[[email protected]]

You have all created a monster..with the confidence I have gained by reading your posts and following your advice I have already fixed several things on 79 my cx500c! Thank you all for your help! Now I'm graduating to bigger fixes....like brakes.



So here is the issue:

The caliper doesn't seem to fully retract..they are dragging lightly but noticeably on the rotor. I can here the brakes squealing particularly when I'm pulling into a parking garage. And when I tilt the bike back and free spin the front wheel they drag and squeak. When I actually USE the brake there is no squeak...silent as the grave.



This caliper was rebuilt only 200 miles or so ago ( according to the receipts from previous owner) BUT it was also 2 years ago! Could this be a factor? Very little or no wear on the pads that I can see.



The brakes have great/smooth grab and are otherwise fully functional..



Questions for my emmenantly brilliant fellow cx'ers:



1. Should there be daylight between the rotor and the break pads when not engaged? Is light contact normal?

2. Should I rebuild the caliper or is there some other adjustment I can make?

3. is this just a job for brake quiet or equivalent ?



Any help appreciated! We only get a few months of nice riding weather up here and I hate to waste it waiting for someone else to fix it when I may be able to do it myself

P

 

[Shep]

One one of my CX I have a slight squeal on the front brakes.This is due to a slightly warped Disc.

What I would do and as you want to ride is just take the pads off and put some grit paper on a glass flat surface and clean the debris off the back of the pads and the glaze off the front of the pads.You can also use the grit paper to put a very slight chamfer on the leading edge of the pads.

Whilst you are doing this remove the floating bolts that secure the calipers and clean them and lube them with some clean engine oil unless you have some proper silicone brake grease.I use my ACF50 for this,



http://www.allyearbiker.co.uk/ACF50.html



It does virtually everything including hose rubbers etc.



This should improve the situation without need to do a full re-build for now.If possible I'd leave that until your season is over.

 

[[email protected]]

thanks Shep!

I'ld love to leave the rebuild til winter and probably do a cb900 upgrade while I'm at it anyway

after tons of lurking and searching I hear that checking the return pin hole in the master cylinder may also be the culprit.



I'll try both solutions today and see how she goes

 

[ramprat06]

Good point on the pin hole in the MC, as they are soooooo small and get clogged easily if the system hasn't been cleaned fully for some time. Just remember, that hole is a bugger to get to, and you will have to do a fluid bleed. I can't recall what is best to use, but seem to think it was a very small drill bit, like .008 or some such. Much smaller than a paperclip.



Joel in the Couve

 

[Blindstitch]

Just so you can have a visual here's a place to go. Many of us have our own photo references or websites showing the mess we have been in so if you ever need a picture I'm sure we can find one.



http://ofapars-.webs.com/twinpots.htm

 

[Blindstitch]

A torch tip cleaning tool might be a suggestion.

 

[Shep]

The MC on this CX500 I didn't want to poke anything into the small hole so I used my compressor to high pressure air blow through.

If you don't have a compressor make friends with a local bike shop and just ask one of the guys to blow it through for you.Most times this should clear the hole safely.I used carb/brake cleaner to flood out any debris first.



HTH

 

[[email protected]]

thanks all!



it's a rainy Sunday morning. the wife is out if town. the kids have plenty to do. and I'm expecting sunshine for the afternoon. basically a perfect day to take my time and work all this out for an afternoon victory lap around town

I'll do my best to chronicle the process for the next guy

 

[bandit]

thanks all!



it's a rainy Sunday morning. the wife is out if town. the kids have plenty to do. and I'm expecting sunshine for the afternoon. basically a perfect day to take my time and work all this out for an afternoon victory lap around town

I'll do my best to chronicle the process for the next guy

just for info.where i live is a dust/sand city.i always copper grease the pins that hold the pads.it builds up,i need to pull the pins one at a time every 6 months and polish.not doing it causes drag/squeak on the disc,s

this does not apply to everyone,just be aware

 

[[email protected]]

well I got lucky.



I removed the caliper and cleaned and lubed the pins and things are smooth again. Very light contact.

I checked them for heat after a 10 minute ride and the rotor was not hot to the touch.



In the abundance of caution, I stopped by my friendly neighborhood bike shop and had them inspect the brakes. He claims they operate normally

yeah!



tips i learned from him:

1) since there is no "active" process that pulls the brake pads back, (they settle back as the cylinder retracts as opposed to "snapping" back) they may look like they are dragging, but after a few rotations on the road they tend to work themselves back from the rotor and everything is fine.

2) He suggested some brake quiet and that it wouldn't hurt to give the calipers a good inspection and new rubber parts if they have been sitting for a couple years.

3) He also did not rule out the age of the brake line in combination with little poor piston performance could add up to a slightly slower retraction of the pads.

4) He was skeptical that the return line pin hole was an issue as he could not get a worse symptom from excessive pumping of the brake lever.



So thanks all! I'm looking pretty good for now. I was prepared to go all-in with a brake rebuild, but it seems I may have just been a bit overly enthusiastic

Now its on to the Harley Sportster Muffler mod. They are arriving this week from a buddy on Portland, OR who had them dusting his attic