Burgman 650 sticky rear brakes on cold mornings

[halfabusa]

Hi muppets,

I've been experiencing stickyness in the cold mornings from rear brakes. First time i use them after leaving from home, they seem to get stuck a bit slowing the bike down for a mile or so. Then it eases up and fine afterwards. The pads seem to have some more thread in them but they won't last long if this keeps on happening every morning. I never had the brake fluid changed since i bought it over 2 years ago, so i'm suspecting that could be the cause? Or could it be something else?

[smurph]

Manual doe's say change Brake Fluid after 2 years , so happen you could be right , i always turn mine over for a couple of minutes in the morning to warm things up , including the heated grips & Seat

[Normsthename]

Sounds like the pins are seizing, common fault on the Burgman 650
Brake calipers need removing and all the pins etc need cleaning and greasing
Not a difficult job for a owner to do

Andy

[pikey]

You made need to remove caliper pump pistons half way out clean them and smear some red rubber grease on them and push them back in.Take them completely out if you feel confident with bleeding brakes.Check pads slide free on pins as said.If you ride all year needs doing twice a year.I know burgman has combined hand brake rear caliper so not sure how that works on 650.Julian

[halfabusa]

Not a difficult job for a owner to do

Andy

It's difficult when it's pissing out with no garage to work in mate

I might end up having to leave it to the mechanic to sort out. Whatever the issue is, i'll ask them to change the fluid for both front and rear brakes anyway.

When you refer to "pins" do you mean the pistons that push out the pads towards the disc?

[poldark]

Not a difficult job for a owner to do

Andy

It's difficult when it's pissing out with no garage to work in mate

I might end up having to leave it to the mechanic to sort out. Whatever the issue is, i'll ask them to change the fluid for both front and rear brakes anyway.

When you refer to "pins" do you mean the pistons that push out the pads towards the disc?

There's both, pins that the caliper slides on that need greasing and also the pistons themselves that move when you apply the brake and press the pads against the disc. I watched the mechanic closely when he did mine and then attempted the front ones myself, after I'd bought some red rubber grease, which is what has to be used on brakes (£8 for 500g pot that'll last years)

Naturally the first time you do it it'll take a while, but after that you'll feel far more confident and it's quite reassuring to understand how these things go together yourself. Though as you say with no garage, light or warm weather it's a darn sight easier to let the mechanic strip and clean it for you whilst replacing the pads.

Changing the fluid is well worth doing, again not that tricky yourself, an option (easy cheats way) is to syringe it out of the master cylinders and replace with new DOT4 - about £5) This avoids any airlock danger but isn't quite 100% as you leave old fluid in the cable. But what you then do is using some plastic tube over the bleed valve use the syringe again to suck down the new fluid and remove the old into the syringe, then just top-up the master cyclinder.

Lots of good maintenance advise and vids/pics on BUSA and here - http://sites.google.com/site/testburgmancenter02/

[pikey]

Once you give it to a mechanic they will more than likely change pistons, seals the lot.Julian

[wozza]

Basically your brake caliper needs a bit a a clean up and a re-lube. It sounds like it's just a build up of road grime. All calipers need a bit of a clean from time to time.

[halfabusa]

thanks for all the info guys. i'll see how it behaves in the morning and leave it to the mechanic if problem continues. Normally i'd do the job myself but it's the middle of winter and i have a little baby who needs attention. These conditions cause more dependance on paying to get the work done rather than DIY adventures... Talk about mounting costs!

I did work on my front calipers last summer and when fiddling with it, i managed to get the pistons out of place causing the fluid to spill and i ended up renewing the fluid completely and bleeding the system. The only difference for the rear brakes seem to be the handbrake assembly that needs taking out.

I looked at some pictures of the caliper work being done on the net, and i understand which pins you're talking about now. I remember seeing the red grease on them when fiddling with the front calipers.

I just wish i had some spare time and place to work with it. That way i'd have made sure the work was done properly... Nevermind...

[Normsthename]

My last car (a Microcar) needed the callipers doing religiously every 6 months or they would seize up solid on the pins.
The last time I did them, one of the pins was almost welded in!
And I had only serviced them 6 months prior

Andy