Don't need no stinking brakes.

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mcatrophy

Privileged to ride a 2018 FJR1300AS
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A little story for your general amusement

Going to Spain for a week, catching a ferry this Sunday. Last week I decided my rear tyre only had about 1000 miles of legality left, I needed a new one. Go to a local Honda rip-off merchant with my rear wheel Monday, get a T30 mounted, popped the wheel back on. So far, so good.

I always like to take the bike for a ride to check the wheel has been balanced, so I set off along a nearby fast dual carriageway, and when free of traffic I opened her up to something like mach 1.1, and found that it started struggling to go any faster.

"What's wrong now?" thought I. Anyway, turned off the main road, and meandered back along slower roads. At one point I wound the engine up to the limiter, no problem at all in second gear.

Slowed gradually to a roundabout, traffic lights on its entry are red, visible from a long way back, so I coasted to a stop. Changed into neutral so I could rev the engine to check it's still reving ok (no clutch lever on my AS). Seemed very normal.

Lights go green, I need the brake on to select 1st gear. Pull the brake lever, it goes straight back to the handlebar "WTF?" - bike won't engage gear. Put on hazard lights, foot the bike to the side, seems like hard work, but then it always does.

Pull the brake lever a few times, it pumps up a bit, then I can select 1st gear, now it is operating the brake-light switch (yes, I could have used the rear brake, but it's possible I wasn't thinking too clearly).

So I gingerly ride it home, using rear brake only, riding like a granny on an underpowered moped.

Get home, the front brake very soggy. Unusual smell as I remove my helmet. Lick finger, touch front right disc.

"Pfffft".

Hmm. Things are beginning to make some sort of sense. Brake binding = sluggish performance, boiling brake fluid = no fluid pressure.

Put the bike on its centre-stand, blocks of wood under the headers to lift the front. The front wheel will turn by hand, but not easily. Start to look at the pads. Used a screwdriver to slacken them off, the two inside ones on the right side won't budge. Undo the pins that hold the pads, start pulling the pads out. Those right-hand inner ones looked a bit torn up.

(Click on image for larger view)



Wife calls out of the window, "What's wrong now?" "Dunno, brakes wonky." "You're going to catch a ferry on Sunday, ring the dealer."

(Don't you just hate it when they immediately home in on the best way forward?)

So I ring my dealer. "Sorry, there's no way we can look at it this week." (That somewhat simplifies our conversation, me pleading, him asking his boss, this going on for several minutes). Then, "Let me ring our Loughborough branch, see if they can do something for you."

Half an hour later I get a phone call from them, I explain the situation, then "Ok, we'll send a van out and pick it up, we can look at it today."

My relief knows no bounds, at least I've a chance.

2:00 pm, their van turns up. They load the bike in, and off they go.



His parting words: "We'll look at it as soon as we get back, we'll let you know what we find."

They're about an hour from base, so they can't start looking at it until 3:00 earliest.

5:15 I get a call. "Where have you been riding? Have you been going through farm-yards? It looks like you've got baked-on cow muck and straw, held together with fired clay, the pads couldn't move. We've taken them out, freed the pistons, cleaned it all up, they can now all move in and out freely. But the brake is still spongy. We're closing now, I'm not in tomorrow, but I'll leave instructions for a technician to bleed them thoroughly."

Well, my riding habits haven't changed significantly, but the weather's been a lot drier recently. I guess it hasn't washed as much off as usual.

So, now I sit and wait for a call tomorrow. If it's ok to pick up, I will probably have to catch a train (wife's out of action with a new hip). That means a mile walk at each end carrying my kit. That's going to be fun. That's if the technician's efforts are successful.

Report on the outcome tomorrow, meanwhile I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 
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Something is up with your server. When I click on this post, Explorer is telling me your site is asking for login information. Pictures don't show and if I click on them, I get the same message. Maybe its an IE issue but I have never been asked for authentication when viewing a forum posting!

Edit: Seems to be OK now???

 
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Something is up with your server. When I click on this post, Explorer is telling me your site is asking for login information. Pictures don't show and if I click on them, I get the same message. Maybe its an IE issue but I have never been asked for authentication when viewing a forum posting!
Whoops, sorry, fixed.

 
So, did the Gen III go back to two pads per caliper instead of the four pads per caliper of the Gen II? The one in your photo seems pretty chewed up. Did you get it replaced?

Good thing you discovered this at home instead of 100 miles from anywhere while on a trip!

 
So, did the Gen III go back to two pads per caliper instead of the four pads per caliper of the Gen II? The one in your photo seems pretty chewed up. Did you get it replaced?Good thing you discovered this at home instead of 100 miles from anywhere while on a trip!
Brakes identical to Gen II.

That was the worst pad. Not going to replace it, it's still serviceable. In any case I haven't got the pad's weight in platinum to pay for new ones.

 
I hope those pads are better when seen up close and personal because from the picture I wouldn't trust them. Something definitely not right there and it will be interesting to hear what the Tech has to say. You might ask your wife since she was on the spot so quickly with the advice to call the dealer if she has any insight.

