[austinstreetman]

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What should be a quick job has turned into a project!:X The pad retaining pins are stuck in my left front caliper of my 84 aspy and no amount of persuasion will budge them. I am now shopping for a used caliper. Is this often a problem?

 

[FitzAl]

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Using copper grease on the pins stops them seizing. My 1100 had this problem and I had to remove the calliper and put it in a vice where I could get a punch tool and beat the pins out. If I had tried this with the calliper still in the bike I think I would have broken it.

 

[Goldwinger]

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I changed the pads on the 85 few years ago, and yes they were a bee with an itch, I finally had to remove the calibers mount them in a vice and work on the pins with a vice grip to get them out. I reinstalled them with a liberal coat of anti seize and am hoping when I have to do it again, I wont be teaching the entire neighbourhood several new swear words in the prosess. )

 

[austinstreetman]

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Thanks, I'll use anti-seize when I reassemble. The caliper is now trash. I had it in the vice for a couple of hours going after it with a 48 oz hammer and a brass drift.

 

[rproudman]

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I had a caliper where someone had obviously 'persuaded' the 2 pins in even though there were not totally straight.

Didn't really cause a problem with the exception of widening the hole at the end a tiny bit.

Bought 2 new pins from Honda, put on the grease and all was okay.

Man what people do to save a few bucks ... pounds ... Euros ...

 

[wingnut]

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I came across a GL1100 hat had wooden pins (dowel rods I think) instead of the proper steel ones. The odd thing was that the man who had bought the bike three years before had bought it in this condition and it never came to light until we changed the front pads. The even odder thing is that the wooden pins actually held without falling apart! :shock:

 

[Renegade]

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Would soaking the caliper pins with WD40 for a day or two have prevented damaging them with a hammer? Just asking?? :?

__________________________________________________

All Gave Some,, Some Gave All

 

[austinstreetman]

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I soaked them for a couple of hours, but not days.

 

[JOHNO]

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I had the same problem with my 1984 GL1200, it took a lot of "gentle" persusion and even had to cut one pinin half then use a press to force it out, I Know it's, to late now but if they sieze again, take the caliper to an engineer firm with a hydraulic press. Once the pins are out get new ones, measure the diameter with a micrometer then use a very fine clearance drill (in a stand or jig) to clear the twenty years of aluminium corrosion away then take the precaution of using anti-sieze grease.All should be well for at least another twenty years !!

 

[edzinohio]

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Let it soak overnight with some type of oil or penetrating fluid on it.

 

[Jan Jensen]

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Hello Austinstreetman !
Instead of WD 40 I think you will get a better result using a remedy against rust. E.x. DEBLOCK OIL If you can read it in Danish here it is,- otherwise read the blue text

DEBLOCK OIL er specielt sammensat rustopløsningsmiddel som kemisk bryder bindingerne i rust og korrosion. Meget kraftig penetrerende egenskab. Gør det enkelt at løsne fastsiddende dele. Stort indhold af grafit.

DEBLOCK OIL is a special compound for that special purpose to work as a "Rust Solvent" It chemically breakes the binding in rust and corrosion (which oil don't do !) . It has a very deep penetration property. Make it simple for parts to come loose. A high content of craphite too !

My experience is when I use it ! Spray it on,- let it be there for 1-2 hours and then try to loose the parts ! I can tell you it works fantastic !

PS. Other semilar types can be used ! We also in Denmark have a type called CARAMBA which is the same as DEBLOCK. The point is,- dont use oil when you can get abetter product for the purpose !

Best regards from
Jan Jensen Denmark !

 

[MisterEd]

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Wonder what would happen if a guy turned some new pins a thou or two less than original size, or out of hardened brass. I mean if wood dowels lasted three years then hard brass would probably be ok too and be more resistant to seizeing. And no disrepect intended but you "hammer and punch" guys need to rethink your choice of tools when performing parts removal.

 

[Skooter]

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MisterEd wrote:

And no disrepect intended but you "hammer and punch" guys need to rethink your choice of tools when performing parts removal.

Actually Ed that's the way mechanics are taught to do it during their apprenticeship. A proper sized punch tool and small BP hammer to tap the pins out from their initial tightness (they usually get stuck on the spring anti-rattle clip that is fitted to the wide outer end). You have to tap the pin out from one side as there is no access t o the sunken outer part until you give it the first taps to clear the pin head from the recess.
I don't mean attacking it with a sledge hammer and a pointed nail of course, but with the proper tools. If the pin won't come out with a few taps you should rest the calliper on something solid with a cloth underneath and try again. Banging away at the pin with the calliper in place on the bike is a sure way of warping or cracking the mounting lugs.
If you guys out there get into the habit of using copper (anti-seize) grease on every nut, bolt and pin that you remove from a metal fitting then this will make them much easier to remove next time around. Bikes residing near the sea or in high rain areas will always need a bit of help, like stripping and greasing the pins ever winter. That's the way it is I'm afraid.

 

[austinstreetman]

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I got a used caliper at the local motorcycle salvage yard for 35 bucks! Now I am happy again.

 

[rproudman]

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Maybe I've been paranoid, but I've now bought a left front, right front and 2 rear (1 spare obviously) caliper for my 1986 Aspy.

Got 'em on various ebay auctions and have done the cleanup, rebuild, etc. of the 3 on the bike now, I'll clean these new ones up for spares.

Price for all 4 was probably $50 - $60 US, which is peanuts compared to new or buying in bits.

When my original caliper had 2 bent pins, I ended up buying new ones at the Honda dealer for about $20, so with these spares, I'll hopefully be set for a while in case.

 

[edzinohio]

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when your pads wear down you should just swap in the spare calipers with new pads and keep that cycle going.