Article [13] ST1300 - Rear Brake Piston Cleaning

RONST1300

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Mellow, Nice Pictures! Can the caliper be taken off to be cleaned without taking the tire off? And if so, which bolts take it off. I see a large one in the front.
Ron


Great job Joe. Really appreciate the time you took to explain and illustrate the process. :)
 
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Mellow, Nice Pictures! Can the caliper be taken off to be cleaned without taking the tire off? And if so, which bolts take it off. I see a large one in the front.
Ron
I don't believe so. I've never tried it but I think the wheel would keep it from sliding all the way off the pins.
 
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Not all brake cleaners are equal.... the harshest I found was SuperTech at Walmart. That stuff used to have MEK in it, and that will dissolve plastic and remove paint..... BTDT. The formula has changed in the last year or so, the MEK seems to be gone.
But I do agree with pushing the pistons out a bit from where they were last, to enable cleaning of the dirt closest to the dust seal. Or, if one hasn't done any preventative cleaning in the past, pop the pistons out and replace the caliper seals, not that expensive, just a little more time consuming.
 

RONST1300

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Mellow I have never had the rear wheel off, since the bike came with new tires. In picture 7 with the three arrows, what are they pointing at? Is that were the crud is too besides on the pistons, or are the arrows for the movement of the calipers?
Ron
 
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Mellow I have never had the rear wheel off, since the bike came with new tires. In picture 7 with the three arrows, what are they pointing at? Is that were the crud is too besides on the pistons, or are the arrows for the movement of the calipers?
Ron
Movement of the bracket to pull it away from the caliper.
 

jcc

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-if we are going to talk about making the pistons come out to clean them... then we should mention that there is a procedure on how to get those pistons back in without damage, no? -i just read an article on this site that explains how to return the rear caliper pistons without damage... a must-read if your going to extend them. -i think i might have damaged my Secondary Master Cylinder by forcing the rear brake pistons back in (yes, the c-clamp!) without releasing the pressure. -not sure yet, still investigating, but definately something worth reading.

-nope, turns out i'm just an idiot... got the pin in through the brake pads, but the inner pad was not in the clip... 5 minute fix to get the pad into the clip.
-so now i'll ask... the rear brake pistons... is it ok to c-clamp them back in once you're done cleaning them? -or are you putting excessive fluid pressure on the SMC?
 
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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.


  1. This article assumes you've already removed the rear wheel
  2. Remove the rubber plug that covers the bolt on the rear caliper

  3. Unscrew and remove the caliper stopper bolt that holds the pads in



  4. With the bolt removed, remove both pads





  5. Once you remove the pads, the forward clip may fall out - no problem, it's normal

  6. 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



  7. 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.

  8. Cleaning - okay, needs some DOT 4 Brake fluid and a soft toothbrush
    DO NOT USE BRAKE CLEANER - IT WILL DAMAGE THE SEALS

  9. 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.

  10. 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.



  11. 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.

  12. Here is the bracket back on the caliper and the clip highlighted, note the nice clean pistons.

Mellow.. question .. did a rear brake job yesterday. I never did see the U shaped clip you have highlighted in yellow. And I thoroughly cleaned the pistons and caliper. And reassembled with out that clip. Do you know what is for and it is necessary? Brakes work great but do not want them not work when I need them.

Thanks

Edward
 
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Just replied to your pm...

Parts fiche is item 6:
https://www.cheapcycleparts.com/oemparts/a/hon/5053f218f870021c54be680d/rear-brake-caliper

And it's called a retainer and keeps the brake pad from pivoting out of place... I would say order one and don't ride the bike without it... Maybe it was very dirty and you didn't see it? Your intro says you purchased a 2008 in 2010 so was that a new or used bike, the previous owner may have left it out.
 

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Two tips (if not stated somewhere's in this thread) for those so inclined....

Push the pistons out just a little, which exposes "clean" part of the pistons

If you remove the three bolts that hold the caliper together (easy to do if you put the axle & brake stop pin back in) you can really get to those pistons and give them a good cleaning!
 
