Back Brake

[Narcoda]

Quick query- As I do not usually leave my bike standing still over winter (but had to this year due to severe weather)-

It seems that my back brake has seized? When I turn the back wheel by hand it has slight friction against what i assume is the brake pads... no rust or anything, but will it loosen up once i take it for a proper spin?

Or do I need to go about cleaning procedures, if so, advice appreciated

Many Thanks

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Should sort itself out. I'd take it for a 5 mile spin and see what it's like when you get back. If there's no improvement then yeah, get the calliper off and cleaned.

Andres

 

[Narcoda]

Thanks for the reply Otto, is cleaning it up yourself an easy task? I have never done it on a BM, hopefully its an easy task (if required)

 

[teamwimp]

generally the seizing up is temporary and will resolve itself - it's caused by metal in the pad material fusing with the disc. One the initial movement is induced you can normally see where the pad stuck to the disc. Riding the bike with careful but repeated use of the back brake should clean it up. There are all sorts of ways to clean up a disc but care is needed - my favourite is to take the pads out and clean them up with a wire brush, while they are out it's worth brushing away the black brake dust in and around the caliper - don't breathe the dust in it's nasty stuff. I am, personally, against doing much to the disc itself but there are proprietary cleaners available

 

[Engineer]

Quick query- As I do not usually leave my bike standing still over winter (but had to this year due to severe weather)-

It seems that my back brake has seized? When I turn the back wheel by hand it has slight friction against what i assume is the brake pads... no rust or anything, but will it loosen up once i take it for a proper spin?

Or do I need to go about cleaning procedures, if so, advice appreciated

Many Thanks

Slight friction is perfectly normal, one of the pads will always be in slight contact with the brake disk anyway.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Make sure the sliding caliper hasn't seized which will give you uneven brake wear.

Liberal dose of brake cleaner and scrub with a tooth brush to get all the crap out

 

[dakarDude]

I've used the Wurth Brake / Chain cleaner stuff in the past - not cheap but does get the crap out - very good actually.

HTH.

 

[Zigo]

Dismantle and lubricate

This is a well known problem with "floating" type calipers. As the caliper only have pistons (two) on one side, the caliper have to move sideways to bring the other brake pad in contact with the brake disc. The BMW caliper have two guide pins for this purpose. Remove the two bolts holding the rear caliper, (actually holding the mounting bracket). Pull apart the caliper and the bracket. There are no bolts holding them together, only two guide pins. Normally it's the front pin, nearest the rear damper, that's the problem. The small rubber bellows is not enough to keep water out. The combination of steel guidepin, aluminium bracket and water will cause corrosion and the pin will freeze up. Clean well the pins, the hole in the bracket and lube with some anti-seize lube. Assemble the parts and don't worry anymore, well not until next spring anyway
Failing to do this maintenance will cause uneven premature wear of brake pads, with the added risk of destroying the rear brake disc. Happened to me

 

[Narcoda]

I took the GSA out today, thing is I couldnt get it off the centre stand to get out of the garage at first.. the front brake had rusted closed completely, lots and lots of friction..

A very grating ride for approx 1 mile started to ease it up, but...

Do I need to do anything else to this? Any advice on if I need it seen to or anything i might need to check?

The back and front brakes have been 'un-seized' via method of 70 mile round trip ride... all seeming good but dont want to pay for lack of attention later...

Any thoughts?

 

[Owen Snell]

I took the GSA out today, thing is I couldnt get it off the centre stand to get out of the garage at first.. the front brake had rusted closed completely, lots and lots of friction..

A very grating ride for approx 1 mile started to ease it up, but...

Do I need to do anything else to this? Any advice on if I need it seen to or anything i might need to check?

The back and front brakes have been 'un-seized' via method of 70 mile round trip ride... all seeming good but dont want to pay for lack of attention later...

Any thoughts?

Strip and clean is the correct answer. They may sort themselves out, but maybe not. An hour spent now with some brake cleaner will pay in the long run

 

[elefantman]

Take the bike for a spin knowing the brakes need attention wtf,poor maintenance/servicing,strip clean and copper slip before you go anywhere,if its anything like my gsa then it will have been sold with most parts as dry as a nuns crotch,build quality is good,but let down by poor final assembly/pdi

 

[Narcoda]

i've never stripped the brakes down, but the advice above looks good and not too complicated- is there anything i need to be careful of when removing the brake calipers and cleaning the guide pins? any spring loaded parts that may shoot off? rendering me immobile so i cant get to my local dealer?

 

[Slowdown]

I'm just about to give my brakes a clean.

There must be loads of 'HOWTO's' on the internet on how to do this

But what I do is roughly -

Take the calipers off.
Take the pads out.
Give the pads a quick rub with 800 grit paper to take the shine off.
Give a calipers a good squirt with brake cleaner - I use a toothbrush to make sure all the dirt/copaslip is removed.
I then scrub the calipers with a toothbrush and soapy water.
I use a block of wood to gently squeeze out the individual pistons and make sure they're clean and not sticking. IME, I've found a sticking piston has caused low speed brake judder on my 1200.
If any pins are corroded I'll replace them with new ones, but usually a good clean does the business.

Then put them back together, with a smear of copaslip on the back of the pads, and a smear of copaslip on the pin(s)

The torque values for the bolts is in the handbook. On the 1200 remember to get the ABS sensor wire routed correctly, or bad things may happen. Like no brakes!

If you were anywhere near me I'd say come 'round and watch, but I don't think you are.....