SuzukiSavage.com - Just changed front brakes couple of questions...

tank_you_jeebus

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Just changed front brakes couple of questions...
04/04/07 at 20:26:57

1) Should the brake pad be in contact or near contact with the brake disk at all times? Like so:

2) I took it for a short stint and the brakes felt a little "soft" as in yes it was braking, but not as hard as I would have imagined new brakes to feel. Wondering if that is just because it takes time for them to "mate" with the disc?

Nice to be back BTW. After doing all the work on my bike she runs pretty sweet. I got a small leak where my header meets the Dyna muffler but changing the pilot has helped the low end quite a bit. Still having some popping on rapid deceleration but have been turning out the idle/mixture screw, hopefully that will stop the popping. If this is not the case let me know.

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justin_o_guy

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #1 - 04/04/07 at 20:55:20

Leaky pipe? Gonna pop.
My brakes are better now than they have ever been. Just over 14,000 miles & I put these on at 5,ooo miles. so 9,ooo miles & they are on top of the game. Yea, the pads are riding the disk all the time. DEid ya give the disk some sanding to rid it of grooves? They dont have to be big to force the contact are to be quite a bit smaller. If you wait tilll it wears in it will be good brakingbecause there is a tad more surface area on an uneven surface.

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Max_Morley

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #2 - 04/04/07 at 20:56:22

Are you still using the stock rubber hose. If you want a really firm good brakes a stainless braided covered hose makes lots of improvement as it doesn't expand under pressure like the OE one does. And yes there has to be running clearance between the rotor and pads. The design of the seal in the caliper makes them retract a couple thousands on release of the fluid pressure. Max, at thumper Acres, home of the 4 stroke single cylinder motorcycle.

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Max at Thumper Acres. '96 Savage bagger, '03 Savage w/Cozy sidecar for wifeni.

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Reelthing

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #3 - 04/04/07 at 21:07:10

tank_you_jeebus wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:

2) I took it for a short stint and the brakes felt a little "soft" as in yes it was braking, but not as hard as I would have imagined new brakes to feel. Wondering if that is just because it takes time for them to "mate" with the disc?

It does usually take a little while to break in the brake pads

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georgekathe

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #4 - 04/04/07 at 21:11:40

gently sanding down the brake discs with 600 or 800 girt is always a good idea. pretty sure it is recommended you change the brake hose every 4 years (wonder how many do?) & a steel braided line (only cost about $50) are always a good idea. @ same time will put in new brake fluid & bleed brakes which will also help for better brakes.

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verslagen1

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #5 - 04/04/07 at 21:20:59

If it's not good after a dozen stops or so, then somethings wrong.

Is it soft or spongy? If there's air in the lines, it will feel spongy. Bleed the lines again, you need the practice anyway.

And as others have said a little sand paper here and there will make it wear in faster.

Try your brakes in a safe spot Grin

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tank_you_jeebus Junior Member 2005 No Login Offline Posts: 61 Redmond Washington Gender:	Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions. Reply #6 - 04/05/07 at 08:37:33 I'll give sand paper a go tonight and see if that helps. The old pads we're really bad and probably casued some grooves. I didn't bleed the brakes at all since I was just changing the pads. -B
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tank_you_jeebus Junior Member 2005 No Login Offline Posts: 61 Redmond Washington Gender:	Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions. Reply #7 - 04/05/07 at 08:39:13 BTW they feel "soft" to me as I grip the brake I feel constnat pressure to the disc just not as much as I would expect. Besides, I dont even know what the description for "spongy" would be.
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verslagen1

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #8 - 04/05/07 at 09:04:18

Spongy would be softer than usual, sort of like gripping a sponge.

There's not a whole lot of brake fluid involved. If the fluid been there since the last pad change I would consider flushing it out with new, especially since it don't feel right. Brake fluid sometimes gets contaminated with water and other BS.

The problem with air in the lines that air expands when hot. So when you need to stop, you're pushing on air instead of pushing your pads into the disk.

So fix your brakes so you won't need to carry a boat anchor to stop with. Grin

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tank_you_jeebus

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #9 - 04/05/07 at 10:16:27

You know messing with the other things was cool, but when it comes to my brakes I am a bit weary, i think I'll just take it in and have the brake line bled, guy says it'll be about 30 bucks...

I dont have the tools to bleed the brakes as it is...

Okay and I;m scared of not having brakes when i need them... Undecided

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Savage_Rob Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Mechanically Inclined Amateur Posts: 6972 Texas (Dallas area) Gender:	Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions. Reply #10 - 04/05/07 at 11:03:54 You can get basic brake bleeding gear from Harbor Freight for about $2 - $3.
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justin_o_guy

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #11 - 04/05/07 at 11:59:49

If you need to see it done once, then I can see that. But, once ya see it, you will see how simple it is. Also, if you have a solid brake sitting still, it will be fine once you are running down the road. O|It's not gonna fail on ya. Just gotta make sure you don't allow the fluid level to drop too far while bleeding it so no air gets in at the tp of the line & have to bleed the whole thing again.

Unless you opened the line up to install the brakes I dont seee why you would need to bleed them. If you just pried the pads back to open the caliper up & replaced the pads, then there is no more air in the line than before. If that's the way you did it & the brakes have less stopping power, feel the disk. If there are little rises & dips running concentrically so that the rises are felt as a fingernail is run from the outter edge of the disk to the inner area where the pad runs, then the new flat pad isn't seated yet. Remember to not get crazy with the new pads for a while. Read about breaking in brake pads & try that.

If you did crack the bleeder valve to make prying the pads back easier, then fill the master cylinder & crack the valve, squeeze the lever slowly & before it gets to the end of its stroke, close the valve. Rrepeat till all air is oput. A small piece of clear tubling & a glass jar & maybe a friend to help will get ya thru it.

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verslagen1

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #12 - 04/05/07 at 14:46:26

That right jeebus, bleeding brakes is the easiest thing to do on the bike. A few tools make simple. Get a small wrench to fit the bleeder valve. A small tube to fil on the bleeder valve and a jar. Clean off the master cylinder, level it and remove the top. Have a can of compatible brake fluid at the ready, dot 3 I think. Get a friend to help then you don't need long arms. Once this is all ready, have your friend apply a little pressure to the brake lever, and then crack open the bleeder valve. Once open your friend will squeeze the lever all the way down and hold. Close the bleeder. The friend can release the lever and check the brake fluid. Keep it full, don't rush, you'll be fine. And if you mess up, repeat. No one will know unless the count the number of empty cans in the trash can. I'm sure you can find another description of the process somewhere. Brake bleeding is the same the world around. Cars have four of these little bleeders so you do the longest one first. But we only have one, easy, can't mess up. If I have to, I'll show you how. Grin

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tank_you_jeebus

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Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions.
Reply #13 - 04/05/07 at 22:14:16

Thanks guys that seems pretty straight forward. When I changed the pads I removed the top cover during the process then pried back the caliper and installed the new pads. Like I said they feel soft, so perhaps the first thing I'll do is get some 600 sand paper and smooth out the disc.

Maybe I'll search the intertubes for a video of the process.

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tank_you_jeebus Junior Member 2005 No Login Offline Posts: 61 Redmond Washington Gender:	Re: Just changed front brakes couple of questions. Reply #14 - 04/05/07 at 22:16:40 Well if I opened the top I porbbaly got some air in now that I think about it... IIRC Clymer's suggested I do that...
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