I can't begin to tell you guys how happy I am this forum exists. I should know better than to work on something as important as brakes, but "those other people" told me changing my brake pads would be a snap. I have an '84 VF700F, and I replaced the rear brake pads. It wasn't really all that difficult, I guess, except now they don't fully disengage. They are always rubbing slightly, and I'm positive that if I ride any distance they'll heat up and damage the caliper, warp the rotors, etc.. Is it possible I didn't push the pistons back into the caliper far enough before re-installing the caliper? Should I have bled the brakes, maybe? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
First: Grease the retaining clips, contact points on the pad backings. Clean and grease the caliper slide pins, or replace them if they're worn or damaged. This will help the pads float away from the rotor when you stop applying pressure on the brake. If those don't work: Rebuild the calipers to ensure your pistons aren't hanging up. And buy my bleed kit to make your life easy refilling your system.:wink: BTW, if you pushed the pistons back far enough for your new pads to clear the rotor, you've pushed enough. If they slid back smoothly, of course with plenty of pressure, your piston seals are probably okay and may just need some cleaning too. Good luck. Vlad
Those slide pins (circled in red) are usually frozen solid on these older bikes. I'd start by breaking that loose, and either replace it or at least use a scothbrite pad to smooth it. Grease it and reinstall it. Also it would be worth pumping the pistons out all the way. Clean them thoroughly, replace them if they're pitted, or at least use the scotchbrite pad on them too. Note that if you have to take off too much material, they'll leak, so if they're too nasty you really have to replace them. I've had good luck reassembling these calipers with the same seals, but if you're ordering parts you might as well replace those while you're at it, they're not expensive and why go in there twice if you don't have to? With the bleed screw open you should be able to push the pistons back with your thumb, but I bet you can't. I've never seen a bike that old where they aren't pretty much frozen, and the rear is the worst. Oh, and yes, definitely bleed the brakes! It's amazing how much better the brakes work once you go through and do this stuff.
Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it goes after I lube everything. Thanks again, you guys are awesome.
