[ARKnapp]

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Still working on the 1980 GL1100. Many thanks to all of you with the help. The old girl is still not ready for certification, but getting close. All fluids have now been dumped and replenished. The brakes up front went very well with no problems, everything works and is now clean, lubed and up to snuff. The rear brakes showed their ugly side. The master cylinder looked like it was never off. There was more crud, crap and nasty stuff in it,not recognizable The rebuild went well, refit went well and so did the line drains, out for a quick test put her away and then discovered the circlip popped and then redid the whole thing again.

If you decide to clean up and redo your master cylinder for the rear end of a 1980 GL1100 take your time with it. The internal cups and plunger are simple yet well built, be sure to stay clean and wash it out with clean brake fluids and forget about using any cloths to wipe internally, simply pour your brake fluid over it.

The bellows (rubber cup) should be packed with high tempurature anti seize compound, and don't worry about the excess brake fluid draining out of the unit when you re install, do make sure you clean up well when done and be patient when bleeding the rear system, the plunger is tiny and it will take a while to get fluid back to the brake. You may even want to let the air bubbles rise so take it easy and take your time when bleeding.

Be careful when cleaning the interior of the cylinder since it will mark easy with any wire brush so be cautious and again take your time. A dental pick and soft copper or brass brush helps with the sticking crud.

 

[Speedbird]

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If you het that baby on the road, perhaps we can ride together sometime. Im in Fergus Ontario



Speedbird

 

[gkiesel]

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Boy, That is for sure! My winter R&R list seams to keep growing and growing.

 

[hammer]

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i agree totally, the little things is what keeps a wing going smooth, i was really lost when i got mine, intimidated by working on it, can say enough thanks to the people on this site and the input they offer, its priceless!!

 

[travelinmays]

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After rebuilding the master cylinder and the caliper on the back of the wifes 1100 twice I learned the err of over looking the old brake hose. I discovered that an old brake hose will swell and after an exceptionally hard push on the pedel because the hose is swelling instead of stopping the bike an exorbant about of brake fluid gets trapped in the system. This caused the pads to not retract far enough,the friction between the pads and the disk then turns therotor to color of the sun and eventually the bike grinds to a hault and the wife is calling me to rescue her again.I amlooking for new Stainless Steel brake lines now. Oh well its just money.

 

[GWNorman]

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It should be worth the effort A.R. Those small things you are attending to can be life or death issues on such a heavy bike so you know you are doing the right thing. :waving:

 

[twisty]

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travelinmays wrote:

After rebuilding the master cylinder and the caliper on the back of the wifes 1100 twice I learned the err of over looking the old brake hose. I discovered that an old brake hose will swell and after an exceptionally hard push on the pedel because the hose is swelling instead of stopping the bike an exorbant about of brake fluid gets trapped in the system. This caused the pads to not retract far enough,the friction between the pads and the disk then turns therotor to color of the sun and eventually the bike grinds to a hault and the wife is calling me to rescue her again.I amlooking for new Stainless Steel brake lines now. Oh well its just money.

travelinmays, you might want to look for another reason that rear brake is hanging up. No matter how much fluid is pushed into the brake system it shouldn't trap ANY extra fluid or pressure in the brake system when released. There is a take-up port in the master cylinder that opens (uncovers)with the brakes released & that allows the brake system pressure to equalize & allows the pressure in the brake system to flow back into the master cylinder (no matter how much fluid is in the lines). If the rear brake is hanging up it is either due to the caliper itself sticking & not returning, or improperly spaced,, or a pinched or flattened brake hose or pipe,, or the master cylinder not returning to fully released & allow pressure bleed-off,, or the brake pedal is not returning to fully released & holding pressure in the system,, or the pedal is adjusted so that the riders foot is holding it down some in operation..

Twisty

 

[Goldwinger]

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I have heard of this happening also when the rubber gets so old, the rubber inside the hose can come apart and act like a valve. will let the fluid in but then closes off the hose on the return. In my opinion at this age there is no down side to changing all the rubber lines, brakes and clutch.

 

[travelinmays]

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The problem resurfaced after rebuilding both caliper and master cylinder. I then replaced both items after reoccurring again and burning up caliper. Brakes locked again this time after running up and down the road in front of my house abusing the heck out of the brakes. Local mechanic told me he had seen this before where the old hose expands and traps pressure some how. Any way I have located a local manufacture that made me a replacement in stainless steel for under 40 bucks. If it works I will have him make replacements for all my hoses. Luckly the clutch is still a cable on the 82.

 

[ARKnapp]

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Well I had Larry's Small Engines pick the bike up for certification today. The driver kept drooling over the unit, "man what year is it? "It's in great shape!"

My neighbour came out to look and told me that I bought his bike, he looked at it but the other half said no way and he was curious if my wife was ok with it. I'm not Hen Pecked, I do the dishes my way.