Help. Getting back on the road.

What would be an easy way to switch the headlight. I would turn it off in bad traffic. I might go back to kiking it sometimes. I forgot how easy it kick starts on a good runner. Just push hard on it n she fires up. I mean kick like a push feel.
 
I'm searching threads about the worn clutch lever. It looks like the lever from Mike's is a good move. What ab filling with solder or jb and re drilling?
Ill probably order the new lever but just to mess around.
 
New clutch levers are still available from Yamaha for about $10. That would be my choice if staying stock. I took a different route and switched to a lever/perch assembly from a late '70s/early '80s Kawasaki. I did so because the pivot is 3 or 4 times as long as the Yamaha one. No worries about wearing this one out anytime soon, lol .....

GXyKjuR.png


tSiSXmD.png
 
How is the mirror mount thread on that twin? Would I be able to keep stock mirror.
 
Yes, the mirror mount is the same so your stock Yamaha mirror will fit right in. There is one small issue with using one of these Kawasaki perch assemblies. The distance from the adjuster to the cable anchor point in the lever is less. This will put more freeplay in your cable. You can adjust it out but that puts the adjuster way far screwed out. The other option is to add a shim or spacer to the cable where it enters the case .....

9EgtPwT.png


HLLqF5M.png


I made the spacer by cutting the top off an elbow from an old junk cable and slotting the side so it would slip on .....

Xeuy2Gs.png
 
I know it's gone over and I'm about to search but I just changed my brake lines and have no resistance at lever. Can someone shoot me the answer. Something ab clamping or banding lever open over night. Should mc and or bleeder be open?
 
Remove caliper from bracket, 1) 12mm bolt, loosen screw on back it will now slide up off the disk. Grab a c-clamp, force the piston all the way in you can even leave the pads in while doing this or remove them. Put the caliper back on the bracket, and you should have no problems pumping the pads out to the rotor.
But really as long as you are this far strip and rebuild the caliper and MC that's the only way to good brakes
 
Yea your right. Im going to do the caliper tonight. How do i get the piston out? I know it was sticking a little anyhow. I clean it few mos ago wo taking it apart but i need to get a scotch pad or such on it properly. To cleam it.
 
Is it the right or left side that is reverse thread mirror. I had rubber mounts on and idk why since taking one off I'm having trouble getting mirror in right side.
Working on brakes right now. I pushed mc piston But no piston movement and no pressure on lever. I really just started on it so I should have get it.
 
if its completely seized in the caliper you might have to put the caliper in a soft jawed vice and put a Stilsons pipe wrench on the old caliper and turn it out if these pipe wrenches are available in the US ?. Stilsons once they grip they just grip tighter the more you apply pressure unlike those rubbish Mole Grips which just chew everything up and slip.
 
I blow the piston out with compressed air fed in the brake line hole (bleed nipple installed and tight). If it's stuck and doesn't move at all, it needs to be squeezed back into the caliper with a big C-clamp to break it free. Then blown out as far as it will go, squeezed back in again, blown out again, etc., until it comes all the way out. If it's still stuck and won't move at all after squeezing it in, warming the caliper with a heat gun can help.

I just took a bunch of old parts bike calipers apart to scrounge the good parts out of them. Some were really stuck but I managed to get them all apart using the procedures I've outlined above.

When you get it apart, hopefully you won't find the piston too badly rusted up and pitted. If it is, it will need replacing. The usual cause for sticking is just a build-up of dried out brake fluid in the rubber seal's groove. You'll need to pop the seal out (square sectioned o-ring) and clean all that crust out of the groove.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your all help on this thread.
I didn't expect changing a brake line to go from operating normal brakes to this.
I remember reading about the air methods but was doing it wrong I was blowing in the bleeder. I don't have a rubber tip on my blow gun so it's not sealing great. Ill get a rubber tip for it. Ill try going in the line point. I just don't get how there is no feel at the mc and no fluid squirting, it does come out the bleeder like it's fine and I don't think that my mc went at the exact moment I changed lines.
 
You must still have lots of air in the line. It can be quite a chore to get a drained system filled back up after changing out the line, by just hand pumping the lever. I have one of those Mity-Vac vacuum pumps. It makes re-filling an empty system pretty easy.
 
I got the caliper piston to move a little with the pipe wrench. Is there anything in there I can mess up by twisting the piston? Is there anything I can soak it in to help? Would WD be okay? It looks like I'm going to be rebuilding the caliper. Are Mike's rebuild kits up to snuff?
 
All that's in there is a square sectioned o-ring seal fitted into a groove in the caliper body. You shouldn't mess anything up by twisting the piston, other than maybe the top of the piston where you're grabbing it. Yes, you can juice it up with some sort of penetrating fluid to get it freed up and apart, just make sure you clean that all out later. Brake fluid and petroleum based products don't mix. I'm going to add that even on those really, really stuck ones I mentioned before, I didn't need to resort to pipe wrenching (or twisting) the piston. They all came apart with air.

I'd wait until you get things apart before buying stuff. All that is sold by Yamaha and Mike's is a complete rebuild kit for $20 or so. Usually you don't need to replace all that stuff, sometimes only the square sectioned o-ring seal. That can be bought alone from Suzuki for a little over $5 .....

https://www.partzilla.com/product/suzuki/69107-05CF0

Many times, you don't need to replace anything, just clean the caliper out real good. That was it's whole issue to begin with, it was all crusty inside, the rubber bits may still be fine.
 
Okay sounds good thanks, ya I just wanted to see if it would move. Ill get the rubber end for my blow gun.
Also where is the piston seal. I got the dust boot off, no problem not stuck but I don't see the seal pictured and mentioned in the caliper rebuild thread, will I get to that when the piston comes out?
 
Yes, it's inside, in the wall of the piston bore in the caliper. You won't see it until you get the piston out. Then with a small screwdriver, you can just pop it out of the groove in the caliper. It's just a big o-ring, very flexible. Once it's out, you'll see all the crust built up in the groove below it. That crust slowly pushes the seal out more and more as it builds up, eventually making the piston stick.
 
Twins do you or anybody reading this have a good lead on a vac pump that I can get, to fill system with brake fluid. I'm not looking to spend $ I don't have to but if it like an inexpensive harbor freight type of thing I'd consider getting one.
 
Back
Top