Rubbing Brakes

So i push my bike in the shed yesterday after her being out while i was painting my helm. She'd been on the sidestand for about 3 hours in the shade, slightly more leaned over than usual due to the slope on the ground I put her on.
And while i was pushing i just head a rubbing sound. It wasnt hindering the bikes movement at all. Just a dry rubbing sound. And it sounds like the brake pads are rubbing ther otor, like i've got the brake on slightly.
Tried turning the bleeders and lettin some juice out and no avail.
Is there a way that I can pull the pads away from the rotor a smidgeon??
If not what do I do?
-Chris

 

Mine always do that. As long as they're not clamping enough to create drag, I don't think it's an issue.

 

I've had that condition for a long time now. I've even stripped down the caliper, cleaned the piston and inspected the seals in the hope of solving the sound and it remains. I've just convinced myself that it is a normal part of brake operation and that as long as their not physically clamping on the rotor every thing is fine. I've been meaning to go on a ride some time and not use the front brake for the last minute or so of the ride to see if it still exists if your not using the brake as you come into the drive way, but I always seems to forget =p

 

the calipers are two parts joined by a pin or two, if those pins get dry the calipers don't "float" anymore and tend to drag
i think chacal has the rubber booties for the pins to keep the elements out

 

Hmm.. So really no immediate problem then.. I guess I'll wait it out and see if the problem worsens. I need new front brake pads by the end of the season anyway. Give me an excuse to clean the calipers and such.

 

+1 and yes he finally does. You really have to give him credit for those, I challenge you to find a Yamaha part number in the fiche for any of the bikes those were used on with the exception of MAYBE the 1100's.

In the 550 fiche, they simply don't exist.

 

I think what you are suffering from is called, " I never noticed that before" syndrome. Me personally, I have never seen disk and caliper breaks that don't remain touching when they are at rest. Granted, some make more noise than others, but they always remain touching unless you break them apart for some reason.

As was already mentioned, the only time this becomes a problem is if they are excessively engaged and causing drag. You can easily tell this by spinning your front wheel with the bike on a centerstand and making sure it doesn't hang up. Also, if the dragging feel is intermittent as you are spinning the wheel, it could indicate a warped rotor. But again, unless it causes excessive drag, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

I never knew there was a name for my condition :wink: Maybe now I can track down some form of treatment.

 

I just find it weird cause I rode three hours previous to and from work and had no problem. Laid her on the stand and then boom. Noisy.
My first guess is the MC has those two holes, and if one gets clogged or partailly clogged i've heard of brakes locking up completely.
New MC bolts are on my next order since mine are stripped cause of rust.
Maybe I'll slightly rap it with a hammer and see if it'll looses up.
I just see this image of me flying over the handlebars at 55 mph when they finally decide to lock compeltely.
-Goldie

 

I don't think you have to worry to much of them locking up while your riding. My understanding is that they basically just won't let off completely after you finish braking. Sometimes it can go unnoticed and you end up driving with the brakes locked slightly on. Of course the pads will wear really fast and the rotors will heat up as they are not built for continual use. However, I think the most you have to worry about is warpping your rotors. I'm 99% sure that the braking lock up never comes on suddenly, like a rear delamination, instead its like you just didn't fully release the lever after braking

 

I'd check your front axle and pinch bolt too.

 

No, they'll gradually lock up I know, because the valve in my MC likes to stick, such that the fluid I push down into the caliper when I pull the brake handle doesn't all come back up. So, after a bit of braking, my brakes start to drag. No big deal at first. Then the drag gets worse and the fluid heats up. This causes it to expand. Which makes the brakes grip more, which produces more heat....Needless to say, I've a MC rebuild ahead of me.

 

Have you replaced you fluid recently, I was under the inpression that if your fluid expands you've got water infultration.

 

I bled and replaced fluid about a month and a half ago. I didnt extract ALL the MC fluid though, cause my neighbors hand was on the pump and he was done when he felt like it. (all the bubbles came out though so I thought that was ok too. I wanted to remove all the fulid and start fresh.. but.. hey)
So maybe another brake bleed and refill the entire bad boy with new fluid too?

 

Its probably a good idea to clean the caliper pistons when you do a flush as there is ALOT of crud that gets trapped in the caliper and isn't cleaned out by a flush. It really isn't too much work as long as you have a plan for popping out the pistons, and it is really satisfying.

 

Here's what I'll do.
The rubbing has ceased after a 20 miles ride today.. Hmm.. Maybe a chunk was caught against the rotor?? Time for new pads anyway
When I buy my new spitfires, which hopefully before Nov. I'll rebuild my calipers and put new pads on. That way my whole front end will be done. That'd be nice
-Chris

 

Have you done your brake lines recently because if you haven't thats a good one to throw on the list.

 

Like, replace the lines themselves? No I have not. So.. wow. Bigger list now. I'll tack it on!
-Chris

 

When you replace the lines you should go the stainless steel route as it makes a huge improvement in the durability and feel of the lines. (Its about $100 for the lines though so you can always put it off for a while if need be, but, it really is a good thing to do).