Yet again these crap calipers cannot stand up to just a few weeks salt. Despite constant cleaning, the piston surfaces are pitting, pads bind quickly in the caliper body and the whole thing just deteriorates. Why they fit 10 bob calipers on a 12k bike is beyond me, cost cutting twats are Honda. Surely stainless steel pistons should be the standard, not just an aftermarket option.
I'm sure u can buy stainless pistons if really needed Kent. Appreciate that's not the point in thread in the first place, but if I were riding all year it's what I'd do.
My mate Sax (now a member on here) like you rides his CB1000r all year to work and his pistons were in really bad condition. He's replaced with Yamaha R1 Gold Spot calipers as an alternative - think he ended up with a spare pair somehow which may still be available as an option but agree on a newish bike should not be needed
Well to be honest guys, its nothing new as I have been doing this with Fireblade calipers for the last 15 years, but it still pains me that they use such cheapo components in the belief that people that purchase their bikes only ride them on dry summer days. The main thing for a winter rider is to be aware that the crud and salt is eating away at all parts of the caliper and pistons, and the main problem they will face is twofold. One the disc to carrier bobbins seize very quickly with crud and need regular maintenance through the winter, thus the disc stops 'floating' and is the main cause of disc warpage. The second is that the caliper body to pad contact areas start to bubble with hardened crud and pit very quickly and the pad cannot move freely and again this causes sticking and heat build up, which in turn with the disc issue above also contributes to warpage and accelerated pad wear. The only option is to strip down and gently file down the hardened crud , then the decision to grease or not to grease the caliper sides and pad edges, although again IMO the grease attracts crud like a magnet. It appears to not make much difference just putting them in dry and then regular removal and cleaning. That's why I strip these things down monthly throughout the winter. This time I should have done it before the bike was left for 2 weeks whilst I was away on business, hence I come home to find the pads welded to the disc and caliper slides yesterday and was initially unable to move the wheel, and then 2 hours of remedial work to get them fit for todays commute. Bet the Honda cars don't have this problem!!! When did anyone hear of someone having to do this on a 7 month old car? A tip for anyone trying to clean the pistons is a good quality piston removal tool, its invaluable for rotating the pistons so you can get to the hard to clean part if you cannot rotate them.
I feel your pain Kent. Having to clean the disc bobbins weekly now as they become solid come the weekend. Mine are already warped so when not floating you notice a difference at the lever. My pistons too are corroded but this was from earlier years winter riding, too much salt/ water and over use of cleaning chemicals (SDOC, Greentech etc). I too take the calipers off monthly for a proper clean and polish the pistons, experimenting with lubes at the moment, carefully applied silicon lube seems to protect the pistons and not attract too much crud – safe for the seals too. Thing is I had Nissins on my 2 previous Hondas, ridden in the same environment and no such corrosion, the piston material used in them seems to a lot more resistant to the winter roads.
I can't say I've had any such issues... I don't do a massive amount of miles in winter but it does get used. It probably helps that the bike gets washed every weekend and this includes a thorough wash of the discs and calipers and rinsed carefully using a pressure washer.
Its the mileage and shite down on the road. Mine puts 300 to 500 a week in week out all year. In fact some weekends all I do is wash the brakes if I don't have time for the bike, put miles on these bikes in this weather and they will give you grief.
Mine suffer too, I have to strip mine down every 2 months to get them to work properly as they corrode like sh*t very cheap too. Mine is a 2012 model and does not have steel Pistons but wish it did!!!!
Just ordered this get yourself some propa gear. To go on me under slung swinger ready soon BREMBO BILLET 2 PISTON RACING REAR BRAKE CALIPER X98.88.70 Piston Size: 34mm Piston Type: Titanium Mount Centres: 64mm Body Type: Machined Billet - 2 Piston Price: £795.00 (Excluding VAT at 20%) It will look the bollox when on swinger
Ill second the comment on the nissin callipers being better in the crappy weather conditions! Never had any of the ball ache you get with these tokicrappos!
I am considering using this in winter as it seems far more durable than the original equipment!! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...aritime_Museum_-_geograph.org.uk_-_549234.jpg
