Brake pad stripped out

[Andrew Shadow]

Before I get to the drill out idea I'll drop into my local shop and ask them what they would recommend and how much that would cost.

If you get to this point, I would suggest a machine shop versus a repair shop, unless the repair shop also has machining capabilities.
Any competent machine shop can easily remove that without damaging any threads, even if they need to drill it out. They have precision milling machines and drill presses, and more importantly they have the fixtures to mount it securely to allow for precise drilling that most repair shops just don't have. It always surprises me how many repair shops don't even have a drill press.

 

[rwthomas1]

It always surprises me how many repair shops don't even have a drill press.

They are no longer repair shops, they are remove and replace shops.

 

[Malks]

Seems that removing the entire caliper and taking that to the dealer, or even a machine shop, may be worth considering.
Did you get the replacement pins yet?

Haven't had a chance to swing by my dealer to ask about the repair, or order new pins. I hope they are available and don't take too long to arrive. Taking the callipers to a machine shop sounds like a good idea.

 

[ReSTored]

Well I tried the Torx bit with an impact driver and had no luck. I continue to spray Deep Creep penetrating oil into the opening hoping that it will eventually work its way through. I've been going at the pin with visegrip pliers every day and that pin just refuses to budge.

Before I get to the drill out idea I'll drop into my local shop and ask them what they would recommend and how much that would cost.

It's been a while, but as I recall when I ground down the pin to use a vise grip on it I needed to give the vise grip a rap with a rubber mallet to break the pin free.

If above doesn't work. I'd just remove the caliper and try the vise grip technique with the caliper locked into a bench vise where you'll have much better access. If you decide to drill the pin out you should be able to do this yourself if the caliper is removed and on a bench vs. trying to do this when it is on the bike.

 

[Malks]

After trying unsuccessfully for over a week to free up the pins I gave up and decided to order a set of used calipers off eBay. I had dropped into my local dealer to ask for their advice, but they were not much help because they have just one motorcycle tech (at a Honda Dealer) and couldn't even look at the bike until the end of June! While there I ordered new pins; $15.27CDN each, so I would have new pins to put into the used calipers when they arrive. After reading through my shop manual I found I also needed crush washers for the banjo bolts; those were $8.51CDN each x 4!

The calipers were from a bike wrecker in Edmonton and were $132CDN, including shipping. They arrived in less than a week. I gave them a thorough cleaning and installed my new brake pads and retaining pins. I swapped the calipers out yesterday and my riding buddy is coming up today to help bleed the system.

Now that I have the original calipers off the bike and replacement ones on the bike, I'm going to give it a go at removing the pins. At this point I don't care how much damage it causes because I want those 'effing things to come out! If I am successful and don't ruin the calipers in the process, I'll keep them as a spare, or perhaps sell them to another ST1100 owner who is suffering the same problem with their retaining pins.