I was putting a tire on the bike and decided to do an article on how I clean the rear brake
whenever I do a tire change.
If anyone has more info to add, please post and I'll adjust this article.
Okay, let's get to it.
whenever I do a tire change.
If anyone has more info to add, please post and I'll adjust this article.
Okay, let's get to it.
- This article assumes you've already removed the rear wheel
- Remove the rubber plug that covers the bolt on the rear caliper
- Unscrew and remove the caliper stopper bolt that holds the pads in
- With the bolt removed, remove both pads
- Once you remove the pads, the forward clip may fall out - no problem, it's normal
- Here, you can see the pistons but the bracket is still in the way, let's slide it away from the caliper to have more room to work
- Now, you can really see the crud on the pistons. I do this every rear tire change and these have about 6,500 miles since the last cleaning. I also do this whenever I put in new pads as they pistons will be extended about as far as they'll go.
- Cleaning - okay, needs some DOT 4 Brake fluid and a soft toothbrush
DO NOT USE BRAKE CLEANER - IT WILL DAMAGE THE SEALS
- Brake fluid is very corrosive so use gloves and don't get any of this stuff on your skin, more importantly, don't get any on your paint.
- LIGHTLY brush the area around the pistons, no need to scrub them hard or push between the piston and the caliper as there's a seal in there and you don't want to compromise that, the brake fluid will take care of a lot of the crud. Finish up with a rag to clean up the area.
- Here's the bracket and the clip and where it should sit - the manual states silicone grease should be used on the sliders that connect this bracket to the caliper - there's a male and female connection on the bracket and corresponding ones on the caliper.
- Here is the bracket back on the caliper and the clip highlighted, note the nice clean pistons.
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