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I posted a thread a while back,,, with pictures,, of how I cleaned my rear brake pistons, using the metal polish and skate lace method. It worked so well,, I will be doing that in future. My bike has never rolled so freely. I used the same method on the front calipers as well. You may find it worth a read,,, cheers,, Cat'
 
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I posted a thread a while back,,, with pictures,, of how I cleaned my rear brake pistons, using the metal polish and skate lace method. It worked so well,, I will be doing that in future. My bike has never rolled so freely. I used the same method on the front calipers as well. You may find it worth a read,,, cheers,, Cat'
Bit of an update,,, just because my most recent rear brake service is working so well for me. This is the 3rd time that I have polished my rear pistons with the above described method (Autosol metal polish and flat skate laces). Each time, I have experienced less and less brake drag,, which is quite a change from when I first got Blue STar. Extending and then cleaning the pistons with a toothbrush and brake fluid is just the start. Then dry, and apply the polish to a lace,,, and thread it back and forth in all directions, for 10-20 minutes,, till they each gleam, all the way around. Then I gently and slowly push the pistons back in using an old pad and C-clamp, so that they all slide in together and squarely. Other tell tale signs that brake drag is minimized,,, are "no dragging sounds" when on the center stand. The rear wheel spins a couple of full turns, by hand, when on the center stand. When you start up the bike,,, on the center stand,,, the rear wheel begins to slowly rotate forward on it's own. Just pushing the bike around in the driveway is noticeably easier. The only other thing I have done differently this time around,,, is to test a set of EBC rear pads. So far,,, they are performing just fine,,, at half the cost that Honda Canada would like to charge me. But the jury is still out, till they are fully spent. cheers,, CAt'
 
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Thanks Joe and Cat, Im going to be pulling the rear tire this weekend to lube the splines ( Loctite Moly Paste) and replace the pads, so I will add "cleaning the caliper pistons" to the job list!:thumb:
 

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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.


  1. This article assumes you've already removed the rear wheel
  2. Remove the rubber plug that covers the bolt on the rear caliper

    P5020004.JPG
  3. Unscrew and remove the caliper stopper bolt that holds the pads in

    P5020005.JPG

    P5020006.JPG
  4. With the bolt removed, remove both pads

    P5020007.JPG
    P5020008.JPG
    P5020009.JPG
  5. Once you remove the pads, the forward clip may fall out - no problem, it's normal

    P5020010.JPG
  6. 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

    P5020012.JPG

    P5020013.JPG
  7. 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.
    P5020015.JPG
  8. Cleaning - okay, needs some DOT 4 Brake fluid and a soft toothbrush
    DO NOT USE BRAKE CLEANER - IT WILL DAMAGE THE SEALS

    P5020016.JPG
  9. 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.

    P5020017.JPG
  10. 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.

    P5020018.JPG
    P5020019.JPG
  11. 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.

    P5020020.JPG
  12. Here is the bracket back on the caliper and the clip highlighted, note the nice clean pistons.

    P5020027.JPG
Thanks, great shots!
I roll a shoe lace with a little of DOT4 around the pistons to polish and to clean them.
Works well for me.
 
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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.


  1. This article assumes you've already removed the rear wheel
  2. Remove the rubber plug that covers the bolt on the rear caliper

    P5020004.JPG
  3. Unscrew and remove the caliper stopper bolt that holds the pads in

    P5020005.JPG

    P5020006.JPG
  4. With the bolt removed, remove both pads

    P5020007.JPG
    P5020008.JPG
    P5020009.JPG
  5. Once you remove the pads, the forward clip may fall out - no problem, it's normal

    P5020010.JPG
  6. 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

    P5020012.JPG

    P5020013.JPG
  7. 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.
    P5020015.JPG
  8. Cleaning - okay, needs some DOT 4 Brake fluid and a soft toothbrush
    DO NOT USE BRAKE CLEANER - IT WILL DAMAGE THE SEALS

    P5020016.JPG
  9. 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.

    P5020017.JPG
  10. 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.

    P5020018.JPG
    P5020019.JPG
  11. 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.

    P5020020.JPG
  12. Here is the bracket back on the caliper and the clip highlighted, note the nice clean pistons.

    P5020027.JPG
This is good info When I start putting mine back together
 
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