brake pads/ front wheel alignment

[serge]

Greetings! I had a front wheel off for tire replacement and put new front brake pads (not OEM). Noticed they are dragging a bit and after a month they are still dragging.. ordered other brand and checked the thickness - the same as I had installed before. I went through sequence for the install in the manual again - loosen caliper bolts, torqued the axle, tighten the caliper bolts, bounced the forks several time, tighten pinch bolt. Still there is some drag ...

Couple questions: I used the backing plate and shim from original inner brake pad. Now I am thinking if aftermarkets ones designed to be installed without any shims ?

Also, I noticed there is some gap between left fork leg and a collar (see photo).. Is it how it is supposed to be? I did not not pay attention to that before I took the wheel off. I checked that right and left collars supposed to be identical, so I ruled out unintentional swap..

 

[670cc]

Here is another thread with answers to the axle question, including a photo of the same area.

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/7169-urgent-question-front-wheel-axle-groove.html

 

[Deleted member 1183]

The dragging problem may be the caliper pistons sticking in their bores. They need to be cleaned meticulously before pushing them back into their bores to fit new pads.

There is also the possibility that the thickness of the non oem pads might be greater than the oem's. If so you might need to remove some fluid from the master cylinder to compensate. This can also be the case if you topped up the brake fluid at any time.

 

[serge]

Greg and Griff, thanks a lot for your replies. It is calming to know the axle looks how it supposed to . I did remove some of the fluid (I am not the first owner of the bike). I guess I might order OEM Nissin pads and try them instead, although I suspect that this is indeed due to caliper pistons. I did not clean them.. May be I should .. I was always leery about spraying brake cleaner on them since it is essentially acetone which would soften the seals.. It is nice to learn you do not even need to take the caliper off to replace the front brake pads on this bike ..

 

[drstimpy]

There is supposed to be a bit of drag. Is it just noise or is it hard to turn wheel? The pads self adjust to lightly dragging.


Some must watch while others must sleep

 

[Antarius]

As posted above, there is supposed to be some drag.

How much? The general rule is if you can get 2-3 full spins with a "good spin", it's fine. Another way to check is to ride the bike hard, get the pads nice and hot -- a few 60mph to 20mph stops will do it -- then ride it normally for 10 minutes or so and park it. Check the rotor by touching it (carefully!). If it is cooling down, or anything other than completely on fire, it's fine. This means your pads are not dragging to the point of generating excessive heat and the rotor is able to cool when you're "off the brakes."

I get 2.5 spins out of my front wheel.

There is also truth to a sticking piston, but I doubt that's your case here.

Last, but not least, if you put EBC HH -- or any "HH" rated metallic pad -- they will inherently drag MORE than an OEM pad. Just from my experience.

If you decide you need help with something, shoot me a PM. I'm in Sonoma County, we can meet up and work it out.