I have a buddy with a 05 Superglide. He was out riding and noticed that after a stop the rear brake seemed to be locking up. He had no other choice but to ride the bike a mile home.

He recently bought a kit to rebuild the rear caliper. My question is, does he need to totally remove the caliper to rebuild it? (which would mean removing the rear wheel). He said the rear disc looks good that he didn't think that would need replaced. He just wants to rebuild the caliper and replace the brake pads.

 

Well, rebuilding the caliper and replacing the pads are two different things. I doubt that you can do a good job of rebuilding the caliper (new seals, etc...) while on the bike.

You probably can replace the pads with the caliper still on the bike.

On second thought, was there any cause for him to rebuild the caliper, other than it's age? leaks or anything like that?

 

Most likely the pistons are stuck in the bores from crud or corrosion. They are held in position and won't retract to ease the pressure off. You will see it when you take them off, and pull the pads. Are you sure you need to remove the wheel, or just the caliper off of the bracket? It needs to be removed from the disc, pads off and broken down enough to work on it. Sometimes going the way that looks like the most work ends up being quicker in the long run Took me years to finally realize that.
Ron

 

After what happened, He thought that rebuilding the caliper would be a good idea. I don't think there is any leaking or anything like that, he didn't mention any leaks. I suppose he felt the need to rebuild it after it started locking up. Is there anything else that would cause this and not need to perform a rebuild?

 

Well, you answered me before I had a chance to post on that one.

 

So then if the seals look ok there is no need to replace those? What would you suggest then? Tearing down to the point of a pad replacement and checking the pistons for dirt or rust? cleaning lubing or replacing just the pistons then? Would the rear wheel still need to be removed to replaced the pads?

 

If it's locking up, it's worth a complete tear down. Just because it's not leaking, doesn't mean you don't have issues as well. Surprises are great!.. but not when you're riding

4 years old, I would not hesitate to rebuild the caliper.

But you should be able to just unbolt the caliper from the mounting brackets..... No wheel removal....

 

Should be able to pull the caliper by removing the anchor bolt and slider pin. Dont need to remove the wheel.

Word of warning on install. Make sure the pistons are pushed all the way into the caliper, and theres no pad pressure on the disk. If theres pad pressure, it can skew the caliper and when you put the slider pin back in, causing the pin to cross thread. If it does, youre buying a new caliper.

 

Might want to check out the rear master cylinder as well. I would do a total and complete rebuild on both, if it were my *** on the line.

Visit www.motorcyclemetal.com for good brake info. Site is owned by a forum member and sponser, Howard Messner, a.k.a. "FastHarley".

 

The bikes at his house, I haven't had a chance yet to go over and look at it. I wanted to have a good idea how much of a tear down we are looking at before I go over.

So, I won't have to remove the wheel to rebuild the rear caliper? I have a 91 Heritage, my rear caliper is totally different.