What causes a caliper to go bad? I've been suffering a gradual decline in braking power on the front of my '02 KDX, and through a long process I've concluded the problem is in the caliper.
However, I removed and completely disassembled the caliper and there appears to be no problems with it. The seals are in good condition, the cylinder walls have no scoring or corrosion, the slide pins were greased & worked fine. Basically, I cannot see any problems with the caliper, so I don't know what I would gain by installing a rebuild kit.
Any ideas?
For a rundown of what I've done so far, read on:
-- bled brakes conventionally on bike
-- installed new brake pads
-- removed system (intact) and bled conventionally, with the caliper elevated above m/c
-- swapped m/c's with my son's '03 KDX (mine still lacks power, and his can do 2-finger stoppies in the driveway with my old m/c)
-- bled system with a vaccum bleeder with caliper elevated
-- removed & disassembled caliper, cleaned & reinstalled
-- reverse bled the system from caliper to m/c ( at this point, if I am certain of anything, it's that the system is free of air)
-- installed braided s/s brake line
.
Other than a slightly firmer lever due to a better evacuation of the system, I am no further along than when I started. Pushing the bike along the garage floor and grabbing a handful of brake lever, you can (almost) lock the front wheel. That is on a slick garage floor, so that gives you an idea of how weak the brakes are.
So what exactly is there to go wrong with a caliper? I am wondering if they can start developing some flex in the caliper frame that you can't see, but is absorbing the hydraulic pressure instead of converting it to mechanical force.
However, I removed and completely disassembled the caliper and there appears to be no problems with it. The seals are in good condition, the cylinder walls have no scoring or corrosion, the slide pins were greased & worked fine. Basically, I cannot see any problems with the caliper, so I don't know what I would gain by installing a rebuild kit.
Any ideas?
For a rundown of what I've done so far, read on:
-- bled brakes conventionally on bike
-- installed new brake pads
-- removed system (intact) and bled conventionally, with the caliper elevated above m/c
-- swapped m/c's with my son's '03 KDX (mine still lacks power, and his can do 2-finger stoppies in the driveway with my old m/c)
-- bled system with a vaccum bleeder with caliper elevated
-- removed & disassembled caliper, cleaned & reinstalled
-- reverse bled the system from caliper to m/c ( at this point, if I am certain of anything, it's that the system is free of air)
-- installed braided s/s brake line
.
Other than a slightly firmer lever due to a better evacuation of the system, I am no further along than when I started. Pushing the bike along the garage floor and grabbing a handful of brake lever, you can (almost) lock the front wheel. That is on a slick garage floor, so that gives you an idea of how weak the brakes are.
So what exactly is there to go wrong with a caliper? I am wondering if they can start developing some flex in the caliper frame that you can't see, but is absorbing the hydraulic pressure instead of converting it to mechanical force.