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Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 3:39 pm
by dogseal
Hi to all,
Finally got my bike road legal, and have been on a few runs on it..all good apart from the front brake which is binding occasionally. I've rebuilt both the caliper & the master cylinder with nos parts apart from the pads & hose, the hose is a new braided wemoto item & the pads took a bit of reworking to get them a nice fit in the slider. I've just had the master cylinder apart for the 3rd time after a run out tonight. When I got home, the disc was too hot to touch. It seems as if the pressure on the pads is'nt releasing when I let the brake off.

The master cylinder piston is free in the housing, the whole system is spotless, Am I missing something?
cheers for any input.

Tim.

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:29 pm
by yeadon_m
Tim, annoying for you. Two things come to mind. Does the caliper float nicely on its pins? When cleaning the m/cyl, did you confirm that the tiny (well sub-1mm diameter) hole is clear? If design is similar to GT550 masters, that hole can be difficult to clear but essential to releasing the brake. One test is to remove caliper but leave hose connected; pump the piston out 5mm; can you easily and smoothly push it back in? If not, that hole in master may well be blocked.
Good luck.
Cheers, Mike

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 1:56 am
by GT750Battleship
:up: +1 on the advice by Mr Yeadon... :D
Cheers,
GT750Battleship.

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:51 am
by Barry S.
If it takes the same brake pads as the 750 there may be a problem with them. Some of the pads are flat on back and some have a cup or recess on back to clear the piston in the caliper. If you have flat ones and needed the cupped ones it will drag and smoke the brake disc, I put the wrong ones in my 750 and it about locked up a mile from home.

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:01 am
by Coyote
Did you remember to apply caliper grease to the caliper axles? One way to tell if that is the problem. With everything cold, sit on the bike and observe the caliper when you apply the bake. If it tries to 'tweek' one way or the other, it's not sliding freely. The brake calipers are self centering, but only if they are free to slide.

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 1:06 pm
by dogseal
Cheers guys, thanks for all the replies, Mike, it was the small hole in the master cylinder. I stripped it down again & poked the hole through with a bit of wire..the hole was completely blocked. I've just done 20 miles on it & its working great.

Great Forum Lads!

Tim

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 2:41 pm
by yeadon_m
Tim, Glad to have been of help.

Thats the essence of the forum - the stuff I've learned from all of you stands me in great stead when facing a WTF moment myself :-))

Nice to have a diagnosis from afar too. Just today I sorted a GT550 oil pump that a PO had helpfully put the lever cam in 180 degrees out - so that it dumped oil like crazy at idle. The problem was driving me mad but someone on a forum said 'its a long shot but...' and that was indeed it. I would not have guessed it was possible.

Cheers!
Mike