Rik398 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Ok folks, So, this is the first time in biking that I have come across needing to do a caliper rebuild on the bike. I will be doing it myself, simply because I enjoy doing stuff myself and the dealer quoted crazy prices when they fount that they needed done which is fair enough as it is time consuming though the parts are fairly cheap, as long as there are no pitted pistons. The only real question I have, is that as this is the first time I have encountered it, is it something that generally needs done relatively regularly? I do ride in winter though non of the other bikes I have had experienced the problem, though the rear brake design on the bandit is particularly stupid. What maintenance needs done to prolong the life of the seals? Never really had the thought of / needed to maintain brakes as such, other than keeping an eye on the pads and investigating a change in feel. Should I be doing anything regularly to maintain the brakes as such? Suppose I am wondering whether it is faulty maintenance that has led to the problem, or simply the fact that the bike is an 03 model and who knows....they may not have been done before? Previous owners have all been fairly ride in the dry only types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB999 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Ok folks, So, this is the first time in biking that I have come across needing to do a caliper rebuild on the bike. I will be doing it myself, simply because I enjoy doing stuff myself and the dealer quoted crazy prices when they fount that they needed done which is fair enough as it is time consuming though the parts are fairly cheap, as long as there are no pitted pistons. The only real question I have, is that as this is the first time I have encountered it, is it something that generally needs done relatively regularly? I do ride in winter though non of the other bikes I have had experienced the problem, though the rear brake design on the bandit is particularly stupid. What maintenance needs done to prolong the life of the seals? Never really had the thought of / needed to maintain brakes as such, other than keeping an eye on the pads and investigating a change in feel. Should I be doing anything regularly to maintain the brakes as such? Suppose I am wondering whether it is faulty maintenance that has led to the problem, or simply the fact that the bike is an 03 model and who knows....they may not have been done before? Previous owners have all been fairly ride in the dry only types. Take a look at Del Boys Garage on You Tube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 the main problem with brakes is people don't clean them enough the brakes benefit from a douse of water from time to time to get all the loose crap out and the brake dust although brake dust is nasty stuff and is a twat to remove if left for too long that combined with winter road salt is disaster!! the pistons move out when brakes are squeezed then they move back slightly this drags crap towards the seals some of the salt can get behind the dust seal and cause corrosion which pushes the seal against the piston causing it to stick its very rarely an oil seal problem is 99% of the time the dust seals at fault pistons start to pit when brakes aren't cleaned and brake dust will eat away a things not at a great rate but it will do its worse on alloys so a good rinse helps every few weeks or every day in winter as for rebuilding them they are really easy be sure to get the pistons as far out as you can before removing the brake lines unless you have an air compressor once the pistons are out clean them up clean behind the seals put new seals in its best to rebuild with brake grease too pop the pistons in and bleed them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB999 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Ok folks, So, this is the first time in biking that I have come across needing to do a caliper rebuild on the bike. I will be doing it myself, simply because I enjoy doing stuff myself and the dealer quoted crazy prices when they fount that they needed done which is fair enough as it is time consuming though the parts are fairly cheap, as long as there are no pitted pistons. The only real question I have, is that as this is the first time I have encountered it, is it something that generally needs done relatively regularly? I do ride in winter though non of the other bikes I have had experienced the problem, though the rear brake design on the bandit is particularly stupid. What maintenance needs done to prolong the life of the seals? Never really had the thought of / needed to maintain brakes as such, other than keeping an eye on the pads and investigating a change in feel. Should I be doing anything regularly to maintain the brakes as such? Suppose I am wondering whether it is faulty maintenance that has led to the problem, or simply the fact that the bike is an 03 model and who knows....they may not have been done before? Previous owners have all been fairly ride in the dry only types. Take a look at Del Boys Garage on You Tube "> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 When rebuilding, smear red rubber grease on all seals. Much better than brake fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik398 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Cheers folks. Looks like I will be swapping to to old hose pipe again. The waterless muc off stuff may not be ideal in terms of keeping the brakes healthy. Rebuild should be fine, pads need done anyway so not too annoying. The del boys garage stuff is really helpful for the bandit. And being a bandit parts are dead easy to find so all good. I saw the rebuild vids so everything is good there, hopefully proper hose pipe wash will help the new ones I put in last a bit longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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