Anyone rebuild their brake calipers yet?

[stevewfl]

Curious if so, and how many miles till they needed it? 

[VirginiaJim]

I think Brian did, Steve.  Not sure if it was just because or there was a reason.  I do remember someone doing it at some point.

[stevewfl]

OK kewl thanks. Just wondering.  A guy told me with my 900cc Ninja they should've been replaced years ago, do this before anything and the master cylinder too.  I asked him why and he said "look at the owners manual, Kawasaki's are every 4 years"

Then I looked at the Concours manual, yup every 4 years for brakes caliper seals, master cylinder seals .  But instinct told me not many do the scheduled maintenance.  My Ninja is 13  14.6 years old and I'm going to hop on it, just the brake fluid I already removed was %$#% gunk. =)

I might screenshot a page for the folks who may actually be concerned about the maintenance intervals.

[Cheesecake]

Do they have a different chart for bikes left outdoors? Or in the hot sun in Texas and Arizona? Seems like keeping it in a garage and not leaving it outdoors every day when you commute would have a much longer interval for seals.

[VirginiaJim]

I've found on my bikes over the years, that the seals go south when the bike sits for awhile.  With that being said, however, it's not that big of a job to do.  Is there a way to keep the fluid from dripping out of the line while the caliper is on the bench?

[gPink]

 

[VirginiaJim]

     That's not strong enough, methinks.

[Rhino]

Hmmmm... Mine is garage kept, I have changed the fluid once so far 32,000+ miles and going on 3 years old. Do I really need to rebuild next year? If so, does the ABS system also need service?

[Boomer]

Garage kept but ridden through 2 winters so have been exposed to road-salt and such.
50k miles and never been rebuilt.
However, whenever I replace the pads I push the pistons out a bit, clean with WD40 and a toothbrush and then hose the area with Brake Cleaner spray before pushing the pistons back in again.
So far no problems and the calipers and pistons look pretty decent still.

[stevewfl]

I've found on my bikes over the years, that the seals go south when the bike sits for awhile.  With that being said, however, it's not that big of a job to do.  Is there a way to keep the fluid from dripping out of the line while the caliper is on the bench?

My mechanic told me its not about waiting till they are stuck.  If they go past the maintenance 48,000 mile / 4 years, the pistons will start to push out/in unevenly.  The way to tell if that is happening is:

1) uneven brake pad wear
2) when changing pads, push the pistons. If one or more is harder to push in than the others......
3) he said one rotor might be cool and the other warm after a ride, to really check for that ride at a safe place and use back brake only for a bit, hop off the bike and check the front rotors.

He also told me even though I ride the hell out of mine and keep the juices flowing and brake fluid/dust seals in my calipers moist, because I'm so far past 48,000 miles he'll bet his next pay check he can find at least one front piston obviously harder to move than the others.

That being said, I'll be doing my ZX9 calipers because they're toast, and my C14 calipers only because they're overdue =)

edit: I talked with him long after posting this post (as a result of the ZX9 calipers freaking me out) hehe

[VirginiaJim]

Garage kept but ridden through 2 winters so have been exposed to road-salt and such.
50k miles and never been rebuilt.
However, whenever I replace the pads I push the pistons out a bit, clean with WD40 and a toothbrush and then hose the area with Brake Cleaner spray before pushing the pistons back in again.
So far no problems and the calipers and pistons look pretty decent still.

+1, but I don't take salt with my C14.

[Rhino]

My mechanic told me its not about waiting till they are stuck.  If they go past the maintenance 48,000 mile / 4 years, the pistons will start to push out/in unevenly.  The way to tell if that is happening is:

1) uneven brake pad wear
2) when changing pads, push the pistons. If one or more is harder to push in than the others......
3) he said one rotor might be cool and the other warm after a ride, to really check for that ride at a safe place and use back brake only for a bit, hop off the bike and check the front rotors.

He also told me even though I ride the hell out of mine and keep the juices flowing and brake fluid/dust seals in my calipers moist, because I'm so far past 48,000 miles he'll bet his next pay check he can find at least one front piston obviously harder to move than the others.

That being said, I'll be doing my ZX9 calipers because they're toast, and my C14 calipers only because they're overdue =)

edit: I talked with him long after posting this post (as a result of the ZX9 calipers freaking me out) hehe

Good info!

[VirginiaJim]

I agree.  Will be doing that when it gets a tad warmer...

[MAN OF BLUES]

I've replaced the fluid in all 3 times, along with the clutch. It was also replaced when i got my new rear brakes from kaw when they locked up with the pebble thing.
I won't be very worried about the actual seals for some time, I have been thru this on the C10's many times, and find them as good as new whenever I did them because I kept the fluids new.
I did pull the clutch master apart once during a fluid change because i couldn't get it to bleed correctly....it's a p.i.t.a., you need 3 hands....
Garage kept...stored dry and safe.... when you let them sit for long periods is when the damage occurs.
I will say that whenever I remove the calipers for tire changes I put a woodblock in between the pucks, and push the pistons outwards and scrub the pistons well before pushing them back in. Always keep those clean, and NEVER use brake fluid to lubricate the pistons....they will rust.