Suzuki Bandit 600 Failed MOT, need your help BCF.

[Kal-El]

Ok, so took my Banidit MK1 for an MOT test today and it failed.

He said the bike is hard to push and the brake caliper has seized on the front, doesn't know which one. He said I'll need to get a new seal kit for £30 and around about 2 hours labour. I have a funny feeling he'll end up charging me more again by piling on charges/labour. He said I'll need new brake pads probably too if they're worn out and that they're £30 a side.

I asked him whether I could do it myself, he said he recommended me doing it by a professional as he has the specialised tools.

I had a similar issue on the rear a few months back, he tried opening it and said he had to drill the caliper, he ended up breaking it, that combined with fitting a restriction kit, he charged me close enough to £600 for the repairs/restriction kit

So anyone know how I should go about doing this? And what tools I'd need. Do I get someone to do it or should I be able to do it myself? help!

Thanks in advance.

Edit, just called suzuki and they're saying around £360 to £450 best case scenario and that they charge £84 an hour labour!!


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[Rogue_Shadow]

Just to jump in and reassure you, before someone else can explain in greater detail.
Restoring a brake calliper is dead easy & I'm pretty certain YouTube has a how to guide on your exact bike.
Seals, new pads (if needed), brake fluid & some clear pipe to bleed the brakes.
The learning experience alone makes it worth doing.
I'd only pay someone to do my bike if time was of the essence & I didn't have the parts to hand.

[DrSnoosnoo]

So he did an MOT and can't say which caliper is seized and if they need brake pads? I just bought new EBC pads for my Blade calipers and they were £20 a side.

Calipers can be DIYd. I suggest investing in the tools and having a spannering session.
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[Kal-El]

Thanks guys.

Can only find rear caliper videos on youtube.

I found someone near my area working at a garage, who said he'd do them for £50 each, that's alright isn't it?

He said he's been doing it for 30 years and brake calipers is pretty much all he does (Slightly exaggerating probably but sounds like he knows what he's doing, he does ride a gxsr).

He didn't say which one is seized. So if the first one the geezer fixes turns out to be the problematic one. It'd only cost me £50 (Hopefully), which is quite a saving from a few hundred.
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[Spamalittle]

^^ This.

As far as I'm aware there are no specialist tools required - maybe only a bleed kit if you're feeling fancy but any piece of clear tube to fit the bleed nipple will do.

I managed the seals and pads on the VanVan with just the help of the interweb. Parts came to less than £50 including brake fluid (mind you it only had one twin pot caliper). Bleeding was a pain with no chums around to help but managed to get everything back together and I'm still not dead as a result of my novice mechanicals (even passed its next MOT no probs). Give it a shot - only way to learn imo. If you cock it up, then you can pay someone else to fix it.


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[cheeseman]

[Teflon-Mike]

The brake is binding..
Yes, it'll probably need new pads, even if they aren't worn thin, constantly rubbing, they have probably been 'cooked'.
If you are lucky.. you wont also need a new disc or two, cos same heat can warp them, especially if they have got thin from binding.
If you are especially lucky, then the cause of the binding is simply that the calipers have got gummed up with corrosion & crap and brake dust, and you MIGHT.. get away with no more than taking the caliper off the fork-leg, cleaning the pins that the caliper slides on, and greasing them, and cleaning the pistons to get rid of crud and crap with an old toothbrush...
More likely, the caliper would need to be fully reconditioned... if you are a bit lucky, some-one might have done that before, and fitted nice stainless steel pistons to replace pitted out chrome ones... but on a B6 chances are slim.... but if you want to do the job properly that's what you do, buy new pistons AND seals... and overhaul them... probably fitting new float pins and a bleed nipple while you are about it.

It is DIY able, but it IS a safety critical assembly, so you dont want to fuck it up! so you have to be meticulouse about cleaning everything, and very slow and painstakingly methodical following the instructions to put it all together...

Common problem, is if you just clean up and chance pads, new pads are thicker than the old worn ones, so you have to push the pistons back into the caliper to get them to fit around the disc; this means that the bit of the piston that is rubbing on the seals is the bit that was outside the caliper, before you put the new pads in... it's likely corroded and roughed up, even if you did meticulously clean it and haven't pushed a load of shit back into the seal with it, but either way, shortly after fitting the new pads, the seals get worn away by that rough old bit of piston and the caliper starts leaking... and new seals, on their own aren't a fix.. cos the rough old piston will do exactly the same to them....

Hence do it once, do it properly, and replace the pistons... which tends to be the expensive bit...

Your call, check Wemoto for piston and seal kits, and a Haynes Manual, But I would reckon on something like, £80 a caliper, for all new pistons & seals, pins & pads, new bleed-nipple and rubber boots and 'stuff'.

If you are a bit careful about how you go about the job, and don't get a piston stuck, or get on caliper off and stripped before you take the other off and find you cant pump the pistons out with the brake lever, you ought NOT need any special tools to get the pistons in or out...

So, not 'cheap' but, if you do it yourself, you know it HAS been done, and how it was done, and how well it was done..... which, you might only be able to guess at from your mechanic fella... and you can do the job 'properly' and know it should last, where your mechanic man, may not do the full job, to try saving you parts and labour.

I'd give it a crack... but then I've done bludy hundreds of the ruddy things on various bikes and cars over the years and wouldn't give it a second thought!

How confident are you with a socket set, to follow the instructions in the Haynes? Probably NOT a job to try tacking as your first bit of more major mechanics, if you have never done much more than an oil change before.. B-U-T still your call.
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[Dcwhite1984]

I havent read all the posts above so sorry if this is repeated,

Are you sure your calipers and pistons dont just need a really good clean??

