Brake rebuild question

[mitch77]

I was informed today that the VR engages the front brake when you hit the brake foot pedal.

I had no idea this was so.

The mechanic said the full bike brake rebuild is quite a hassle and will take him 8 hours.

Does this sound reasonable to you guys or should I just dive in and do it myself?

 

Thanks

[Snaggletooth]

Do it yourself.

 

It don't take all the many tools to do it and if you are not needing to rebuild all three calipers it can be done in less than a couple of hours including bleeding. The bleeding usually takes longer than replacing the pads until you get the hang of it.

 

If you are planning to rebuild the calipers having an air compressor handy helps a bunch when it's time to remove the pistons. I've had to separate the caliper halves to get that done (against the service manual recommendations) with no ill effects.

 

If your dealer wants 8 hours to replace pads......he's milking it.

 

The brake pedal operates the rear and front left through a proportioning valve on the rear master. That opens to send pressure to the rear brake first and as that starts to build pressure it then sends fluid to the front left brake. When the brake is fully applied it is sending 30% pressure to the rear and 70% to the front brake. The front right brake is operated by the right hand lever alone.

 

The bleeding process is the trick to get it all finished up right. I'm old school and do the pump and bleed rather than using power vacs. The method I use is this:

 

Rear caliper first.

 

The metering valve behind the triple tree next. (the highest point in the system)

 

The front left caliper.

 

The front left anti-dive if you have a MKI model.

 

Then the right front is pretty straight forward. Caliper first then the anti-dive.

 

Make sure you keep the fluid level filled in the master res. and flush the entire system to fill with new fluid.

 

Take care on opening the fill cap on the rear master res. That lil puppy can be stuck pretty good and a few have cracked the body removing it.

 

There will be a lot of good advice jumping in here soon I'm sure. I'd offer more now but I'm headed out the door for work.

 

Mike

[mitch77]

I wonder if your sentiments on this are shared by most of the classic Venture guys.

 

The guy working on my bike says it will cost him way less time and me way less money

if he can isolate the use of the front brake to the hand brake.

This is fine with me as I habitually use it when braking.

 

Any of you guys know of an easy way to do this or is it a bad idea?

 

Thanks

[Keemez]

Many of us prefer the de-linked setup, but there are some that retained it with no ill effects. It's not particularly difficult to do, it just takes some time to get through it. Particularly the first time, as most tasks do. Once you've done them successfully they become a snap after that. Another thing to consider is changing out the old stock lines to new stainless steel lines (something many of us have also done). There are plug&play kits available by way of this site if you're interested. Send Skydoc_17 a PM- he'll tell you anything and everything you want to know about improving the braking effectiveness on these bikes.

[Squidley]

Mitch,

It really all depends upon how mechanically inclined you are. It does take time to go through the brake system, and the rear petal does engage the rear caliper and the left front. The mech is looking at bleeding that linked system and that can be time consuming. The process of delinking isn't rocket science, but you will have to purchase new lines and a splitter to accomplish it. Skydoc17 is a good resource for info on this

[Condor]

I was informed today that the VR engages the front brake when you hit the brake foot pedal.

I had no idea this was so.

The mechanic said the full bike brake rebuild is quite a hassle and will take him 8 hours.

Does this sound reasonable to you guys or should I just dive in and do it myself?

 

Thanks

 

So what's happening that you need to rebuild the brakes??

[CrazyHorse]

Do it yourself.

 

 

 

If you are planning to rebuild the calipers having an air compressor handy helps a bunch when it's time to remove the pistons. I've had to separate the caliper halves to get that done (against the service manual recommendations) with no ill effects.

 

 

Mike

 

I was able to do this without separating the halves. I used if I remember right a severely worn brake pad down to the metal with a clamp. I clamped one side and used compressed air to remove the pistons opposite side clamp. But you have to be careful and use a tiny amount of air or the piston will rocket out. Very short bleeps of air with most of the air escaping the sides of the nipple hole so the pistons moves slowy. you also want them to come out at about the same rate you dont want one to pop out so now all the air escapes. Now you may have a stuck piston. I would try to push it down a little first to try to loosen it. you may have to grab it with a pliers to get it out. I would try to use a rag and then grab it at the top. The top part never really goes all the way into the caliper. you really dont want to damage the piston with dents or scratches or rough edges. you will probably mare the piston at the top if you have to pull it out I filed out any sharp or rough spots. If you grab it to low and mare the piston you could have leaks by either low spots or cutting the new seal so be careful.

[dingy]

I wonder if your sentiments on this are shared by most of the classic Venture guys.

 

The guy working on my bike says it will cost him way less time and me way less money

if he can isolate the use of the front brake to the hand brake.

This is fine with me as I habitually use it when braking.

 

Any of you guys know of an easy way to do this or is it a bad idea?

 

Thanks

 

I can not see why delinking the brakes would change the amount of time it takes to rebuild the calipers.

 

There are still 3 calipers, 2 master cylinders any way you look at it.

 

Only time difference in my opinion is that it is easier to bleed delinked brakes. But that small time savings would be small compared to the time it takes to do the delink surgery, not to mention the needed parts to complete this. Brake line from front master to a new splitter, then new lines from splitter to both front calipers. Roughly $100 in parts for 3 new stainless steel lines and a used Vmax splitter.

 

I suggest you find a competent mechanic.

 

 

Gary