Front brake caliper seized/ fork cap question

So I was finally taking my xj550k out for a ride yesterday and my brake caliper seized either right before taking a turn or it was seized the whole time I forced it down hill. Obviously when it finally locked it sent me for a spill. Somehow I got off just as the bike was going into the curve and caught it. The bike is ok, I’m ok. I thought it was the forks because I noticed them compressing way too easily but now realized the front wheel isn’t turning at all. So I checked my lines, I have brake fluid, but and no air bubbles but it still won’t unseize.

Also, I included a photo of the fork cap and I can’t seem to get them out. No amount of rocking, tapping etc. they will compress downward with force from above but that’s it. I loosened the tripped tree clamps and tried jamming a standard screw driver in to pry it out.

 

There's a snap ring holding the fork cap in; it needs to be compressed downwards and then the snap ring pulled out (I found a thin screwdriver worked well).

As for the seized brake caliper, has the caliper/master cylinder been rebuilt/cleaned?

 

Undo the upper pinch bolt or it will never come out.

 

when that plug comes out it will fly across the room. keep all presure off the front tire soak the clip and when you get the clip out cover with a good bag and bounce the forks

 

Yeah I tore the caliper down and it works fine now but I ordered a rebuild kit to be safe. Fool me once kinda deal. Haha

I’m also including a pic of the rotor rings. Got them cleaned, alternator, brushes look really good if you ask me but I do have spares which are only slightly longer. However, my system charge still seems to be at 11.89. I’m gonna swap my battery (I have two new ones, long story) to a freshly charged one to rule out that it dropped down and is not producing slightly more than it has but that really doesn’t make sense to me.

Can anyone else chime in on this? I’ve got a new reg/rec in there. Cleaned all the terminals I could see too with contact cleaner and a quick wipe.

 

Here are the pics.

 

I have an idea for each of the issues you've described. I'm no wizard, but I do my best.

1) With regard to your brake issue, specifically the seized caliper, I'm wondering if you potentially had a blockage in your blowback/return passage (the REALLY tiny hole in your master cylinder housing) which caused your brakes to constantly be on and overheated them, resulting in them seizing. I could be wrong, but that's where my mind jumped to first when you said your brake system was rebuilt.

2) With regard to your charging system issue, I'm wondering if there's not a mechanical issue. Have you held a very thin feeler gauge near your alternator cover to check if the rotor is actually spinning/generating current? I'd be inclined to make sure that things are in mechanical order before double/triple checking all electrical connections (but electrical work is my weak point, so I could easily be on the wrong track with this).

 

RE: the brake caliper sticking, if you still have the old rubber lines they can break down internally and the loose rubber bits end up blocking the return port causing exactly your symptoms. These bikes charging systems are pretty robust but don't start actually charging until somewhere around 2500 RPM's so do not diagnose at idle.