However if you have cleaned them up and they are still sticking then i'd suggest searching in youtube for "delboy's garage brake caliper rebuild"

Very helpful video on how to rebuild brake calipers and as luck would have it he does it on a bandit.

You can get the seal kit for £30 on ebay, ebc brake pads £20 a side and you'll want some brake fluid and cleaner.

It's all just nuts and bolts really. Take your time, follow that video and you'll be dandy.

The only specialist tool you may need is a caliper extraction tool, however the guy in the video doesn't use one, if you did buy one it would still be cheaper than the garage.

The garage also sounds like a bit of a con, he as a professional should be able to tell you which side is sticking at the very least.
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The trick to life is to not get too attached to it.........

[Slacker24seve...]

I stripped and fitted new seals and Pistons to the front brakes of the other half's Hairnet last weekend. Stripped in about an hour but the pistons were so fucked I needed to use some compressed air to get them out. Cleaned them and waited til they were bone dry, put fluid in and bled them as best I could, then bled them again the next day. It's easy with a combination of brute force and patience.
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[c_dug]

You aren't far from me according to the forum map, and brakes is something I'm not bad at.

Is the bike still on the road, or is it out of MOT?

I'm bloody busy with work at the moment, but if we can make a day work for both of us and you can ride to me, I'll happily have a look.
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[DanRLee]

Youtube will help you fix it at home and take it to a different mot service.
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[BravoCharlie]

Del's Garage - Bandit front Caliper build Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDfNb_9YkcI

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC_Id6rgP3g

Those are the exact videos i used to learn back when I had my GPX after paying around £160 to get them done the first time, and i've done it on every bike i've owned since. The anatomy are pretty much the same on most calipers and it's not difficult.

hope it helps bud.


Edit: Just as a side note, it does sound like he's trying to get some cash out of you, i'm not a fan of letting my MOT mechanics work on my bike. I was in a hurry to get on the road one year with the GPX, took it to the only place who had time to test me. I'm in Glasgow and it's in Paisley, not major, but back then i Didn't know the area. Took it to my mechanic for a few last minute things (bulbs changed, levers adjusted, pre-MOT check), and the guy failed the bike saying it needed new bearings all over, the brakes were seizing and the suspension was broken, and conveniently he had all the parts... went to another MOT station the next day, they passed it with no advisories.
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[Kal-El]

Just an update, decided to drop it off at a local bike mechanic, thought it's best I don't meddle with brakes for my first mechanics job.

He said the disc is warped, so £100-120 needs to go on that. Said new brake pads are needed, £25 each. And £100 labour for two hours.

So I'm looking at £250-300

I've spent about 1k on maintenance on it so far this year lol. Should of just got a more expensive newer bike.
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It says I need a signature, so yeah, here's one.

[Kris]

Loads of second hand discs on ebay for £40 a pair.

This is definitely a job you should have attempted yourself. Now prepare to lube up and get shafted.

x 1000000
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[Kal-El]

[P.addy]

Mug, literally, mug.

[Pol Anorl]

[Baffler186]

yup, agree. When I was first starting out, I got mugged by a garage for brakes, and to top it off after paying the bill they started to bind again after 100 miles. Trust in yourself (and the advice offered on here and on youtube) or get mugged!
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[Rogerborg]

[Ebbs73]

First off , should have done this yourself really , easy place to start on the road to self maintenance . Lots of reading and forums first .

But I've got to say , the garage has to make money , I don't think it was to expensive , on parr for Peterborough .
I'm a self employed gas engineer and people always say how much , even just me it's Over heads Over heads Over heads , with a garage to pay for it must be huge .
For people that can repair them they do seem dear but people who cannot repair them , then you pay for someone qualified to do it for you
If one needed doing then do both , if the disc is warped ( mot should have noticed ) then replace them .
Once you've paid your money you should have 4/5/6 years of trouble free , miles dependant .
You've just had a bad run of maintenance , I've just done tyres , discs , pads , bearings , powered wheels , rear shock and front suspension rebuild £890.00 ish
Now my engines blown FFS!
Happy biking

Chris

[P.addy]

[Kal-El]

Ok, was £280 haggled it down to £260, not much but still.

Brand new disc £120, could of gotten this much cheaper probably a used one.

pads were £35

Labour worked out to be £100. But it was a proper decent chap, I'd rather my money go to him than the MOT mechanic. The motorcycle mechanic would of made me go to the hospital to get my anal territory stitched up.

To be fair I did buy the bike for £860, needed new sprockets, chain, new tire, restrictor kit, MOT mehanic broke the caliper so needed a new one.

All in all I've spent £1700 or so for the bandit (including restriction), which isn't bad in my opinion, because it's in great condition for a bike only a few years younger than me.

Tbh i'm not that confident doing stuff like that. I know a lot of you guys learnt mechanics from your old men, unfortunately mine wasn't present, i've no experience in mechanics, i'd end up screwing it up and spending even more, what's the point.

Probably best I take a motorcycle mechanics course or something if one exists, if I learn the basics I'll be able to work myself up from there.

But yeah, long story short, MOT passed, £260 down
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It says I need a signature, so yeah, here's one.

[chris-red]

LOOK AT WHAT YA COULDA WON.


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-HORNET-600-FS-LOW-MILEAGE-EXCELLENT-CONDITION-/131560211852?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1ea199858c
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[Rogerborg]

[Kal-El]