How annoying can people be!

[tommyjgraham]

Everday i have to add to the list of people who piss me off!!!
Bike went in the garage saturday for new fork seals and front and rear pads which was bad enough. Now the calipers are gripping on the front so have to be taken apart and cleaned and new seals put in. that 200 quid gone in seconds.

also the chrome is pitting on the forks and im gunna have to decide what to do with that. any suggestions?

[Squashed_Fly]

Lol, I have just posted a paint/pitting question at the same time as you, on almost the same bike! Except mine's a 6, not a 9.

How weird

[alanTDM]

Mine are pitted but just below the lower yoke so not fussed about that ok everywhere else though.
Are you sure it needs new seals my front brakes need cleaning every winter, they stick because of all the road crap in them and on the cali pistons .i clean the pistons with out taking them out and works ok after that,takes a while to do though.

[tommyjgraham]

i did look at that but it has been sat for so long now with hardly any pads that it has seized open and now has new pads in so has seized open against the disks.

[Mitch9128]

Get a Haynes manual for a start! Second get some brake cleaner and a toothbrush, whip caliper off the stanchion, out with the pads, pump pistons out a little, careful they can pop out too far, and scrub with lashings of brake cleaner, do 'em all, push back pistons and re-assemle, job jobbed. Why do you need new seals? A garage perhaps? If they ain't leaking they are fine, you can split the caliper and re-use them 99.9% of the time.

[Scotty]

Before spending money it's sometimes worth having a look on the forum for any helpful threads like this (http://www.wiltshirebikers.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1297355850) one. The front calipers on the ZX-9s of that vintage are notorious for binding, I had to strip mine completely and get all the crap off the pistons and from behind the main seals - the seals are re-usable if you're careful with them, though the dust seals are usually toast by the time things get to this stage - but they're MUCH cheaper than the main ones... good luck!

[njl]

Get a Haynes manual for a start! Second get some brake cleaner and a toothbrush, whip caliper off the stanchion, out with the pads, pump pistons out a little, careful they can pop out too far, and scrub with lashings of brake cleaner, do 'em all, push back pistons and re-assemle, job jobbed. Why do you need new seals? A garage perhaps? If they ain't leaking they are fine, you can split the caliper and re-use them 99.9% of the time.

I've got to get my calipers cleaned up too. Once clean i've always sprayed them with copper grease in the past is that alright for some protection?

[tommyjgraham]

thanks everyone. will have to take up on ur tips and try it out for myself

[Mitch9128]

NickL, a little smidge of copper grease on the metal back of the pads to stop squeal is ok, apart from that nothing else needed. As for dust seals, bin them, waste of space, another seal for crap to hide behind, just clean them more often. BTW folks, 5litres of brake cleaner is £15 at Camberley auto factors, it will last forever and ever, and 5 toothbrushes a pound at poundland.

[redken1]

NickL, a little smidge of copper grease on the metal back of the pads to stop squeal is ok, apart from that nothing else needed. As for dust seals, bin them, waste of space, another seal for crap to hide behind, just clean them more often. BTW folks, 5litres of brake cleaner is £15 at Camberley auto factors, it will last forever and ever, and 5 toothbrushes a pound at poundland.

I tried using brake cleaner to brush my teeth' but it made me feel sick. ;D ;D ;D

Sorry Mitch couldn't resist it.

[Nooj]

Quick note, coppaslip or similar on the backs of pads is good. using it on the pistons isn't good, the copper grains in it will abrade your piston seals and wear them prematurely. The red grease for rubber is the stuff to use for this.

[Jon_W]

Ref the forks.

If its the inners pitted, you should be able to recover them if they are not totally shot.

Strip the Forks, get some worn wet and dry paper (fine grade) and some three in one light oil. Put the oil on the wet and dry and gently abraid the forks.... you should feel the sharp edges of the pits dissapear, and the forks will be good for a lot longer.

[tommyjgraham]

Thanks very much. Sounds like a good idea on the forks. I will deffinately be giving that a go when the bikes back. I will eventually be getting the forks hard coated as they are in very good condition other than that. But that can wait a while. Anyone know a good place to have it done?