Bike doesn't roll after winter, front brakes stuck?

fragfeaster777

Registered
Hello everyone,

Hope you guys can help me with a problem I'm having: A month ago I took my 2008 Busa (all stock except Helibars) to fill her up with gas because I knew it would be a while before I would be riding again. The Busa was covered in crap but as I had to travel I didnt have time to clean it.

This past weekend I decided to properly clean the bike, but at the end I realised that the bike was stuck, it wouldnt move forward nor back. The front wheel does turn to the left and right though. I started up the engine to see if it would move when in gear, but as I put it in first and slowly let out the clutch , the front forks compressed but the bike didnt go anywhere. I didnt give it much gas, just a bit to compress the forks. Its almost like I had the front brakes engaged. I pulled the brake lever a couple of times and it felt "normal", and the brake light would come on normally with the lever.

I called up my dealer and he said that here in the UK, because of the grime and salt, this happens sometimes as dirt accumulates between the pads and rotor and then solidifies. He said that all it needs is some more gas for the brake pads to get loose and I will likely hear a big "crack" once the pads loosen up and the bike moves.

I just wanted to check if anyone has had any experience with this, as I dont want to give the bike more gas and then find out later I destroyed something valuable. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Personally I would take the caliper off and take a tooth brush and brake cleaner to the caliper pistons to make sure they are good and clean. You don't want them sticking on you when you least expect it.

I don't care how good it "pops", I would never have peace of mind they are moving freely like they should.
 
I like what outlaw is saying, but the dealer is probably giving you good advice. If the contact between the pads and rotor are as described it would be difficult to remove the calipers to work on them. In the future wash those areas down good before storing.

If you do remove the calipers please use a rubber mallet and take care not to damage anything. These rotors warp if you look at them wrong.
 
Post Script, I would follow outlaws instructions after braking the brakes loose.
 
I might be tempted to put it up on front stands and move the wheel by hand instead of gassing it...
 
It happens here to some of our cars on the lot if they sit for too long.
Say maybe a few weeks or so and no test drives the pads will be stuck.
When you gas it it does make a huge crack and then they free up. But after doing that I have to drive with one foot on brake and other on gas for a small bit as there is some pad material left on the rotors which makes a tick tick tick as you're driving. It will immediately turn someone off a car. Sometimes dragging the pedal won't scrape it off and we have to take wheels off and resurface rotors.
Motorcycle parts are even more delicate. I may try just simply tapping them with a rubber mallet while trying to turn wheel to see if you can unstick them. After you do get them unstuck use a scotch Brite pad to clean leftover stuck on pad material from rotors or you may get same tick tick tick when riding.
 
spray them with water for a few minutes to soften up the salt and dried water and it might not even pop. no big deal.
 
Probably too late to say this, but am I reading this right? Is the dealer advising you to just whack on the throttle and drag the brakes free? If so, I say that this is REALLY bad advice! It *might* work, then again it might just trash your brakes as happened to me.

Winter riding, parked the bike up for a few days, then was running late to work one morning so jumped on the bike and tried to pull off. It didn't move. Realised that the front brake pads had locked onto the disc, thought, "I'll give it a few revs, that should free it off"... and it did... kind of.

Gave it a handful, heard a loud "CRACK!" and the whole bike lurched forward, then the front end locked up almost throwing me off. The disc had snapped, distorted, then rotated around until a sharp edge smashed into the caliper.

Result: Had to replace the caliper and disc. In fact I ended up replacing the pair. Total cost around £400.

My advice: free them by hand, don't rely on BHP as there is more than enough power in a Busa to totally trash your brakes.

Mine has been stood for a couple of months, I've just gone out to put it back on the road and face the same problem. I am going to take the brakes off and pump / clean / re-grease each piston in either caliper.
 
Wanted to add to this.

The reason I came to this forum today was because my front brakes had just done it again after the bike had been stood a while: they locked on pretty damned tight.

I've only ever done this once before (i.e. I am no pro), but it's taken me 2 hours to recondition them. Unsure if anyone here has documented this, but if not:

1. Remove calliper (2 x 12mm bolts securing the calliper to the frame.
2. Remove inspection plate (2 tiny hex bolts)
3. Remove pads (split pin, slide bar, pads)
4. Place an inch thick piece of wood inside the calliper to prevent the pistons popping out.
5. Pump the brake lever and watch the pistons push out. They will almost always come out unevenly in that they rarely all move at the same rate: identify any sluggish ones.
6. Copper grease each one that is exposed and then gently push them back into the calliper with a decent set of water pump pliers. Work from all sides, gently, but firmly squeezing them back into the housing one at a time. Don't just try to force them in from one side as you may skew them.
7. Retain the ones that move freely: either clamp them in place with a G-clamp and a piece of wood, or tie wrap them, or just hold them in place with pliers / piece of wood.
7.1. Pump the sticking ones out to where they should go at full extension (not so far as to pump them out) and focus on those. Grease them, pump them back in and out a few times until they move freely.

Put it all back together, job done (hopefully).

Jump back on, pump them a few times to ensure that they are working, then ride slowly and test.

I've now had to do this a couple of times if the bike has been stood for a while (weeks) in very low temps. It's a dead simple job, takes an hour or two.
 
I'm an auto mechanic and I've rebuilt a lot of calipers and the kits usually recommend using brake fluid or silicone grease to lube the cups or pistons when installing them. We all know brake fluid will attract moisture and cause corrosion so you decide. The silicone grease won't attack the rubber seals like regular grease or never seize (or copper grease) may. I'm not sure if the newer synthetic brake greases are recommended for the pistons. Whichever you use just put a light coat on them, you don't want too much getting inside the caliper if you are rebuilding them. The alternative method is to do as previously posted and pump them out most of the way and pull back the dust boots if they have any and clean the dust and dirt with a toothbrush or wire "toothbrush" if corroded, then wipe clean and lube, then press back in to get the lube on the seals. That can work if they aren't corroded too badly and you don't want to pull them all apart but sometimes they'll stick again. I wouldn't recommend brake cleaner around the piston seals, it could dry them out. Go in and out a few times until they all seem to move freely. The original post mentioned salt corrosion so I'll mention a thin coat of synthetic brake grease on the pads and caliper at any rubbing points and where the pins go through the pad ears. Just try to keep it off of the pad face and rotor. A little synthetic brake grease around the piston where the pad touches helps stop squeal, if you have any, usually bikes don't.
 
I'm not a mechanic and I've never had this happen, but wouldn't boiling hot water flush the crap off and free up the wheel?
 
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