GPZ stiff in morning

[largeinnit]

Hi,

I've noticed that my kawasaki gpz 500 is very difficult to push first in neutral thing in the morning (when I get it out of the garage) as if the front break pads are stickin or it needs lubricating.

The funny thing is once its been riding for a bit it moves along fine without much resistance? Anyone else have this problem and how do you resolve it (if necessary)?

I'm not sure, but I guess some rust/dirt deposits are building up over night/ extended periods of non use.

thanks in advance


large
____________________
if you understand what you're doing you're not learning anything

[Scooby]

Probably the seals are restricting the movement of the pistons. Only thing you can do is strip the calipers down and overhaul them, replace the seals with coppergrease. As a quick fix just give the calipers a whack with a mallet before you move the bike and it will free them off a bit.
____________________
A big enough hammer fixes anything!

[ZaphodBeeble]

It could be your gearbox oil getting really cold and causing it to be really thick. Even in neutral it could feel like the brakes are on. When the bike is warm the oil is thinner so the problem disappears.
____________________
Current bike: VTR1000F Firestorm. Previous: Firestorm (written off) - XJ600 Divvy - NSR125 - DT125 and a load of offroaders.

[Scooby]

That's got nothing to do with it.
____________________
A big enough hammer fixes anything!

[Kickstart]

Hi

The drag from cold oil will be there, but is so minimal that you are unlikely to notice it. Bit like the difference in effort to swing your leg through the air between a day with high air pressure and a day with low air pressure.

Front brakes sticking is the most likely cause. Probably the seals, but possibly just the pins it slides on (GPZ500 uses a twin pot sliding caliper). Giving the caliper a good clean will probably help (use a tooth brush and then cotton buds to clean the pistons), but the real solution is to rebuild it with new seals.

One other possibility is that you have an aftermarket cast iron disk. These can easily stick to the pads over night, especially with sintered pads.

If the problem is not coming from the front the also check the chain. It it is really bad, or the sprockets are really hooked then it will cause problems. However you would have loads of other problems if this were the case.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[largeinnit]

Thanks for the info guys.

I do have a cast iron disk, I'll try cleaning the calipher first and if that doesnt work I'll take a look at the seals.
____________________
if you understand what you're doing you're not learning anything