majdisast

[majdisast]

Hi there, i am experiencing a little difficulty with the front and rear brakes of my 1998 Kawasaki ZX9R.
It seems that if the bike is left unused for a couple of months the brakes bind on the discs making moving the bike very hard.
The pistons are clean and once the brakes are freed they operate normally.
Has anyone else had this type of problem? or perhaps someone has a simple explanation.
Comments will be most welcome.

[Badger-Roy]

Hi there, i am experiencing a little difficulty with the front and rear brakes of my 1998 Kawasaki ZX9R.
It seems that if the bike is left unused for a couple of months the brakes bind on the discs making moving the bike very hard.
The pistons are clean and once the brakes are freed they operate normally.
Has anyone else had this type of problem? or perhaps someone has a simple explanation.
Comments will be most welcome.
A simple answer is to ride it more often;) .
Its just lack of use.

[BB]

^^^ What he said ^^^

[Wes]

They tend to bind if left to dry and you've been riding in wet/ salty winter conditions. Had a set weld themselves to the disc once. If you lay the Bike up for a while, you could remove the calipers and push the pistons/ pads back. Just remember to pump the brake before you go out again!!

[Badger-Roy]

Just remember to pump the brake before you go out again!!
i learnt that the hard way on my thundercat after changing the front pads. Most frightening 5 Seconds of my life, but I did learn you can lean a bike ALOT more than id previously thought.

[Scotty]

I had a ‘98 ZX-9R with those horrible Tokico 6-piston calipers and they were terrible for binding. Ultimately the only cure was to strip the calipers and remove the pistons individually to clean them. The previous owner claimed to have only ridden it once in winter, but upon closer inspection that single ride must have been across the entire width of Siberia. Under the fairing it was truly gopping, and the brake calipers had suffered from road salt attack. The piston seals had to be removed (do it carefully and they can be used again). Salt corrosion in the seal pockets was forcing the seals hard against the pistons, stopping them from retracting when the brake lever was released, this causing the binding. I made a special tool to clean the salt crap out of the seal pockets and used special brake caliper grease on reassembly (it’s the colour of cherryade, normal grease could cause the seals to swell, leaving you back at square one). The pistons showed little salt damage, and there was no further binding.
They aren’t great brakes at the best of times, if you don’t fancy the faff of a stripdown it might be easier to see if the 4-piston calipers from the later E-model would fit.

[Trev_P]

it surely is amazing what you can do when your sphincter is eating the seat :D:p


i learnt that the hard way on my thundercat after changing the front pads. Most frightening 5 Seconds of my life, but I did learn you can lean a bike ALOT more than id previously thought.

[Trev_P]

All good advice from everyone, I used to use copper grease or is that "old hat" now :rolleyes:



I had a ‘98 ZX-9R with those horrible Tokico 6-piston calipers and they were terrible for binding. Ultimately the only cure was to strip the calipers and remove the pistons individually to clean them. The previous owner claimed to have only ridden it once in winter, but upon closer inspection that single ride must have been across the entire width of Siberia. Under the fairing it was truly gopping, and the brake calipers had suffered from road salt attack. The piston seals had to be removed (do it carefully and they can be used again). Salt corrosion in the seal pockets was forcing the seals hard against the pistons, stopping them from retracting when the brake lever was released, this causing the binding. I made a special tool to clean the salt crap out of the seal pockets and used special brake caliper grease on reassembly (it’s the colour of cherryade, normal grease could cause the seals to swell, leaving you back at square one). The pistons showed little salt damage, and there was no further binding.
They aren’t great brakes at the best of times, if you don’t fancy the faff of a stripdown it might be easier to see if the 4-piston calipers from the later E-model would fit.

[DC]

All good advice from everyone, I used to use copper grease or is that "old hat" now :rolleyes:

" clean the salt crap out of the seal pockets and used special brake caliper grease on reassembly (it’s the colour of cherryade, "

I think He's referring to red rubber grease for the caliper piston seals .

[Scotty]

That’s correct, cheers DC. The red grease is the stuff for caliper seals and pistons, Copaslip is for the back of brake pads and pad retaining pins.
Given the time and effort required, I think that Majdisast’s best option would be the 4-piston calipers from the later E-model (if they’ll fit). Not the cheapest way to do it, but the end result would be better brakes.