Cleaning Brakes

[yambabe]

Would appreciate your advice please, this is re my "summer" bike, a Suzuki VS800. Due to inclement weather and some health issues it's barely moved in a year , and in the autumn as per usual it was coated in ACF50/WD40 to protect against the winter corrosion.

It's now out and been hosed off and polished, but I have an issue with the front brake. Basically it's crap, I barely have one, and each time I use it I'm seeing a sort of gooey yet dusty film form on the disc. Have tried cleaning this with what I had to hand (degreaser basically) and been out and done several miles of a-road "speed up, nothing behind, big handful of front" in the hope that usage might burn it off but it's barely made a difference if I'm honest.

Do these brake-cleaner sprays work? Cos I'm thinking if I have to take the brakes to bits to clean them properly I might as well treat it to a new set of pads anyway......

Advice and opinions would be welcome please!
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Pete.]

Brake cleaner is little more than a very high powered solvent, so if you have any oil-based product on the disc it will wash that away.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[andym]

I'm sure I've said it before, and I'll say it again (and if at all possible for you to do), get the pads out and give them a light sand to get any contaminants off them, give the discs a quick wash with water with a small dash of washing up liquid in there.

To be honest I've never found brake cleaner to be much good unless I'm overhauling the braking system, and even then I'll give the pads a light sanding if any gets near them

[DrDonnyBrago]

As above, brake cleaner is a very volatile solvent, it rinses away any oil and then evaporates without leaving a residue. If you happen to have access to any other similarly volatile solvents (pure ethanol, isopropanol etc) then you can use them instead.

How much meat do the pads have left? The workshop answer is that you probably don't fancy chancing hard braking on a defective brake system , new pads and cleaning the discs with a decent solvent will sort it out.

Do you know what the oily residue is? Check to make sure that it isn't brake fluid leaking out as that could explain both the contamination and the shite brakes.

[Hetzer]

Gooey dust? Possibly you have brake-fluid leaking past the piston/s?
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[MarJay]

Brake cleaner is both good and bad.

Good, because it can clean discs and brake calipers without leaving a residue.

Bad because its rather toxic, and if exposed to temperatures above about 300 degrees C, turns into a nasty gas which eats your lungs.

To be honest Jo, if I were you I'd loosen the pad retaining pin(s), remove the caliper, remove the pads, give it a thorough clean, examine the pistons for corrosion and look for leaks, then re assemble with red rubber grease on the sides of the pistons (after removing any corrosion with fine emery paper or a soft wire brush). Then I'd push the pistons back into the caliper, fit new brake pads and re-assemble. Check the braking system works then take it for a test ride if all is OK.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[DrDonnyBrago]

[MarJay]

[Rogerborg]

[DrDonnyBrago]

[MrPink]

Sounds like your pads are contaminated so get new ones. If the seals are leaking, you need new ones of them too. Give the pistons a good clean, I use 1200 grade wet and dry paper dipped in brake-fluid. If they are pitted a long way in, you may have to think about getting new pistons too. Make sure you clean the groove the seals sit in very carefully, but avoid scratching the soft metal in the calliper. Use a small aluminium or wood implement to scrape out corrosion. Then reasemble, flush out all the old nasty brake fluid with fresh stuff, and enjoy good-as-new brakes. Don't forget to pump brake leaver a couple of times after having put it together, you don't want to leave that to the first corner or red light...
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VFR 800 2000 (Pre-tec) daily commute of about 40 miles. Starting to get very tatty.
VTR 1000 Firestorm Bought so I can take the VFR off the road and sort it out. First impressions: Cheap, no manners and loud as hell. Fits me quite well...

[yambabe]

https://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/Yambabe/pads.jpg

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Seals were fine, no fluid leaks, problem was caused by the above!

New pads fitted yesterday, MOT duly passed today and much less chance of me rear-ending someone now.........
____________________
Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Pete.]

Those pads were just about naked anyway, best thing you could have done was change them.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good