New addition to the garage…

I have one of those disc conditioning tools, a nice one too, from Flex-Hone, but I'm not real impressed with it .....

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Yes, it did a nice job, but using it just once has worn it nearly half way out. I'm sure it removed the glaze but really didn't do much as far as removing any grooves. I think I'm going to try Roloc discs next time.
 
That’s the same tool I have. Agreed works ok to deglaze but I wouldn’t try to remove the ridges with it. I use it on auto rotors even after having them turned. It helps bed the pads in quicker.
 
Let me ask you this - do you use it dry or with some sort of lube? I poured over the instructions several times and there was no mention of that. I know with the Flex-Hone cylinder hones, you lube them, but with this thing there was no mention either way (dry or wet). I have several discs I drilled over the winter that need the surfacing treatment now. I may try this tool "wet" to see if it makes any difference. But, I kinda think the Roloc discs are gonna do a good job and for less money.
 
Let me ask you this - do you use it dry or with some sort of lube? I poured over the instructions several times and there was no mention of that. I know with the Flex-Hone cylinder hones, you lube them, but with this thing there was no mention either way (dry or wet). I have several discs I drilled over the winter that need the surfacing treatment now. I may try this tool "wet" to see if it makes any difference. But, I kinda think the Roloc discs are gonna do a good job and for less money.
I’ve always used mine dry. Interesting thought about the lube though, maybe it would cut better (And stones last longer). I’ve lubricated Flex hones for cylinder bores with either oil; kerosene or a fuel / oil mixture. My buddy who owns an auto shop had always used his dry, but maybe that’s why his wore out so quickly. I suppose if you were to use it lubricated, if you cleaned the rotor surface off well it would be ok. Maybe I’ll send an inquiry to Flex hone about this. Since it’s for brakes, perhaps for liability reasons they’ll tell me not to use lube?

Here;s the cleanup I did on the ‘79. I didn’t go at it as aggressively on the inner surface.

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Only when you retire them to the living room for reminiscent conversations.
'TT'

The front discs of the bike have some noticeable ridges worn into the contact surfaces from many years of use. I have a deglazing tool that works well to prepare the surface for new pads but relies on a fairly flat surface to begin with. Assuming I have enough material left I could have them machined but I think that process would be quite costly.

Any tips or tricks for cleaning these surfaces up?
Might try this place , he does a great job. Only problem may be your in Canada
https://truedisk.net
 
If you read the Minton Mods article, he says drilling the discs will avoid the disc "galling" and can even eventually allow the pads to polish away any you already have. I have noticed that the galling on some of my drilled discs is disappearing in spots.
 
After looking for a year, I finally found a decent one. Not perfect but seems to have good bones.

1975 Suzuki GT750M ”Water Buffalo” - 3 cylinder, 2 stroke, liquid cooled. Brought it home today and went out for a quick ride. Very comfortable and decent power at 68-70hp. Had some idle issues so 4 hours after bringing it home I already started taking it apart. 😀 Cleaned and gapped points, static and dynamic timing. If you think the points on an XS are a pita, add another set for this bike.

Here are a bunch of pics. Looks great at 10ft but to my critical eye needs a bit of cosmetic work. This is basically a survivor bike and hasn’t undergone a complete restoration. First priority will be to get it running 100%.

Indoor glamour shots at the po‘s shop.

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:)
 
Might try this place , he does a great job. Only problem may be your in Canada
https://truedisk.net
Cleaning up grooved rotors:
Us cheap asses mount the rotor so it spins freely and go at with a flap disk on an angle grinder. Flip rotor over, repeat.
Takes some looking but fine grit flap disks are best for this. You want the rotor spinning so material removal is even around the whole diameter also don't concentrate on the grooves work the entire swept area to inner and outer edge equally. Have done this quite a few times. For me the results have always been good, fine, perfect. A few other CA round here have done the same. YRGRMV
I keep an old spoke wheel hub just for doing this. Don't want to get abrasive grit and stainless shavings into good wheel bearings!

your rotor grinding results may vary....
 
Well, I tried the Roloc discs and I must say, I'm impressed. I tried a fine (blue) but it didn't do much so I switched to a medium (maroon). This is the ticket, cleans and smooths out most all the grooves quickly and easily .....

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After smoothing them out, I used that Flex-Hone rotor tool to texture them back up a bit .....

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I did have concerns about removing too much material in some spots, maybe more than others, and causing the brake to "pulse" when applied, so I mounted one up on my spare wheel and tried it out. It works great, no "pulsing", so I guess I did OK, lol.
 
Wow, looks great. I’m surprised the disc would remove that much material. I had a look at my rotors last night and they look worse than they actually are for grooves and ridges. Maybe I’ll give this method a try. I don’t have rolocs that big. Mine are all 2” for a die grinder.
 
I meant to try the 2" ones but didn't. They actually might be better for doing the inner edge so you don't nick the black paint too much. Most of the scoring you see is mainly visual and not that deep. You can barely feel it with a finger. That's probably why it cleans off so readily. I checked the disc thicknesses before and after, and they barely got any thinner at all.

I also meant to mention - this deburrs the holes nicely, knocking off any ridges around them or burrs. And it leaves them nicely sharp edged which you want for keeping the pads clean.
 
Well, I tried the Roloc discs and I must say, I'm impressed. I tried a fine (blue) but it didn't do much so I switched to a medium (maroon). This is the ticket, cleans and smooths out most all the grooves quickly and easily .....

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After smoothing them out, I used that Flex-Hone rotor tool to texture them back up a bit .....

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I did have concerns about removing too much material in some spots, maybe more than others, and causing the brake to "pulse" when applied, so I mounted one up on my spare wheel and tried it out. It works great, no "pulsing", so I guess I did OK, lol.
Those are great results! Well done! :thumbsup:


First off…that’s a great photo. Once you get your Suzuki running happy, I will be very interested in hearing your riding impressions and how it compares to your XS650…..I know..apples and oranges, but I’m still interested.
Great work so far, I’m enjoying watching your progress.
 
The bike idles better now. Put timing back to spec because the surging and bucking didn’t go away as hoped. Plan to do a complete carb rebuild, add tech service bulletin orifices, replace coil wires, check oil distribution line check valves. Then re sync carbs. Hopefully it will run like a top after that (wishful thinking). Lol
 
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