6-Pot Front Calipers - Strange Noises

[TheDonUK]

Hi all,

A rare post in the workshop for me, nothing is broken but as a preventative measure i thought i would ask for some advice,

Before winter started my old Tokico calipers on my ZX6 were shagged so i brought new ones, And in that time i have not cleaned them or done anything TBH, due to laziness and lack of knowledge/experience.

So today riding at slow speed i hear a knocking sound from the front of the bike when i initially apply the brakes.

If i had to guess it would be that there is a slight gap between the end of the pads in the caliper, ie the pads have a milimeter or so of travel.

I only notice it at slow speed, as if the disc grabs the pads and knocks rotates them slightly clockwise knocking the caliper before they run out of free space.

I have explained that poorly and when they do bite there is still good feel from the front (although not as good as when new).

Has anyone had similar? Is this dangerous and what can be done?

Ill say now i dont really have the confidance to work on my own brakes even with some of the cleaning guides such as killa's that are on here..

Any ideas would be appreciated cheers
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[el_oso]

this may sound stupid but are the calliper bolts loose. never had this happen on a motorbike but my mountain bike has disks and it did the same. took me forever to figure out that the bolts holding the calliper on were loose.

[Itchy]

I was informed that this is happening on my CBR600F too since I changed the pads on Tuesday, it passed an MOT test fine , the only issue is that it makes an unpleasant noise and that the brake is very grabby according to the MOT tester and thus very very very sharp as the MOT tester on the brake test nearly dropped the CBR.
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[TheDonUK]

Sounds similar Itchy, Its only noticable at a very gentle pace ie 5mph, almost as if theres slightly too much room in the caliper for the edge of the pads.

I will check the bolts and give it a good once over before i ride tomorow
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Itchy]

[Mark65]

Hi
I would check the bolts are the right size and tight then check the caliper isnt sticking open slightly or that the pads arnt damaged inside on the edges, then the disc.

Mark

[Vincent]

OP, are you sure it's not your headrace bearings? also, do your calipers have the anti-vibration clips? sometimes, a spot of Copaslip on the rear of the pads can sort knocking out.
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Space Is Deep

[the grim reaper]

I take it they checked the pins that the pads slide on, if one of these is worn or notched, the pad will sit in this groove and not be properly applied at low speed.

Cheers

Grim
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[Itchy]

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Perfectly normal sound.

Where there are six pistons the calipers dont get applied flat so knock around a little bit against the calipers. Don't worry about it.