Seca Caliper ques

I've done some searches and haven't been able to shed some light on this question. I am overhauling the front caliper on my 81 XJ550RH. The parts book only lists one "slide pin". There are two. One with a large cotter pin and a block end. The other is smaller and holds the floating part of the caliper. It has two bushing sandwiching the caliper main body. Does this smaller pin simply drift out? The bushings on mine are cracked and worn and I would like to replace them. Do these things have a part number?

 

First, welcome to you Emil, glad you dropped by.
On to the question.
The smaller of the two pins should also have a hairpin or cotter pin holding it in place. If yours is missing (as mine were), you will need to get new pins installed. The "bushings" you refer to are a current topic of discussion. It seems that a number of folks here at the forum (myself included) are currently working on rebuilding their respective brake calipers and the "bushing" is not listed on any of the parts lists as an available part short of purchasing the entire assembly (REALLY expensive). Honored member Chacal is doing some research at the moment to track down a possible lead from the past. Seems he had this issue some time ago but a very knowledgeable Honda parts guy he ran into was able to hook him up with a Honda part that is still available and works just fine on our application. The alternatives are few... buy another set of calipers in good shape or do our level best to get a supplier to make new boots to our specifications. Until the footwork is done, this is the best we can offer.

 

Robert, thanks for the welcome! I've actually been visiting this sight for a while. Quite a resource. I suppose "bush" may have been a better word to use than "bushing". That small pin must drift out then, correct?

 

Yes, The small pin will drift out (at least mine did). I took mine out only to make it easier to lube the pin.

hth

 

The small pin should be able to rotate about in its bore. It should not be able to be removed unless the cotter-pin/hairpin is removed out of the end of the shaft on the spoke side of the caliper (the side facing away from you when you kneel down and peer at the little bugger). Typically the side the pin hides on is caked in brake dust and grime so you may not see it right off the bat. A little house cleaning is in order, I clean my calipers before performing any servicing as a matter of course. Do you have cotter-pin/hairpins in place? If not, I would not ride until you do. Safety issue there.

 

The cotter pin on the small shaft was indeed missing. I drove out the shaft and saw why the rebuild kit provides grease. The small pin was caked with old grease and dirt and a real pain to get out. if you can believe it there were spider nests under the dust covers. This is a bike that was ridden to my house when I purchased it. Thanks for the guidance.

 

Glad to be of service! Now, let's see if we can find new pin boots!