Brakes dragging.
 

So I finished my 954 fork swap.. but my new brakes drag a bit. (enough that I could smell them when riding, and I used ~.2 gallon per fill up more than yruyur did Saturday night, and he had his wife along while I rode alone, but they were never glowing or felt weak)

I need to first make sure the wheel is properly centered between the calipers, and have read about loosening the fork clamps, then rolling the bike back and forth and hitting the brakes a few times to accomplish this.

Is that a viable option to center the wheel?

Then if that doesn't help, I will swap out to my stock brakes, they should bolt up to the 954 forks alright, I wouldn't leave them this way, but it will show me if the 954 calipers are sticking, and I can at that point fix the calipers, or swap to a F4i setup. (considering this anyway)

Anything else I should try?

I'm still having this issue. I first found that I had left & right spacers flipped, so I figured that would help but so far it's only been a slight improvement. I've tried swapping M/C's & lines, I've been hoping not to have to reseal the calipers themselves, but that's the only thing I haven't tried yet.

By the way, if you want the F4i M/C I've got one I can't use because of the Swatt clip-ons (which I believe you used too, so maybe not?).

Thanks for the reply.

Why would the Swatts prevent the F4i master from working? There looks like there is lots of room on my bike..

As for the spacers, I have the larger diameter one on the right (brake side) along with the axle bolt (this is how I was told it goes) is that right?

Also check that:

The disc and mounts are installed on the correct sides. I used VTR wheels and discs on a set of 900RR forks, the discs are 'handed', different left or right. If installed reversed, the fit is too tight.

That the return bleed hole in the master cylinder isn't plugged. It doesn't take much, only a speck of debris will close the orifice. Causes the symptom you describe.

We've got a nice hobby bike in the S'hawk. Enough of a mix of old and new tech to make it interesting to wrench upon, but not so much as to be intimidating. Sort of like finding out the that after you ask out the librarian, she has a secret life that takes your breath away.

Well I got the whole 954 front end as a unit from a guy, and haven't bled the brakes yet.. The fluid in the reservoir looks red.. an odd color it seems to me, clear but a definite red tinge to it.. I wonder if the wrong kind, or a mix of fluids is in there causing some seals to swell.

Tonight I will try the axle thing then move on to trying my old brakes (since it is a 5 min swap, no bleeding etc involved) so as to narrow down the problem. Then will report back.

edit: I am fairly sure the rotors are on the right way around since I didn't remove them. However the guy I got the front end from did swap them off of his 954 wheel.

If you look closely at the rotors there are directional arrows.They point towards the front if they are mounted correctly.The arrows are close to the center of the rotor,near the mount bolts.

not sure which Swatt's you got, but mine with the 3.5" (maybe 3", don't remember) risers won't let that integral reservoir fit onto the bar, it's too fat where the bar meets the riser plate. I can take a picture later if you need.

all disk brakes drag. rotor direction, spacers won't matter a bit ( within reason ) because the pads are self centering.

using .2 gallons more of gas is of little help as every bike / rider is a bit different.

most cailpers will have 2 seals. i main fluid seal ( thicker ) and a smaller dust seal ( thinner ). find a thin piece of material, about half as thick as the brake pad, and pump the brakes to expose more of the cylinder. clean as well as you can with brake cleaner & brush. if that doesn't work you'll have to pop the cylinders & replace the seals.

tim

Well let's just say that on the ~80 miles between fill ups, we used to (pre swap) use very close to the same amount of fuel.. now I use at least .2 gallons more and my rotor are warm to the touch, plus I smell the brakes when riding slower.

I am going to verify that the calipers are sticking before attempting to clean them.. once I am sure that is what is going on, I will try what you say.

Thanks!

Ah, so the res hits the riser.. I will look (and I also have the 3.5") to see if that seems like a likely issue.

Ok, so I have determined the problem is for sure that the calipers are sticking. If I put the old VTR brakes system on, everything works with no dragging. (but I can't put in both the caliper bolts due to fender tabs.. needless to say I didn't go any further than I had to to test everything.. half a block)

Also putting the VTR calipers on there verified which side the spacers go on as they only fit and centered one way around. (pads are much newer than the 954 pads)

So now I have to either fix the 954 system.. Or figure out how to make a F4i system fit.
Syclone, do you have a picture of how much interference there is between the riser and the reservoir?

I don't, I'll try to get one tomorrow. I had thought about flipping the supports around so the fat part faced back towards the rider, but they countersunk the bolt holes, so I'd probably need longer bolts, and I wasn't sure if that was a very good solution.

Hmm, I wonder if they changed the design since yours were made.. That or you got them swapped left to right or something. Because the fat part does face me.

Attachment 29435

great, I got screwed, mine face forward...

I just checked the website, and the pics all show it the other way around like yours.. I much prefer how mine are though :D

I'm going to email Bill and see if I can swap him for shipping and/or labor costs

You can also use fine emory cloth/sandpaper to clean the caliper pistons. Use the brush and some simple green too. It's much easier to get off when it's foamy and wet, vice fighting to scrub before the brake cleaner evaporates.

Well I swapped out for a complete F4i setup.. (and a ST1100 clutch MC)

And the brakes are way better, clutch works perfectly.. However I still have my brake dragging problem. Any way that the brake lines could cause this? They are the only thing I kept from the 954 setup.

The calipers and MC are from the F4i setup, and the brake pads are all new. Fresh Dot 5.1 fluid etc.