Newbie with a new bike w/pics '78 XS1100E

[Bigfoot]

Both of my bikes required a rebuild of the calipers due to sitting too long as well as cleaning out the spooge hole. I was fairly lucky and the pistons were not too pitted or rusted. I was able to use some emery cloth to buff them and remove the surface rust. Replaced the rubber seals and I was good to go.

[Bigfoot]

Oh, and congrats on the bike and welcome to the site.

[Cobia]

1st attempt at fixing the brakes

My XJ had a very sticky right front caliper and after bleeding the h*ll out of it and knowing I had clear/clean fluid all the way through, Bikerphil and I took the caliper out and pumped the piston out as far as we dared without it popping out (about 1.5") and then pushed it back in with a C clamp. After doing this about 10 times it freed the piston enough and I haven't had a problem again with it locking up.
Always look for possible simple alternatives before breaking out the scalpel and the ether for a trip to the OR.
Good luck.

[prometheus578]

I don't think that DOT 4 was available when these bikes came out.
You could use either DOT 3 or DOT 4
Nothing wrong with DOT 3... DOT 4 just has a higher boiling point
You cannot use DOT 5... the purple, silicone based fluid.
It has been known to eat up the seals and o-rings of brake systems not designed for it.
The reason that it's purple, is so that it can be recognized for what it is, and not mixed with DOT 3 or DOT4 when refilling your master cylinder. Mixing the two also tends to form a thick, gelatinous mass.

[rlundy]

OK, my TDI unit has shipped-since its coming from S. FL I should have it by the weekend. We'll see if it starts then. Picked up a cheap battery and its out charging now.

Started messing (notice I didn't say working) with the front brakes tonight. The Master cylinder was empty of fluid, but looked very clean (remember, this is a non original MC). After some pumping and a basic bleed procedure, I was able to get fluid flowing freely through the bleed fittings. The right caliper did barf up something black. But the calipers are still frozen.

I went ahead and pulled the right caliper, the left is unbolted but it is holding on tenaciously-and was slick with brake fluid, so I left it for tomorrow.

So, all I know now is:

1. The MC will pump fluid
2. It will pump it to the calipers
3. The calipers are still frozen

Someone had worked on these brakes-the bolts were fairly new holding on the calipers, the pads look like they have a lot of wear left. Am thinking it was repaired at some point (hence the non-standard MC) and then the bike was left to sit for a long time. So the calipers could be frozen. or it could still be a spooge hole problem. either way, something has to be taken apart

[tarzan]

It is common for the piston to freeze in the bore.Sometimes you can unbolt it from the fork and leave the hose connected,then pump the brakes to get the piston out(dont put your fingers between the piston and the caliper).I put a rag between them so the piston shooting out doesnt dent the caliper.Another way is put some compressed air to the caliper if it isnt attached to the hose.Ive had to work the pistons out on both the XS's I have owned.I was able to just scrape the crust off the oring seal on the piston and use scotchbrite and steel wool to clean-up the bore,then coat the piston and seal with a little brake fluid and reinstall.

[prometheus578]

Dadgummit....
Here I was typing up a lengthy response... I scroll back for a little more info and find that Tarzan has stolen my thunder.
As Tarzan has stated, try to use master cylinder power to pump the piston out. Just don't let the master run dry of fluid or else you'll have to bleed the system again.
Also, before you remove the calipers from the bike, loosen the brake line's banjo bolt, as it's torqued pretty tight and you'll never be able to hold the caliper with one hand, and loosen the bolt with the other iff'n it's offa the bike.
Also... sneak upstairs and steal some spatulas out of the kitchen without your wife catching you. Once you remove the banjo bolt, place a spatula over the open ends of the brake line and pinch them together with a vise-grips. This will stop the brake fluid from draining out of the brake line whilst you toy with the calipers.
Now then... if you can't get the caliper piston out by using master cylinder power, then, as Tarzan stated, you can use compressed air, from your air compressor, should you be suitably blessed to have one.
One word of caution, or maybe two....
Go slow with the compressed air. Wad a bunch of rags in the caliper to catch the piston... and keep your bloody fingers out of the way!
Well, they won't get bloody if you keep them out of the way, but you know what I mean. Sometimes the pistons pops out nicely, sometimes they really fly!
Calipers stick when the old, deteriorated brake fluid solidifies. Once you remove the square edged O-ring that seals the caliper piston, you'll note all the hardened crud that was behind it, in that groove. That's the crap that's expanded, pushing agin' the O-ring, which pushes agin' the piston and freezes it in place. Clean out that groove.
Use your thumb nail and scrape the crap offa that O-ring and put it back in.
Use only clean brake fluid for lube and for cleaning. Some cleaning agents are known to make that rubber O-ring swell and then you'll have to buy a kit in order to get a replacement.

