Brake Caliper Issue Stuck

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

If the brakes are full on, to release I think you can loosen the hose connection on the caliper and relieve the pressure ….. the disk/wheel should be able to rotate at this point. …. I'm not a Brake specialist, but this seems logical, maybe someone else ( Billy Bovine ? ) will chime in - or PM Him direct ...... Mike hyea:

 

[bayoumanPIBE]

Hey all. Finally got my ryde back this afternoon, and rode it for about an hour and 1/2 highway, city and country roads. All seems fine. It still has that d@mn squeaky sound at times when hitting the brakes at a stop light. This has been like this for a long time now.

The problem at the shop with the calipers was because one of the techs hit the parking break toggle when he should not have while doing the work replacing the tire. They wound up taking all of it (calipers, brakes, etc.) apart, bleeding things and doing more to it than I can remember.

I have to take it back up there the end of the week so they can have the appropriate items to buff out the gouge marks in the rim.

So, the new Service Manager did me right so far...he compensated a few things and I don't have to pay until the job is done...meaning my rim.

I wasn't happy to begin with, but I feel things will get better since he told me he is the new guy and they let a few people go because they were no good for the business. So, i won't give up on them just yet.

One thing, and ya'll might have an idea for me...but I noticed when I am sitting still and the engine is running and the parking brake is on, I can still roll it backwards. Not fast, but it seems like it should not roll at all forward or backwards when the parking brake is on.

 

[PinkRosePetal]

...One thing, and ya'll might have an idea for me...but I noticed when I am sitting still and the engine is running and the parking brake is on, I can still roll it backwards. Not fast, but it seems like it should not roll at all forward or backwards when the parking brake is on.

No, it shouldn't roll. If they've taken it all apart as they have told you, it's possible that the park brake cable has not been set back to where it was originally. There is some adjustment at the caliper where the outer of the cable is set to length by adjusting the two clamping nuts on the cable ferrule. Perhaps it's too far out of adjustment for the brake mechanism to apply full holding force. It just takes a couple of spanners to adjust it correctly.

Cross your fingers that it's that simple...

 

[bayoumanPIBE]

@PinkRosePetal - That's what I thought and knew better to be honest. I will be taking her back in for the rim damage later this week, so I'll ensure they correct that as well. H3ll...after all this, all my fingers and toes are crossed...they look like some dang weird duck feet.

One more thing...the front steering seems rather tight. The front tires PSI's are as they should per the manual and tires. But, the faster I travel, the touchier the steering is...they really grip...feel like a NASCAR driver...barely turn left and literally go left...could it be from the new rear tire and it'd help lowering the PSI a bit? Or am I just paranoid from this rear tire issue?

Would you or anyone reading this suggest trying the lower PSI in the front to loosen the turns?

 

[PinkRosePetal]

I don't know about the tight steering, do you mean heavy to turn the bars? With the engine running the steering should be light to turn. I'd check that out if it's heavy because it has power assisted steering so there shouldn't be an issue.

Spyders are twitchy until you get used to them and very sharp to respond to the slightest movement of the bars. A slack grip on the bars helps. I just have my fingers clipped over the grips when cruising and gently push and pull with the inside of my fingers, tighter corners need a big more effort.

If the tyre pressures are correct, leave them be.

 

[Joerolwing]

You can purchase a tool to rotate the brake piston from BajaRon. Some are able to use needle nose pliers but this didn’t work for me.

 

[bayoumanPIBE]

@PinkRosePetal -- Yeah, I agree and will leave the tire pressures as they are. I just wanted a 2nd thought.

I'm sorry, I should have added the faster I go it seems if I barely turn left/right the wheels seem to grab hold and want to jump that direction more if I was to turn to fast.

When on the interstate last night, going into a minor long curve I have to keep the wheel frozen towards the turn instead of going back and forth slightly like in my car. i have no slack so-to-say.

What you say here makes a lot of sense "Spyders are twitchy until you get used to them and very sharp to respond to the slightest movement of the bars. A slack grip on the bars helps. I just have my fingers clipped over the grips when cruising and gently push and pull with the inside of my fingers, tighter corners need a big more effort."

I love my spyder, and I'm just now meeting other owners now that I'm back to my life again. I'm learning more about these creatures. i'm finding out what is can be done and what can be done without damage.

Such as I'd like to have a bit more slack similar to my old three wheelers ATV's Honda 185's back in the day because that "twitchy" touchy steering can get wild in cornering on an unavoidable piece of damaged road. I'd like to be able to maneuver easier to avoid such things if possible.

i have some farkle wishes, but making sure I'm safe and comfortable is first.

Side notes: A lot of this will come as I get more time on the road. It's cool ryders like you and others who have taken the time to respond where I take your advice respectively and put it to use. Such as another very helpful suggestion I received from ya'll was to NOT white knuckle, relax, pay attention and let the bike do its thing as much as it should. I getting more out of the house since life is letting up. I met some local folks on a Spyder Facebook group who ride the same day each week and they invited me to go with them. I've been on two so far and am loving my bike more and more. And they are a great bunch!

 

[bayoumanPIBE]

You can purchase a tool to rotate the brake piston from BajaRon. Some are able to use needle nose pliers but this didn’t work for me.

I'll keep that in mind as I learn to do things on my own.

Hell, maybe I should get one and take to the dealer's service center...LOL!! hyea:

 

[PinkRosePetal]

... because that "twitchy" touchy steering can get wild in cornering on an unavoidable piece of damaged road...

Yes, I agree. Personally I think the front tyres could kill you if you hit a series of ruts or raises on a poor surface. I've mentioned this before but I think most folk here drive on a relatively good surface and simply haven't experienced the possibility the tyres have to get you into trouble.

Our bikes have two changes which remove a good deal of the wildness over poor surfaces, we have fitted rigid steering tie-bars and fitted car tyres. On the v-twin Spyders the tie-bars are particularly flexible, a little better on the 1330cc bikes.

The original Kenda front tyres are bi-polar in nature, they're very stable and run straight on a good road surface but they steer by their edges and will pull the bike fiercely off line on longitudinal raised ridges. Some car tyres also have this characteristic so it's a bit 'suck it and see'.

However, before you contemplate any changes be sure your front wheel alignment is correct. If there is excessive toe-out and you turn into a tightish curve the effect will be an initial turn in that's a little tighter than you expected so you steer out a touch then that removes too much of the turn so you again have to turn in. It kinda makes the curve a two stage thing. It's to do with a change in the wheel angle as the bike leans and it's exaggerated by the poor wheel alignment.

 

[bayoumanPIBE]

However, before you contemplate any changes be sure your front wheel alignment is correct. If there is excessive toe-out and you turn into a tightish curve the effect will be an initial turn in that's a little tighter than you expected so you steer out a touch then that removes too much of the turn so you again have to turn in. It kinda makes the curve a two stage thing. It's to do with a change in the wheel angle as the bike leans and it's exaggerated by the poor wheel alignment.

I respect your suggestion and will definitely get the alignment checked first. I don't know what changes I want, but it will help to know if my current things are correct. Some updates might help the steering without needing to purchase new items.

I did some more riding, and things are feeling a bit more comfortable in the steering. I still want to get things checked when I can.

Thank you!