Did I just screw myself? brakes..
 

Attempted to change my brake pads today and could only get one of the 2 flathead covers off the caliper that the guide pin sits under. Where I screwed up is after I got one off I took a 5mm Allen wrench and tried to loosen the guide pin........ Well these bolts must be made of wax. Stripped really easy even though the Allen was seated all the way. Is there a trick to this? Should I buy new calipers? Or can these be saved?

They may have been over torqued on the last change and no anti sieze was used. You could always use a torx bit (star shaped instead of allen) and use a hammer and force it in there. The force from the blows with the hammer my help the threads break free from the tapped hole in the caliper and allow you to remove and replace that bolt. I know other people on this site will have some better ideas.

and i would add some heat from a propane torch. get all set to remove, heat it up good and remove carefully.

EDIT: good point made by Marquez in #7 thread below. You could fry the seals, but the fact that they're in brake fluid and are subjected to high heat via braking(as in racing/trailbraking, they can tolerate considerable heat. So if you do use heat, isolate the seal area with a wet rag. I typically like to heat stubborn bolts as it tends to help release the bond due to the difference in cooling between the surfaces.

Using an impact driver in conjunction with some of the ideas set out above could do the trick. On the other hand, mounting superior calipers from another Honda model of about the same vintage could be a better solution. Read about it in the Modifications - Performance section under "List of Bolt-on Brake Mods".

I thought about upgrading but I bought and opened a full set of pads. Don't really wanna throw that money away

Torx bit driven in may work, left hand drill bit may work, broken fastener remover after left hand drill will work.

I would not be heating the caliper with a torch, seals are not real tolerant to that kind of heat.

As for the hex socket head pin being made to soft?? , as stated above..

PO over torque’ed it, it's corroded in place, or the wrong tool was used at some point.

I have a set of F4i calipers with master I'm willing to part with if you decide to go that route, maybe you could sell the new pads here to get that bit of money back....

I may wanna go this route. Let me see if I can get that pin out and if I can I'll hit you up. Thanks

I just went through this same thing but I ride all winter so my calipers get hammered with salt.

I had to drill the "wax" allen bolt center and eventually used a bolt extractor to get it out. (torch too, brakes are made to deal with heat).

I just ordered some new bolts from Ron Ayers and you can bet I used anti-sieze on them.

Its a gut-checking job but I was not willing to admit (or experience) defeat. I even have a back-up set of vtr calipers but my 'A' set is CBR600 so had some motivation.

As an alternative to an easy out, you could also, using a dremel tool and a cutting wheel, cut a slot into it. Now you can use a large flat head screwdriver...worked for me when the easy out broke off lol

Oh an don't get new hardware from a bike shop or the like...it costs a fortune...just match the thread at a hardware store an use pocket change

Uh no way on either of those ideas bandit.

The bolt is way recessed so you would destroy the caliper slotting it, and it is a special part made by honda that you can't get anywhere else. Besides brakes are not the place for dollar store hardware. (and I am cheap)

Ron Ayers sells oem honda stuff cheap(ish).

Wayne- I am up grading my brakes. If you still haven't fixed your brakes let me know, I am sure that it will fit in a flat rate box and I will ship them to you. I have everything I need except for the stainless steel lines, but I will get them soon enough so I will send you the entire front brake set up, MC to calipers.

For the record I never said dollar store lol hardware stores often times sell the same grade steel fasteners...and yeah, if It's recessed, your SOL on the cut a slot idea...

Dont try to backpedal now......ha

BTW its part #12 on this fiche

Ronayers.com Microfiche Honda>Motorcycle>1999>VTR1000F>FRONT BRAKE CALIPER

Lol its all good...an I tried to pull up the tiny fish you linked...wouldn't come up? Damn cell phone internet lol

That would be awesome. Let me know what you want for them + shipping. I'm trying to keep cost low on putting my bike back together. It's been down over 3 years and I'm tired of spending $600 a month on gas for work. Oxnard to Santa Barbara is a nice coast ride!!!

Thanks for all your help everyone.

Oxnard? Oh man that brings back memories...I was stationed at port huneme or something...a Navy seabees base right near there...I think lol beautiful area...now back in penciltuckey, freezing my arse off...well, not too bad thanks to global warming lol

My mom lives in port hueneme. You can see the base from her house.

No sh1t...small world lol yeah I was there like...2002-03