 
I hope those pads are better when seen up close and personal because from the picture I wouldn't trust them. Something definitely not right there and it will be interesting to hear what the Tech has to say. You might ask your wife since she was on the spot so quickly with the advice to call the dealer if she has any insight.
I don't think they're as bad as the pic shows. Yes they've been a bit hot, but they seem serviceable to me. The chief tech who did the clean-up didn't seem concerned.

I will be keeping an eye on them, checking them periodically.

 
So, did the Gen III go back to two pads per caliper instead of the four pads per caliper of the Gen II? The one in your photo seems pretty chewed up. Did you get it replaced?Good thing you discovered this at home instead of 100 miles from anywhere while on a trip!
Brakes identical to Gen II.

That was the worst pad. Not going to replace it, it's still serviceable. In any case I haven't got the pad's weight in platinum to pay for new ones.

There are alternatives. Have a look at the FJ Clubs website HERE Being a member is well worth the annual membership if you carry out your own maintenance and having Phil (Doc) and Mark (Ernie) available on line and on the phone to help with queries is invaluable priceless......... YMMV

 
So, did the Gen III go back to two pads per caliper instead of the four pads per caliper of the Gen II? The one in your photo seems pretty chewed up. Did you get it replaced?Good thing you discovered this at home instead of 100 miles from anywhere while on a trip!
Brakes identical to Gen II.That was the worst pad. Not going to replace it, it's still serviceable. In any case I haven't got the pad's weight in platinum to pay for new ones.
There are alternatives. Have a look at the FJ Clubs website HERE Being a member is well worth the annual membership if you carry out your own maintenance and having Phil (Doc) and Mark (Ernie) available on line and on the phone to help with queries is invaluable priceless......... YMMV
Thanks for the link. Normally the pads last me over 20000 miles, so overall OEM are not excessive. I've also heard stories about some after-marked pads either not lasting very well or wearing the disc excessively. Not really worth the risk to me when I'm unlikely to change more than 3 pairs (3/4 of a full front compliment) in my ownership. However, when I go away, I'll take a couple of worn pads with me just in case I have some sort of catastrophic failure of a pad.
 
I have had pretty good luck with the EBC HH sintered pads. Lifetime is comparable to OEM and (for the Gen II) price is about half. I have not encountered excessive rotor wear, excessive amounts of black dust or squealing. Some have mentioned issues with all of the above but I have been good so far - two sets in 85,000 miles. I do make a point of swapping left-to-right at least once during their lifetime to even out the wear. I also make sure pistons are thoroughly cleaned before pushing them back to replace (or swap them around).

 
A little story for your general amusement
Going to Spain for a week, catching a ferry this Sunday. ...
Not amused, I went straight to jealous.
smile.png


So what's the verdict? Just too much crap caught between pad and caliper, preventing it from retracting?

 
...Not amused, I went straight to jealous.
smile.png


So what's the verdict? Just too much crap caught between pad and caliper, preventing it from retracting?
I'm hoping that's all it was, but even when cooled off, the brake lever was very soggy, could easily be pulled back to the bar regardless of pumping it. I suppose it's conceivable it could have got air in it, or maybe excess pressure could have damaged a seal or something?

When it went in (Monday), the mechanic did all the cleaning up, then left it for a "technician" to bleed the brakes on Tuesday. When I phoned on Tuesday I couldn't get a straight answer, and "Had I lost a bracket that holds the rear brake reservoir?" "No." "Oh, we can't find it."

Hoping the proper mechanic will get to it this morning (Wednesday), and sort things out, the sooner I get it back the better. It's not easy for me to get to the place. If it's ready, Son will leave work early this-afternoon to take me. Getting there by public transport isn't straight forward (particularly carrying loads of motorcycle kit), and a taxi would be very expensive.

Meanwhile I'm looking after my Better Half. She's just had a hip replacement, and needs a fair bit of fetching and carrying for, though she's getting more mobile by the day.

"Sticks? Don't need no stinking sticks!"

(She will be taken care of when I'm away in Spain next week, if I can get away next week.)

 
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Update. The real mechanic was back today. Phoned in, he says he's found the problem.

The disc has warped so that it's conical. This explains why the brake pads are very tight on the disc, and why the brake lever feels spongy - he says it's straightening the disc as you squeeze.

So, how does this get me on the road for the weekend? He's seeing if Yamaha will cover this under warranty. (This would be very good for me, no cost!) If so, they would ship new discs (they'd change both sides) either overnight or at least by Friday. Then the garage will change the discs on my wheel.

If the discs don't arrive by Friday, they will take a showroom bike and take a disc off that to put on my bike. So either way, and regardless of whether Yamaha pick up the tab or I have to re-mortgage my house, my bike should be on the road by close of play Friday, when I will be able to pick it up. Or maybe Saturday.

Meanwhile I wait, as patiently as I can.

 
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Good news that they found the problem. I am curious how the disc got so bad on a new machine. I hope they cover it under warranty for you.

 
Question is "Did the brake problem start because of a warped disc or did the disc warp due to overheating because of a stuck caliper".

 
Question is "Did the brake problem start because of a warped disc or did the disc warp due to overheating because of a stuck caliper".
Probably the latter, but I'm hoping they'll cover it as if it was the former. It appears they ship parts more urgently if it's a warranty item, and it shouldn't cost me a bean. If I have to pay, it'll be many, many pennies.

 
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