I would just keep it and ride the wheels off the thing. It's actually a 04 and now I'm well over 75K mile on my way to 80K!

Ironically, the right caliper is the one that sticks on mine too. It styarted sticking after my Alaska trip where I did alot of dirt road mileage and a couple times I had to stop on the side of the road to clear out the mud that had dried in the caliper and inside my front fender {heck of a mess}.

In any event, I was just hoping there would be an alternative/upgrade to the OEM stuff. On Suzuki DLs and SVs, it's common practice to use GSXR or R1 type calipers and there is a whole cottag industry that makes brackets to mate those calipers to the OEM mounting points. There are even ways to run the GSXR or R1 calipers on aftermarket mounting brackets that space teh caliper out some more so you can run over sized rotors for not only better feel, but better braking leverage which results in easier braking and better fade resistance. Both are things I would like as I get pretty spunky in the mountains at times and I can fade the brakes on a hard charge down hill.