Help after a front brake job

[namari]

Just changed my front brake pads. The new ones were hard to put back on (yes, I pushed the piston back flush before putting the new pads in), and I had to sand them down a little to get them to slide on. Once on and torqued to specs, I pumped the brake, then took it out for a spin. Just a mile, but the whole time it felt like I was riding with my front brakes on. When I got back, the front rotor was piping hot too. Is this normal? With a few miles will the brakes wear down or loosen up a little? Or am I missing something? Thanks!

[namari]

I'm also concerned for the engine with the added stress of having to push a bike with the brakes engaged.

[alantf]

the front rotor was piping hot too. Is this normal?

Whenever I park up and fit the disc lock, I make sure I don't touch the disc, because it's always hot, but I've never had brake drag after I've had new pads fitted. Did you lubricate the guide pins?

[namari]

No, the service guide didn't say anything about that. No doubt that the pads were slightly too thick. I should have sanded them down a hair more. Just wondering if leaving them the way they are and letting them wear down naturally is fine, or if it's going to harm something.

[alantf]

Never known replacement pads that were too thick, but I suppose it could happen. I think I'd be stripping them down again, lubricating the guides, and making sure that everything else was free and moving easily.

[5th_bike]

Don't you lubricate the two guide pins with vaseline? (please correct me if I'm wrong)

[OldNTired]

No, the service guide didn't say anything about that. No doubt that the pads were slightly too thick. I should have sanded them down a hair more. Just wondering if leaving them the way they are and letting them wear down naturally is fine, or if it's going to harm something.
Just a thought. Your bike is 14 years old. Sometimes, with age, the brake line(s) will get soft
and colapse. This can/will prevent the fluid from going back to the MC and will keep pressure
on the caliper, causing the pads to press against the rotor. Have had this happen with a car.
If the hose feels soft, replace it.

[jonathan180iq]

I was thinking something along these lines too.

When is the last time you did a brake flush? It takes less than a bottle of brake fluid do a whole system flush and bleed on these bikes.
Lube the caliper slides, obviously. And then flush and bleed your brake lines. It sounds like there is air in the system, probably down at the caliper, and it's giving a false engage on the piston.

[namari]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Brake fluid was changed in 2008 and has been sitting since. It's nice a clean. I rode it around a little yesterday and the friction is starting to take some more material off the pads, loosening up the action a little. I should have just sanded the pads down a hair more on both sides, but had already returned my buddies torque ratchet.

[jonathan180iq]

I might be anal, but brake fluid from 2008 is too old for me, even if it's still pretty. I'm a once a year kind of guy.

[namari]

The bike has been ridden since it was changed. You would still change it?

[alantf]

Each to his own. Mine's still got the original, factory, 2007, fluid in it, and I'm perfectly happy. In 50 years of riding/driving I've never changed the fluid in my vehicles, and I'm still around to tell the tale, but who knows? :cool:

[jonathan180iq]

I would change it, but I'm not saying you have to or anything. It's just a thing with me.

Read the back of a bottle of brake fluid. As soon as the seal on the bottle is broken, it begins to absorb moisture to the point that what you don't use after opening should be discarded and not used. The same is true for what you have in your lines today. The system is sealed, but impurities still develop. It also slowly breaks down the lining of the brake lines, but that's not to say it's happening at an alarming rate or anything. Most people are fine, like Alan said, riding for years without worrying about it. And these aren't high performance machines and we don't boil our brake fluid doing around a track or anything. But, everything I stated above is true and I like clean and clear fluid. It also guarantees that I have a good brake bleed if nothing else.

So do you HAVE to change it? Nope. I'm just saying that I would if it were my bike, which it's not :)

[raul10141964]

open the blither, if the brake release is the house if don,t is the caliper

[JohnC]

The fact that you say you had to file the pads to get them in tells me either they are junk or you somehow got them hung up on the anti-rattle springs. No way the things you are experiencing are acceptable. If the brake is dragging the caliper will be fried and the rotor warped in short order.

Brake fluid should be changed out every 3 years or so. The water absorbed by the fluid reduces performance and causes corrosion in the metal parts of the system. New fluid is cheap insurance.