Rear brake dragging

[amad]

I put my '05 Busa up on the rear stand today, and tried to spin the wheel. It definitely was not free spinning. The rear brake could be felt and heard dragging pretty decent. Is this normal or not?
Thanks,
Aaron

[S-R Racing]

A very slight drag maybe,but otherwise not normal. First check all your hoses,looking for kinks or other damage that won't allow brake fluid to return to mst.cylinder/resv.Then check for water contamination which will cause caliper pistons to rust in the housing-brake will still work,it just won't release as it should.

[GSXcite]

You can also check to make sure the rear wheel is aligned and pointing streight. If the wheel is cocked to one side or the other the brake will drag.

[craigntx]

you didn't do what i did to my front calipers did ya?
i took off with a padlock in the disc.
i didn't go down, but my front brakes been screwed since, i'm eatin pads like crazy

[Big Red]

Sounds like your rear brake caliper's pistons may be corroded and sticking;if they are, a good cleaning and some lube will get you back and running

[amad]

Thanks, guys. I'll try that (cleaning, lubing, checking alignment, etc) and let you know if it works.

[Wag]

There are two little clips that hook under the pins. The pins poke through the calipers and the pads to line them up and the clips hook over the top of the pads. If they are installed backward, they will cause the pads to drag a bit.

Take a picture and let's see what you have going on. All the other stuff above also are good suggestions as well.

--Wag--

[amad]

I found the problem!!!

I was taking off the wheels to have new tires put on them and decided to check the brake pads (I had already lubed the different parts) and noticed that I had absolutely no brake pads left. It had worn away ALL pad material and probably a 1/16" of the metal. Fortunately, the disc looks OK. The front brakes still had a lot of pad left on them. With 4,000 miles on the bike, it looks like the previous owner only used his back brake. Where do some people learn to ride?

Anyway, after putting in new pads (kind of a pain) and putting the wheel back on (another pain), it all works really well. Thanks for all the advice.

[GMbusa]

A slightly crimped SS brakeline will do the same thing also.

[Wag]

Actually, I've noticed my rear brakes wear out faster than the fronts.

--Wag--

[kml]

25k miles and I've still got LOTS of meat on stock rear pads. Up front I'm on my second set of ebc pads. You folks go thru rear pads pretty damn quick. I rely on my front, unless I'm on gravel.
cheers
ken

[Copperone]

Glad you found out what was going on. I don't use the rear brakes so mine last a long time.