30k service and winter maintenance

[dyzio]

Hi,
A bit of history: the Falco has been bought with ~13k on the clock, as far I am aware it had the 10k valve check done. Now it's almost on 30k and running fine. I've been replacing the oil&filter evety 4-5k, plugs and air filter have been changed every 10k.

I'm thinking about putting the bike into a garage to have:
- valve clearences,
- looking at this page http://home.comcast.net/~sl_mille/ i could also ask them to check the cylinder sync.

Anything else I should be thinking about?



Apart from that I want to work on the brakes. Despite cleaning the rotor buttons, they pulse on the lever.
Discs, will most likely ba the Sunstars. For pads, I'll be chosing between the standars ones and EBC HH (half the price).



The other thing would be a brake caliper rebuild. I've found the service parts: http://www.bikersjersey.com/Product/Pro ... model=2902 but I'm wondering, as we have` 4 pot calipers, does the seal kit consist of 8 seals?
If they are fine I would leave the pistons and give them a good clean.
One last thing, when splitting the calipers, is there some sort of seal that needs special attention or replacing? Or anything else needing particular attention (appart from fitting the correct halves together )?


And finnaly, anything else I should be doing or pay attention to?

Cheers
dyz

[Aladinsaneuk]

Service the forks and get suspension re set up....

The forks are my main thing for this winter..... Alongside my normal stuff :)

I do have some other new bits to do as well bit they are on a need to know basis :)

[dyzio]

Forks were serviced (fresh oil) earlier this year (about 5k miles ago), the Ohlins is being serviced as well.

[D-Rider]

Apart from that I want to work on the brakes. Despite cleaning the rotor buttons, they pulse on the lever.
Discs, will most likely ba the Sunstars. For pads, I'll be chosing between the standars ones and EBC HH (half the price).



The other thing would be a brake caliper rebuild. I've found the service parts: http://www.bikersjersey.com/Product/Pro ... model=2902 but I'm wondering, as we have` 4 pot calipers, does the seal kit consist of 8 seals?
If they are fine I would leave the pistons and give them a good clean.
One last thing, when splitting the calipers, is there some sort of seal that needs special attention or replacing? Or anything else needing particular attention (appart from fitting the correct halves together )?


And finnaly, anything else I should be doing or pay attention to?

Cheers
dyz

OK The big Aprilias have 4 pot callipers (ie 4 cylinders / pistons per calliper)
All Falcos and the first Milles have 4-pot 2-pad callipers.
The less-old Milles have 4-pot 4-pad callipers (Nooj and Mangocrazy are running these - I'm in the process of upgrading and I expect others have them too)

I've split the 4-pad callipers and they have a fluid seal and a dust seal per piston - plus an O-ring that seals the oilway between the calliper halves.
I'm currently in the process of getting the seals identified so that we can obtain them from any good seal supplier.

When I've serviced them and installed the 4-pads I'll remove and strip the 2-pad callipers.
I expect they are very similar and expect they will also have a dust and fluid seal per piston and an O-ring to seal the connecting oilway.

If I remember correctly, whereas the 4-pad callipers have pistons that are all the same size, I think the 2-pads have a pair of larger and a pair of smaller pistons.

TBH - unless you really have a problem with the brakes (particularly calliper seals, I'd probably not split them (despite the fact I've just split a set of perfectly good callipers ).

• Just pull them off of the discs
  Remove the pads
  Put something between the pistons so that you don't pump them out of the seals completely
  Pump them out to expose a good part of the piston bodies
  Carefully clean the crud off the pistons - don't damage the surfaces
  Smear the pistons with a thin film of silicone grease
  Push the pistons back in
  Clean the edges and back of the pad substrates
  Clean the pins that cary the pads
  Smear the back and edges of the pad substrates and the pins with copper grease
  Reassemble and enjoy.

Of course if you find leaking seals you will need to sort that out.

[MartDude]

Do caliper seals have a 'shelf life' - i.e. do they deteriorate with age?

[dyzio]

Cheers D-rider,

What do we use to clean the pistons with?

[mangocrazy]

Cheers D-rider,

What do we use to clean the pistons with?

I used P21S wheel cleaner; it's excellent at removing brake dust, but not too aggressive. I wouldn't leave it in contact for too long, mind. Scrub the piston surfaces with an old toothbrush and P21S sprayed on. Then wash off with water, dry and drop into a jamjar containing fresh brake fluid ready to re-assemble. Any seals that are to be re-used should be left in a jar containing clean brake fluid until needed for re-assembly.

[dyzio]

Cheers D-rider,

What do we use to clean the pistons with?

I used P21S wheel cleaner; it's excellent at removing brake dust, but not too aggressive. I wouldn't leave it in contact for too long, mind. Scrub the piston surfaces with an old toothbrush and P21S sprayed on. Then wash off with water, dry and drop into a jamjar containing fresh brake fluid ready to re-assemble. Any seals that are to be re-used should be left in a jar containing clean brake fluid until needed for re-assembly.

Thanks, but I thought Driders method was to keep the calliper in one piece, with the pistons, seals in.

Or did I interpret something wrong?

[D-Rider]

Yes - I was not suggesting you take them apart but once you inspect them closely, you may decide you have to.
If a good clean up will do without taking apart, then that's what I'd suggest as it probably has a lower risk of damaging the seals that are currently there.

[Dalemac]

whats all this about doing stuff before going into winter? why not do it when coming into spring, atleast then you wont be cleaning stuff only to get it covered in crap again over winter.

at the start of every year i remove all calipers, clean thoroughly using brake fluid first, then brake cleaner, re-lube, regrease and refit. obviously they get fresh fluid too.

if your not sure of the condition, its probably a good idea to check wheel bearings too.

and dont forget about a throttle body sync.

Dale

[dyzio]

whats all this about doing stuff before going into winter? why not do it when coming into spring, atleast then you wont be cleaning stuff only to get it covered in crap again over winter.
Bike won't be used in winter, I might do it sooner or early next year - let's just call it that :D

at the start of every year i remove all calipers, clean thoroughly using brake fluid first, then brake cleaner, re-lube, regrease and refit. obviously they get fresh fluid too.
I take it you remove the pistons as well, is it easy to tell when new seals are needed?

if your not sure of the condition, its probably a good idea to check wheel bearings too.

As in just spin them with your fingers to see if they spin ok
and dont forget about a throttle body sync.
will do
Dale

Thanks

[rick]

Reagrding wheel bearing checks, just support the wheel, sit at the side of the bike and grab the top and bottom of the wheel and rock it laterally to identify any play... then rotate wheel 90 degrees and repeat... this is the easiest way.

I doubt you can test for this play with the wheel off, apart from checking the inner race moves as you'd expect. With the wheel on the bike you get better leverage when testing the bearing.

I've only ever replaced bearings when they fail this periodic check... I have never replaced them for the sake of it.