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No Such Thing As A Quick Job
Damn. The front brake pads on the CBF 125 are worn. So today I'm going to replace them. Maybe an hour I reckon, pop the old pads out, clean the pistons a bit before I push them back in, fit the new pads and put the calliper back on. Sorted.
The calliper comes off just fine. This being the Nissin 2 pot sliding calliper it's always prudent to clean the sliders. I notice one pad is more worn than the other which is typical on sliding calliper brakes but there's a fair difference here. I slide the sliders. Well, I attempt to slide the sliders. Solid. I whack them a bit. No movement. I whack them harder. Still no movement. I guess that explains the excessive disparity in the pad wear then.
It's no use, I'll have to bite the bullet and remove the calliper. This will mean undoing the banjo bolt which will mean having to bleed the brakes which will mean I'll have to get some fresh brake fluid which will mean I'll have to go to Halfrauds. Bummer.
With the calliper in the bench vice I whack it. Nothing. I apply cunning and evil genius, or I strike lucky and remove some nuts and bolts until I can get some leverage onto the stuck non-sliding slider. I heave it one way and push it another until there's a crack and I gain movement. Not sliding movement as yet, rotational movement. But any movement is a good start. I apply excessive amounts of maintenance oil (thanks John DeVille) until my groaning and puffing finally pays off and the slider is freed.
Another hour is spent cleaning. Both the gf and I file away rust and hardened dirt. We polish and poke at 4 years of grime and neglect. Screwdrivers are stabbed and prodded. Cleaner is applied again and again. The wire brush is used to not only remove hard baked black stuff but many happy layers of skin. Eventually I'm satisfied that everything is...well...acceptable rather than ideal. In an ideal world I'd have the whole lot made in stainless steel and to hell with rust.
It's actually a very good brake. Just wish it was all rust and corrosion free materials.
I replace the calliper. I then make the trip to Halfrauds to be relieved of £5 for a tiny bottle of DOT4. I think I'm getting old, I thought it should be about £1.50 for a bottle this size. I make a mental note to not feel guilty about charging my customers any more. Back at home I am incredibly pleased that at least the tiny screws that hold the master cylinder cover on come out and it's also a doddle to bleed the front brake. Job done.
Waste not want not or as my friends say..."TIGHT GIT". Brake fluid goes off. I've learned that the hard way in the past but I still have well over half of this bottle of brake fluid left. I know, I'll put it in the Fazer, can't do any harm having fresh fluid in there can it. I allow gravity to let the old fluid out and ensure to not let the level drop too low. This means I don't need to bleed the brakes which is good. It also means it takes a bleeding (sic) age.
See this...this is ART! I'll have none of ya Tracey Emin nonsense here.
So now I have a full compliment of working brakes on both my bikes and they both have fresh clean brake fluid in them. Was it all worth it? Naaaaaah. That's the problem with maintenance. It's absolutely necessary, you HAVE to do it, but it doesn't make your bike faster or better. It just stops it getting worse too quickly.
Reader's Comments
kath brooks said :-
Sounds like time well spent
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Dave T said :-
You're right about never think a job will take 20 mins. There's always something else, some problem, some issue. And if the job you're doing goes well then you will be sure to find another one whilst working on the bike
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Yeah Dave. I was putting my new bike back together and noticed the oil was low and gunky. Sometimes it's good to notice the other jobs that need doing too.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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