Are OEM brake pads for a 2014ES sintered?

[RossKean]

I thought maybe my wood spacer allowed that piston to extend out farther.

I do the same - the wood allows you to extend the pistons further than usual to clean the sides so you don't end out pushing dirt back into the seals when you push the pads back to reinstall the calipers on the bike. I have certainly noticed a ring of dirt on the pistons (clean below the point where the seals make contact). I have also noticed some mild corrosion on the sides above the seals.

Report back on your seal-changing experience. Maybe mine will get done too - looks messy but not too difficult as long as you don't have problems getting all of the air out. (I would probably change the master cylinder seals while I was at it.) Definitely wouldn't do hoses!
Are you doing the rear brake as well?

 

[2GENAE]

I do the same - the wood allows you to extend the pistons further than usual to clean the sides so you don't end out pushing dirt back into the seals when you push the pads back to reinstall the calipers on the bike. I have certainly noticed a ring of dirt on the pistons (clean below the point where the seals make contact). I have also noticed some mild corrosion on the sides above the seals.

Report back on your seal-changing experience. Maybe mine will get done too - looks messy but not too difficult as long as you don't have problems getting all of the air out. (I would probably change the master cylinder seals while I was at it.) Definitely wouldn't do hoses!
Are you doing the rear brake as well?

The rear still has the original OEM pads I clean the piston on it too like the front. I doubt I'll take it apart yet I'm easy on the rear and bleed both brakes and clutch every set of tires or two years.

 

[Pete-o]

Very interesting conversation. I have been using EBC HH pads for years, on multiple bikes. Never had any disk or pad issues. Better braking and excellent life. I just replaced my brake lines with Galfer SS 11 line kit. (Includes the clutch line) Looks great all silvery and thin. Not a big improvement in performance thou. When I purchased my 06 w/14K, the front left fork seal had been leaking for a while. (The bike hadn't run in 12 years) The front caliper was a black ball of hard brake dust. I chose instead of Brake Clean, which dries rubber, to use Simple Green. I mixed it rich and scrubbed it with an old toothbrush. I had to let it soak a bit, but they came out clean and moved in and out freely. Then I applied a very thin coating of Disk Brake Grease around the seal area with a Q-tip. I hadn't ridden the bike yet, and it was going up for sale, so I soaked the pads in Brake Clean and sanded the faces. (I would never re-use oil-soaked pads for the long term) The brakes sucked as you can imagine. On the subject of the rear linked brakes, I really like them. The first bike I've owned that I actually use the rear brake. I have since decided to keep the FJR, now the sky's the limit. Let the farkling commence!
This should be a new thread... "Why is it that we get so emotionally attached to our motorcycles"? My wife claims, "I love mine more than her"... To that I answer, "Only in the Summer"! Oh.... and sometimes in the spring and fall too................ I'm only human.

Pete-o

 

[RossKean]

Then I applied a very thin coating of Disk Brake Grease around the seal area with a Q-tip.

Don't think I would apply any sort of grease to the seals. Grease (silicone or hydrocarbon) is not compatible with brake fluid - don't know if it would harm seals. It is sticky stuff and will attract and hold dirt/grit as well. I use the grease on the slider pins and sometimes on the back of a pad if they are squealing. Giving the brake discs a scrub with Varsol on a brown Scotchbrite pad followed by brake cleaner on a rag can improve braking. (Brown Scotchbrite is quite aggressive and can help remove glaze; just don't go nuts with it.)

Although not on the FJR, I once replaced all of the brake hoses on a motorcycle with stainless. They looked great but didn't make a noticeable difference (to me) in terms of braking power. (2002 Yamaha Venture)

FWIW, I had a fork seal leak that soaked a couple of pads. I cleaned them up with solvent and sanded the surface and they were fine after a few hard stops. I doubt it is a problem with sintered metallic pads although might not be great for organic pads. (I'm sure lots of people will tell me that was a bad idea, but I didn't have any issues.)

 

[Pete-o]

Just thinking out loud here. If you put anything on the back of the pad. That's where the grease I put; ends up. Tomato, tomado, IMHO BMW recommends copper anti seize where the pistons contact the brake pads. Used that for years with no issue. So, I'll make a deal with you. If we ever ride together, you're not allowed to ride my bike. Deal? And I didn't slather it, just a light coating around the piston area.

 

[RossKean]

Yep, thanks. I ordered the 3 different seal sets, just waiting for delivery. I plan to split the calipers to make it easier to clean the seal grooves. I don’t see any seals between the caliper halves on the parts diagrams. I’m wondering if there are seals or not. I can’t understand how there wouldn’t be seals.

I just encountered a thread on another forum where someone did, in fact, split the calipers and there are two seals between the caliper halves on each that Yamaha DOES NOT include in their parts lists. (I had never even heard that they could be split... always a learning experience.) The poster mentioned that a suitable seal is available through Suzuki if it needs to be replaced.



https://www.fjriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=171269#p171269
The above is a link to that post...

 

[Diablo1]

Thanks RossKean for the detective work and providing the Suzuki part # for the seals.
I figured out the calipers are split by taking a good look at them.