Get a little more pull back on brake pads?

[Psychoholic]

So my track bike (2003 GSXR750) has the stock calipers (Nissin with Vesrah RJL pads) and a Brembo master cylinder. The brakes have been dragging a little bit and even after a thorough cleaning of the pistons they still don't seem to pull back very far after they disengage (and yes I know they are supposed to stay pretty damned close to the pads but a few more millimeters would be nice).

Is there a trick or something to get a bit more vacuum out of the system to get the pads to withdraw a bit more?

Thanks!

Chris

 

[HavocCat]

I'm curious about this. I have heard of the opposite before, being caused by slightly warped rotors causing your pistons to compress too much. Be happy you are not on that end of the spectrum.

What makes you think that your front is dragging? Sounds to me like it could be a sticking piston, even though you did clean them, it still could be sticking.

Over time, and with a lot of heat cycling, my guess is that the piston holes in the caliper itself, or maybe the pistons themselves, have warped slighty out of round, causing them to hang.

Just my 2 cents, curious to see what you find out here...

 

[borislav]

...if it is a little bit I wouldn't worry about it as long as you don't get brake fade or weird pad wear!All of them will drag ,some less some more...I had RC51 which had huge brake drag (one rotation of the wheel when spinned by hand) from brand new and I can tell you the best stock brakes I ever experienced to this date,not to mention no fade or any other issues with the brakes!
So if you are going down RA back straight or VIR north front straight and slowing down from 150+ miles with out issues lap after lap you are OK! ;-)

 

[vinny337]

Good points mentioned above, your bike is an 03 so you my want to look into changing the caliper seals, then give the pistons a super good cleaning, then bleed your braking system. After that, if you still have brake drag you're uncomfortable with look for new calipers, with the Vesrah RJL pads and Brembo master cylinder combo you should be good to go. On the new bikes they add the R6 calipers, something else to look into.

 

[HondaGalToo]

I'll add one more thought on how to put the axle back on to ensure the calipers are centered:

• Insert axle, don't tighten
• install calipers, torque to spec
• Spin front wheel and apply brakes a few times
• Torque axle bolt
• Torque right axle pinch bolts
• Remove from stand and "bounce" the front suspension
• Tighten left axle pinch bolts

That being said, there are times where I seem to get more drag than others. I swear sometimes some new pads must be millimeter thicker or something. Once the pads wear a bit, the drag is gone.

Also, if your old pads were worn and you had your brake reservoir full, it may now be too full with the new, thicker pads. That will also prevent them from fully retracting. Check the level.

When I clean, I also pump the lever to ensure all the pistons are moving a bit. If one or more of them aren't, it's time for a rebuild, which is actually easier to do than I'd have thought.

 

[Slow Steve]

I'm running same set up and have the same drag. No problem with brake fade. Ride it like you stole it. I put the wheel on pretty much the way Judy explained.

 

[Mikey75702]

If you have the little metal clips that bolt onto the calipers still installed, they are there to keep the pads close to the rotors and keep them from rattling. Some people (including me) remove those tin brackets. Now that I just got done rebuilding my calipers, everything moves a bit more than it used to, I am actually thinking about putting them back on to reduce lever travel before the pads engage.

 

[Ducti Jockey]

Check your brake fluid level. If it's too full you will compress the fluid through the master when you tighten the resivior cap, thus you'll experience brake drag.