STuck pad hanger pin...

...on STick's right front caliper. Had to drill it out. I'm sure others have had this problem. First used a 15/64 bit down the center of the (very damaged) hex head to remove the pin, then a 19/64 just to the depth of the threaded portion to leave enough "meat" for an EZ-Out. If that had failed, would have upped to a 21/64 to get to the edge of the threads and re-tapped the hole.

There are very good reasons to have 6' drill press in The CattGarage.



The rest of the caliper rebuild is well documented in these pages.

OBTW, the can of PB Blaster in the second pic is always my first attempt to remove a stuck pin. Let it soak overnight, grind a "flat" on the exposed edge of the pin, chuck the caliper on the vise and grab the pin with a ViceGrips. Wiggle-wiggle-wiggle with increasing tension 'til it either break loose or the pin breaks. On lipSTick's rear caliper a couple weeks ago, the pin broke loose. On STick's caliper yesterday, the pin broke, hence the histrionics depicted above.

Well George, this will teach you to put a slight smear of cooper slip on the threads from now on ;-)

Good you managed to save the calliper :yes:

ST1100Y said:

Well George, this will teach you to put a slight smear of cooper slip on the threads from now on ;-)

Good you managed to save the calliper :yes:

Click to expand...

But then I wouldn't have any issues to talk about.

Had to drill out a second pin today, the left side off STick which I had replaced with the left from STanley long ago. Figured I might as well get all of'em done while I'm fussing. Same technique as before and worked good again.

So, two good rebuilt fronts for STick; time to bleed them out. Vacuum pump on the left side, open the valve and... nothing. Bleed valve is completely blocked. Can't get it too open up. Tried blowing thru it with 150lbs of compressed air thru a blow gun. Still no go. Dropped the blow gun. Broke the tip.

Finally replaced the bleed valve out'a the spare and front brakes are now bled. I'll do the rear brake tomorrow. Also gotta order some more stuff, like a butterfly air wrench (which broke yesterday) and a new blow gun. Also some brake parts from partszilla.com

Next step...

Rear brake on STick, the pin came out no problem. Caliper rebuilt, ready to reinstalll. But the axle had been very tuff to get out, had to drive it out with a drift and drill hammer. That ain't right.

So, pulled the back wheel and found... Bad Wheel Bearings. Every step of this "getting ready for a trip" has been.. UGH! OTOH, with nearly 220,000 miles, I shouldn't complain.

I have bearings on hand and will order new spares from CBR Bearings in LA. I always keep caliper o-rings, brake pads, and wheel bearings on hand.

Just thinking about it. Over the years, in addition to changing wheel bearings at home, I've changed'em (with help) at John Oo's, Randy's Garagemahal, Tim and Diane's, STrayCatt's, and Petar's. Lots of rear wheel bearings? Yeah, but: 3 different bikes and 5 different rear wheels.

Current failure i s on STick's not original rear wheel. Honda replaced the original wheel on "customer satisfaction" fault. Cush drive needed replaced, they ordered the whole wheel. Which reminds me, probably need to check the cush drive while I have the wheel out. I have two new spare sets setting on the shelf. And, it's been a long time. Hmmmm, thinking about that, I've never replaced the cush drive on lipSTick, but I have replaced the rear wheel. Three times.

George said:

...with nearly 220,000 miles, I shouldn't complain.

Click to expand...

...but maybe inspect more frequent... LOL ;-)

Anyway, when you know what you're doing, the whole overhaul hangar-time is quite fun, satisfying and provides quite some peace of mind... :yes:

I only take'em apart when they need new pads. Always pull the pistons and check/clean the grooves. Reuse the old seals unless they're just too bad. And, always have a new set available if needed. Current case, none of the pads were 100% gone but the pistons were seriously tight. Cleaning everything and putting'em back together with used seals and new pads has the brakes up to snuff. The back wheel bearings were a surprise, tho. Left side seal is melted, left bearing is all there but not good. I'll post a pic...

Had a similar early last year on lipSTick, changed the bearings (which always travel with) at Petar's in Mesa. Had to cut the outer race on the left side as the inner and balls were all gone. No notice of a problem 'til I got close to Phoenix but ya know there were problems before that. I always check the bearings when installing a new tar, which happens frequently enough bad bearings shouldn't be able to get ahead, but sometimes they do.

So I'm probably fortunate that my Exedra tire replacements occur latest every 12Tkm/7500miles, during which hub-dampers, drive splines, all brakes and wheel bearings get checked, bearings seal grease packs replenished, etc... ;-)

What ever happen to ReSTored George? Still in the garage??

She's/he's still in the garage, and I now have a plan... STanley will roll.

STanley as a paean to the Stanley Steamer from years past, which is what it seemed like last time it ran.

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/this-steam-powered-motorcycle-is-any-steampunks-fan-dream-come-true.html

STick's left rear wheel bearing failed soon's I pulled the (very damaged) seal out; several ball missing. I was able to drive out the right side with no problems, but getting the outer race from the left side is causing problems. It's gotta be cut and I ran out'a Dremel cut-off wheels last night. That metal is HARD! Replenished my supply this morning, so back at it. Once out, I'm gonna cut 1/2 moons in the hub behind that bearing area so I can get a drift in from the right side next time. Better option might be to replace the bearings more frequently but I've been caught out several times over the years. Ron Majors (RIP) used to change his every 25,000 miles, which is too frequent for my thin wallet. OTOH, a set of bearings from CBR don't cost that much.