Rear Brake Pads Replacement Trophy 900

Discussion in 'Technical Help' started by drob, Jun 27, 2015.

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  1. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    What you are trying to do is to get the new pads to settle into there correct operating position. One or two pushes on the rear brake pedal should be all that is necessary. Sounds to me like maybe the first piston you pushed home has blocked in place. Have you checked to ensure there is sufficient brake fluid in the rear brake master cylinder reservoir?
     
  2. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    JOB DONE!! With trail and error and your help, I got this done in 3 hours. I'm sure someone who knows what they're doing can do it in 20 mins but feeling pretty good about myself anyway. Many thanks again :). Am about to go out for a ride now to do a road test.
     
  3. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    Think it may have needed some time to settle or something. Doesn't brake really hard but it's having effect now. Checked the brake fluid and there's plenty in there. Hope that one piston isn't stuck. There's more play than usual in that rear peddle now tho.
     
  4. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    #24 drob, Jul 5, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2015
    Rear brake failed the road test. Really can't be bothered taking the thing apart again tonight but will try again tomorrow. When the bike is on the centre stand, pushing the brake pedal will stop the wheel but while riding, it doesn't have any noticeable affect. Maybe I didn't put the pads in right? Will take pictures of the caliper tomorrow and would be great if you could let me know what you think.

    There in an internal spring in there; I placed the bottom pad directly against the pistons and rested the top one ontop of a couple of "pins" sticking out of the spring. Foolishly when I first took the caliper apart I didn't take note of position of the old pads. Maybe only the bottom pad is activating cos I got the positioning wrong? If the pistons are against the bottom pad, what's making the top one move?

    Brake pedal goes all the way down too, doesn't feel like it's being effective. Would the caliper working properly normalise the pedal?
     
  5. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    Hi Drob, just got back in.

    What I suggest you do - assuming you have the time and the motivation - is to take various pictures as you remove the calliper from the bike and the brake pads from the calliper and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out.

    Is now a good time to suggest buying a Haynes or Triumph workshop manual?
     
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  6. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    Thanks mate. I'll take the pictures tomorrow and give it another go.

    Definately time to invest in some knowledge. I was considering picking up the Haynes Basic Tech Book to get an overall view of how a bike works, hear that it's a good place to start.
     
  7. crispey

    crispey crispey creme de la creme

    Nov 6, 2014
    7,225
    1,000
    Uk
    a collar of crud can form around the part of the piston that gets exposed, if you can remove pads and take the calliper off , try and get the piston out as far as you can you might see, in the gap in caliper where pads go some crud around the piston, try cleaning that off as well. if you haven't already that is. The other thing is an air bubble in the system, GL
     
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  8. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    Thanks crispey...I just took the pads out, put them back again and gave the pistons another scrub with a toothbrush. Think that it may have done some good because the pistons moved more freely after I did. Moved when pushed the pedal and when I used a g-clamp to push down one piston, the other raised. Noticeable change in movement.

    After putting it back together I got all exited because there's a definate bite to the brake now. When I held the pedal down the brake instantly worked and pushing the wheel for resistance did very little. Took it out for a quick ride though and it wasn't doing much of anything. With the bike on the stand the brake felt much stronger than yesterday but on the road it's doing nothing to stop me.

    Here are the pics I took today 20150706_182453__1436207813_83239.jpg 20150706_182502__1436207878_83139.jpg 20150706_182513__1436207929_30593.jpg 20150706_182942__1436207993_22046.jpg 20150706_183834__1436208106_99473 (1).jpg :
    20150706_190241.jpg
    Seems strange that the brake is biting down hard but I'm not noticing any affect while on the road. Do you have to adjust the pedal after working on the caliper? thebiglad, by the rear brake master cylinder - do you mean the reservoir that's under my seat above the rear brake (if so, it has plenty of fluid)? Is there a reservoir of fluid in the caliper that I should check? Look at me shooting in the dark!! :).
     
  9. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    Hi Drob you are obviously getting there.

    Re the reservoir - you found it under the seat and it has fluid in it so that's OK.

    Re what's in your pics - I would never put copper grease around the pistons. Once they have been thoroughly cleaned the brake fluid will lube them.

    In pic 5 I would say that piston needs cleaning some more and if the other is in the same condition there is still work to be done. The piston looks like it needs a little more aggressive attention with perhaps either fine emery paper or wire wool. They need to be properly clean to work properly.

    Brake fluid - is it clean and clear? If it looks black it will not work so well. Also if the brakes need bleeding they will not pull up the bike that well.

    General points - on your bike I believe you have a double disc set-up up front? That's where 80% of the bike's braking occurs, so just make sure you are using mainly the front brake to shake off speed, not the back one.
     
