It is very important to inspect the brakes on an old bike you just bought

McGrude · 07-27-2008

So as many of you know I bought a '91 Ninja 600R (ZX600C4) last month and have been doing some work on her this last week. Anyway in case you don't know, I have to replace the fork seals, do a front brake job, and replace the front tire.

So I've got the front end apart and I remove and inspect the right caliper and what do I find...

The seals on one of the calipers has failed. In the image at the arrow marked #1 you see the seal disappearing into the depths of the caliper and the #2 you see the seal bulging out.

If I didn't deal with that problem my front brakes would have failed miserably!

A2rider · 07-28-2008

Just use the rear ones, that 70% stopping power up front isn't important.

soc_monki · 07-30-2008

yea man...get those brakes fixed! when you do, maybe you can outbrake me on Forza 2!

btw...you just dropped off last night. what happened?

07Ninja250 · 07-30-2008

I just bought an '81 Yamaha XV920 and the front brake is VERY mushy and has very little stopping power. Thankfully the rear drum brake works like new. It's been rotting away in a garage for over a year. I hope the combination of new pads and new fluid return braking power.

Definitely check out the brakes on old bikes before riding anywhere outside your neighborhood. That bike wouldn't do very well in a panic stop the way it is right now.

McGrude · 07-30-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by soc_monki

yea man...get those brakes fixed! when you do, maybe you can outbrake me on Forza 2!

btw...you just dropped off last night. what happened?

My network connection went wonky for about an hour. Not sure what happened. It was OK later when I logged back in.

soc_monki · 07-31-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by McGrude

My network connection went wonky for about an hour. Not sure what happened. It was OK later when I logged back in.

yea, me and my brother were both kinda like "what the heck happened?" LOL we did another race and then went and played Call of Duty for a while.

hope to see you on the track again!

07-27-2008	#1 (permalink)
McGrude Wants better weather! BTK Expert Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Palo Alto, CA Posts: 935	It is very important to inspect the brakes on an old bike you just bought So as many of you know I bought a '91 Ninja 600R (ZX600C4) last month and have been doing some work on her this last week. Anyway in case you don't know, I have to replace the fork seals, do a front brake job, and replace the front tire. So I've got the front end apart and I remove and inspect the right caliper and what do I find... The seals on one of the calipers has failed. In the image at the arrow marked #1 you see the seal disappearing into the depths of the caliper and the #2 you see the seal bulging out. If I didn't deal with that problem my front brakes would have failed miserably! __________________ 1991 Kawasaki ZX600C4 Ninja 600R

07-30-2008	#3 (permalink)
soc_monki Wants better weather! BTK Expert Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Mississippi Posts: 797	yea man...get those brakes fixed! when you do, maybe you can outbrake me on Forza 2! btw...you just dropped off last night. what happened? __________________ 2008 Lime Green ZX-6R DIY Fender Eliminator, Jumper Mod, Yoshi RS-5 My Musical Stuff Lucian Scott

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07-28-2008	#2 (permalink)
A2rider Banned BTK Expert Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: KCK Posts: 19,729	Just use the rear ones, that 70% stopping power up front isn't important.

07-30-2008	#4 (permalink)
07Ninja250 Wants better weather! BTK Expert Join Date: May 2008 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 718	I just bought an '81 Yamaha XV920 and the front brake is VERY mushy and has very little stopping power. Thankfully the rear drum brake works like new. It's been rotting away in a garage for over a year. I hope the combination of new pads and new fluid return braking power. Definitely check out the brakes on old bikes before riding anywhere outside your neighborhood. That bike wouldn't do very well in a panic stop the way it is right now.

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