| Author | Message | ||
     Wademan |
Get your mind out of the gutter! No erections here, impotent is a better word for these brakes! Hoping you can give me some good ideas to run this problem down and kick its ass. Problem is a woody front brake when quick stopping, it reaches a limit on stopping power at a point even if I apply more pressure. I have kendall gold pads installed. They were first installed on the original rotor (which was great, good pads), then when that rotor warped, a fresh one was put on. Break seemed to take awhile with the new rotor. I believe it is the front pads that are glazed due to improper break in with the new rotor. What do you guys think? If that is the case what is the best way to remove that glazed layer on the pad? Should I give the rotor some treatment too? Thanks for the help!! Wade | ||
| Thetable |
I know that I will end up with similar symptoms that are caused by the interface between the brake lever and the master cylinder piston getting dry. A quick squirt of whatever lube I have handy always seems to cure it for a couple months. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
How old is the fluid? It was suggested to me that you could pull the pads and rub them on an unpainted cinder block to remove the glaze. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Scrub the pads on an asphalt driveway, a concrete garage floor, or a drill with a Roloc disc to remove the glaze. Think "anti-polishing". What compound is in the pads? I'm unfamiliar with Kendalls (4 fingers on OEM pads threaten to make me pass my handlebars if I'm not careful)...do they have a street versus race compound? If it's a race compound, it could be a matter of not enough heat in the pads. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Isn't it Lyndall's not Kendall's? | ||
| Froggy |
Kendall is Lyndall's boyfriend? | ||
| Rotorhead |
I have had issues with the caliper pistons not moving. 2 of the 6 were working and I had to get a hand full to get the bike to stop. Kind of the wood feel. Remove the pads and any break dust from around the piston seals and carefully work the break lever and see if they all move the same, or close to the same. It did the trick for me. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Adding to what Rotorhead said above- when you changed the brake pads, if you pushed the brake pistons back in the caliper without first cleaning the brake dust off them, that might cause this problem. The dust gets in between the o-rings and the pistons and makes them hard to move. This can also cause dragging or sticking brakes. To correct, remove the pads, remove the caliper from the forks (don't disconnect the brake line), and pump the brakes to force the pistons out. DON'T let any of the pistons come all the way out or you'll make a mess and have to bleed the brakes when you're through. Get an old T-shirt and polish the exposed portion of each piston until it's clean and shiny. You don't have a lot of room to work so this is a real PITA for at least 2 of the pistons but you've got to do it. Push the pistons back in the caliper, remount the caliper, reinstall the pads, and you should be OK. | ||
| Wademan |
Great ideas guys, a few of them could be the issue. In order of least painful to try I will do the following: 1. Change brake fluid, it needs to be done anyways 2. Grease piston/lever interface 3. Remove glazing 4. And if none of those work I will mess with cleaning the pistons and making sure they all work I will report back with the findings! |
