Young kid = stupid question..

[Pancala]

I have been getting good progress with my XS. New tires, put in the new fuseblock, rebuilt back caliper, wheel bearings done all around and many others.

The problem I'm having is putting the rear brake caliper back on, when I bought the bike it didn't have one so I have no knowledge of taking it apart, hence, I cannot for the life of me get it put back together. I'm afraid to push the piston in any further. Wrong pads?(ordered from newmotorcycleparts.com), wrong setup? Missing parts? Wrong technique? Or just young kid new to motorcycles? Haha. I looked at the clymer manual and the service manual with little help. Pictures are very welcome!







Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[natemoen]

That caliper piston should squeeze in farther.

[Rasputin]

Which XS would you be working on? There are many differences between models even if they be small.

[soccer4m]

easy

Hey Young guy,,,,take a c clamp or big channel locks and squeeze the piston until it bottoms out. There is no problem by moving the piston in until it almost lines up with the rim of the caliper. If it doesnt go semi easy the caliper could use a cleaning. To make the piston move much easier when squeezing, just loosen the bleeder a few turns and let the fluid squirt out when squeezing. This should give you enough room to slide right over the pads and put back over the rotor.......I also put a small rag on the piston when squeezing to keep the clamp from scratching the piston edge...........have fun, Mike in Sun Diego

[Pancala]

It is an 80 sg model

Thank you for the tip, I was afraid pushing the piston in any farther would unseat the rebuild kit I just put in. It was enough of a pain trying to get it back in there. So we'll sum it up to a young kid not knowing much

[SFerinTEXAS]

Except for the lh and xj that caliper is the same for all the rest I believe. Nate's right it needs to push in all the way.

[petejw]

I have been getting good progress with my XS. New tires, put in the new fuseblock, rebuilt back caliper, wheel bearings done all around and many others.

The problem I'm having is putting the rear brake caliper back on, when I bought the bike it didn't have one so I have no knowledge of taking it apart, hence, I cannot for the life of me get it put back together. I'm afraid to push the piston in any further. Wrong pads?(ordered from newmotorcycleparts.com), wrong setup? Missing parts? Wrong technique? Or just young kid new to motorcycles? Haha. I looked at the clymer manual and the service manual with little help. Pictures are very welcome!







Any help would be greatly appreciated!

dont be afraid of pushing the piston back into the caliper,
thats what u need to do to have it fitted with new pads.


dont know what happened there, there was no replys before i posted lol

[ddragon63]

Hey Young guy,,,,take a c clamp or big channel locks and squeeze the piston until it bottoms out. There is no problem by moving the piston in until it almost lines up with the rim of the caliper. If it doesnt go semi easy the caliper could use a cleaning. To make the piston move much easier when squeezing, just loosen the bleeder a few turns and let the fluid squirt out when squeezing. This should give you enough room to slide right over the pads and put back over the rotor.......I also put a small rag on the piston when squeezing to keep the clamp from scratching the piston edge...........have fun, Mike in Sun Diego

+1 You can also just loosen the master cylinder cap so when you push it in the piston the fluid goes back up into the cylinder. loosening the cap will keep it from over pressurizing. C-clap and an old pad against the piston so you don't accidently crack the piston. If you place the old pad in the mix it will push the piston back to flush with the pad backing plate. Works for me YMMV

[ddragon63]

BTW there are no stupid question... well not really if you don't know its not stupid, and its smart to ask. Brakes are not something most people tackle every day. Good luck with your project.

[petejw]

jat,
dont forget to pump the pedal a few times
after u have everything back in place and put together
otherwise ur first outing might not be a pretty one.

[crazy steve]

Hold your horses....

First, did you thoroughly clean the internal groove in the piston bore before you installed the new seal? If that wasn't spotless, go back and do it again. Crud in the groove will cause the piston to go in hard and not move correctly. Next, did you verify the piston would go in and out of the bore smoothly before you installed the seal? Any burrs, corrosion in the bore will be more trouble soon. Same thing goes for the outer piston surface; it needs to be smooth and pit free. Next, seat the outer seal on the piston first, then push it into the bore; this will make sure the outer seal is seated properly. You can install the outer clip after the piston is in.

Lastly, that's not the correct way to install the pads. You're supposed to remove the caliper bracket from the bike, install the pads on the caliper, slide the caliper into the bracket, then install the assembly back on the bike. Note there's a pad retaining screw on the inside of the caliper; if this isn't installed (firmly holding the inner pad in position), the anti-rattle spring will cause misalignment and cause the rubber bushing that the caliper slides in to wear out.

[XJkid]

jat,
dont forget to pump the pedal a few times
after u have everything back in place and put together
otherwise ur first outing might not be a pretty one.

Yeah, I did my van and forgot to repressurize, put it in drive and took out a shelving unit in my garage

[bikerphil]

that's not the correct way to install the pads. You're supposed to remove the caliper bracket from the bike, install the pads on the caliper, slide the caliper into the bracket, then install the assembly back on the bike.

That would prove to be difficult on the rear brake, the axle would have to come out. Much easier putting the pads in the bracket then putting the screw in from the other side.

[BigRed]

One more thing... did you lubricate the seals and pistons with brake fluid? If you're pushing it in dry, it'll get stuck and your brakes probably won't release properly.

[crazy steve]

That would prove to be difficult on the rear brake, the axle would have to come out. Much easier putting the pads in the bracket then putting the screw in from the other side.

Yep, the axle has to come out. The FSM is ambiguous about this procedure for the rear brake, but my personal experience is the pad retaining screw can be a bitch to install in the rear with everything mounted. With the cast caliper bracket disengaged from the rotor, you can make certain everything is lined up right...