[madmax-im]

On my '81 XS11000SH Ihad to use compressed air to get the pistons out...they plopped out with 100 PSI...I was expecting them to shoot out and that didnt happen..YMMV...be careful for sure

[GNEPIG]

Welcome aboard rlundy, nice find. If there is anything I can help with let me know. I live about 25 miles south of you, maybe we could take a ride to, or meet up at the Quaker Stake and Lube one Wednesday night.

[rlundy]

Great advice! Appreciate all the help. Not sure I'll have any time to mess with it tonight, but will be back in action shortly-plus its darn cold outside, 44 degrees this morning! Nice to know I should've removed the banjo bolt since the right caliper is already dangling.......

One thing missing-I've got to remove the brake pads, correct? (remember, am fairly new to Motorcycle mechaniky). Any quick primer on that before my 1978 genuine yamaha shop manual arrives (from ebay)?

GNEPIG, thanks for the offer, though it may be well past xmas when this thing rides out of the neighborhood. Are you down in Bradenton/Palmetto? nice places to ride out east of you. I have to travel at least 45 minutes before reaching anything remotely rural. Ah, Florida.

More details to come.

[prometheus578]

Yeah, remove the brake pads first.
And on the rear pads... there's a screw that must be taken out from the backside... but you'll be reading that in the manual.

[rlundy]

And then depression set in.......

Actually, just another challenge.

When I bought the bike the PO said the TDI was bad due to his jumping the battery off of a car, and claimed a friend with a S model let him test with the TDI off that bike. So I had ordered one off ebay and it came in today. I figured I'd give starting the bike a try so wired up the battery I got monday and charged monday night-decided to try the starter just to make sure everything was ok before installing the new TDI box and.....nothing. No lights, no horn, no starter.

So, got out the multimeter and started following the wires. First off, it seemed to have a ground issue, so I cleaned the primary ground, filed the circle fitting and refitted. Now I could find power at the main fuse regardless of where I grounded, ditto at the starter relay. But, no power at the ignition fuse. At that point I was done for the night. After talking over with my dad, a certified mechanical genius at 74 young years, my next steps are:

1. See if/why power isn't coming back from the ignition switch to the fuse block. It was too dark tonight to see if there are connectors somewhere that I can test continuity-what I assume to be the igniition wires are coming out of the side of the starter relay-it was too dark to see the underside of the ignition switch.
2. if #1 is solved, see if/why power isn't coming out of the relay to the starter.

The fuse box is pretty bad, the main fuse ears are fairly loose and it looks like crap. The PO made a big deal about how good he had it running, but as with all cheap, near parts bike purchases, you do wonder how much is BS. Didn't matter to me, the price was right and I was looking for this exact bike. It does change my troubleshooting though.

Dad will be in town over turkey day so I'll have some expert advice on hand over the holiday if I don't solve it before then. In the meantime I can finish getting the left caliper off and starting tearing those down.

Thanks again for all the assistance.

[bikerphil]

Definitely replace that old fuse box with the blade type. That will fix half the gremlins. TC has 'em. I used one from the auto store and modified it to fit. Just that fixed many intermittent electrical problems. I'm down here in FL too, near Pompano Beach.

[rlundy]

Actually, there may be a kink in my think. I noticed the other night that it looked like we pulled some wires off the front brake switch when we were horseing the bike off the trailer with the locked front brake-since the emergency switch is frozen, am thinking the PO may have hotwired the stop switch and we pulled the ends loose. Can't test this AM, will look at tonight. This would be consistent with the behavior I'm getting.

Bikerphil, who is TC? Was actually thinking I might fit a Blue Sea systems fusebox (you can get these at West Marine) which I've had very good luck with on my boats.

Robert

[prometheus578]

who is TC?

TopCatGR58... site administrator