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  10. Keith Inglis

    Keith Inglis Member

    Feb 17, 2015
    18
    18
    Kings Lynn
    Looking at your picture 5 drobe is that dirt/crud around the piston base of rubber ? because if it is rubber it will mean it is the dust seal disintergrating which will lock the piston up, I had that and could not remove the pistons at all and had to buy another calliper,
    I would remove the pistons and clean them up with metal polish not emery paper that will scratch them and may cause a leak (sorry biglad) and re seal both then refit with rubber grease and bleed the system with the pistons held back or in.
    the back brakes do suffer from dirt on the pistons and require cleaning from time to time and using rubber grease not only helps the piston to slide but makes it easy to keep clean as the dirt sticks to the grease and can be wiped off but do not use to much of it, you do not want it getting on the pads
     
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  11. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    Thanks for the input Keith. Some of that crud on the pistons was rubber, I assumed it was meant to be there so I just gave the base of the pistons a scrub with a toothbrush. Shouldn't be a problem to get the pistons out of there for a cleaning, yesterday one of the pistons almost fell out while I was pushing it upwards (with pedal) - so hopefully I won't need a new caliper. Will go in there for another clean with the advice from you and thebiglad. If I take apart my rear brake for a third day in a row my neighbours may think I don't know what I'm doing :).

    Thinking about it thebiglad, I'm sure the brake fluid was a dark colour so I'll replace that. If my brakes need bleeding then I'll have to get some advice on how to do that also. Never done that before either.

    I didn't mean to coat the pistons with copper grease but I followed your instructions to put it on the back of the pads and as I put the smaller pad directly onto the pistons, they got greasy. Is there a way to prevent that? I think I took that photo straight after taking the pads out of there but gave it a scrub afterwards. No doubt it's happened again tho when I put it back together.
     
  12. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    You only need to put a very thin sliver on the backs of the pad plates and only where the pistons touch the pads.

    Also, can't remember if I said anything about about the 2 pins that hold the pads in place? These need to be really clean so the pads will move on them easily.

    Make sure you have enough brake fluid DOT4 in stock - a minimum of one new 250ml can.

    Dave
     
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  13. Keith Inglis

    Keith Inglis Member

    Feb 17, 2015
    18
    18
    Kings Lynn
    if biglad will forgive me for butting on the thread,
    you should not see any rubber exposed as you have, you will need to re seal the pistons,
    bleeding the brakes is easy, once you have re sealed the calliper and fitted it with the new pads back on the bike,
    suck out the old dark fluid from the reservoir and refill with new fluid dot 4 as biglad said, now slide a bit clear plastic tube on the bleed nipple on the caliper, find a small ish jar and put the tube in it with a small amount of fluid so the tube is in the fluid, now loosen the bleed nipple half a turn or so and opperate the brake leaver and pump fluid through the system making sure the reservoir does not get empty, keep doing this until you get clear fluid through the tube without any air bubbles, then tighten the bleed nipple, pump the brake lever until the pads have hit the disk and top up the reservoir to the correct level, thats it.
    Keith
     
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  14. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    Thanks guys, appreciate it. Lots to work on there and will let you know how I get on.
     
  15. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    Sorry Keith But I have to disagree with you on the visibility of the rubber seals in the callipers. It is perfectly normal to see the dust seal (which is what we are seeing in the pics). However the rubber seal that really counts (the one that control the hydraulic pressure and action) is much deeper within the calliper and is always unseen unless the piston is removed.
     
  16. Keith Inglis

    Keith Inglis Member

    Feb 17, 2015
    18
    18
    Kings Lynn
    Oh I agree with you re the one that counts biglad, but if the dust seal swells it can lock up the piston, I have a calliper in the garage to prove it and it is also a problem with salt on Honda's, we might be talking about differant callipers on my 1992 trophy and the speed triple I can not see the dust seal well only a very small flat edge when the pistons are in and no way should the dust seal expand up between the piston and the calliper as shown in drob's number five picture.
    Keith
     
  17. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    Just wanted to give you guys an update and see if you think the deep clean that Keith suggested is apt. A day or so after my last attempt at cleaning the caliper, my brakes started to work a treat. Have been away for a little while so haven't had the chance to work on my bike but whenever I ride it the brakes are working. It's how well they work that is changing; sometimes there's little give in the peddle and they work instantly and sometimes I have to push further but they are still working. Huge improvement. That how well they work is changing so often implies there's still work to do. I will make time to work on it over the weekend.
     
  18. Keith Inglis

    Keith Inglis Member

    Feb 17, 2015
    18
    18
    Kings Lynn
    That sounds good brob, but it seems you still have some air in there, re bleed the system and make sure you only have clear fluid comming out with no bubbles and hold the brake pedal down to the end of its travel on the last stroke while you do the bleed nipple up.
    Keith
     
  19. Keith Inglis

    Keith Inglis Member

    Feb 17, 2015
    18
    18
    Kings Lynn
    That's OK then just make sure there is no air in there. Keith
     
  20. drob

    drob Member

    Oct 6, 2013
    7
    8
    OK guys, thanks. Sounds like I'm almost finished with this problem. Now I just need to figure out how to bleed brakes :). Is the bleed nipple on the caliper? There is a nipple looking cap on it that I have no idea what it does. If anyone has any guides they could post a link to, I'd appreciate it. Thanks again guys.
     
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