Pads closed in a caliper

[GOOSE_SP2]

OK guys bit of a novice question but ive just caught the front brake lever and applied pressure to the pads while the wheels out and the pads have closed...is it just a case of levering them back out with a screwdriver or more involved?

[steve p]

Dont lever the pads by their face, best to take out the pad pins and slide the pads out and lever the pistons carefully, use a bit of wood if poss.

[GOOSE_SP2]

Thanks mate spot on!

[Sppete]

Also,
take the lid off the brake fluid reservoir. It has a rubber seal which expands to take up air space as the fluid goes down. If it has expanded and is pushing against the fluid it could cause your pads to be constantly dragging on the discs or maybe even go up into the breather slot and drip on your fairing.
Take the top off. reset the seal and pop it all back together and you should be fine.

Pete

[Screaming Chief]

Also a good tip :-

Keep a set of used pads that are nearly down to the backing plates.

You can use these both as a means with which to push the pistons back into their bores level, as well as, if you want to pump out the pistons for cleaning the surface shit off them, pump them out until they compress the old pads, then drop the old pads out and you have enough room not only to clean the pistons down to a decent height/depth to get rid of the encrusted crap below the dust seal, but you can also use an old pad to push the pistons back in, nice and level when you have cleaned them.

I favour an old pad over a piece of wood, simply because the backing plate takes up all the width of the caliper and thus will always push pads back in level, rather than twisting a big flat blade screwdriver against the opposite side of the caliper forcing them in (sometimes a bit skew whiff)

If you decide to undo the brake reservoir cap, remember that the fluid you displace when you push the pistons back into their bores, wants to fly out the reservoir at a high rate of knots in a nice fountain arc, so if you aren't careful, you could end up with fluid over your speedo cover (brake fluid and speedo covers aren't a good combo and are bloody expensive to replace) so remember, if you are brake bleeding or otherwise messing with the reservoir top off, find a nice old towel (doubled over) placed on top of your speedo to catch any errant spray of fluid.Same thing applies to the front edge of your petrol tank.

[chippie]

When iv'e got my front wheel out i always push a can between the lever and grip to stop me catching it !

[Sppete]

When iv'e got my front wheel out i always push a can between the lever and grip to stop me catching it !

Good one. I always shove a half a peg between the pads to stop them closing up. Just don't tell the Mrs

Pete