I'm really sorry to ask this - another caliper question!

[Bekker]

I have a '79 GS550E and recently I tore the front calipers down for a clean and lube.

I found one of the caliper carrier arms and both slid pins heavily corroded (I mean not the kind you sort out with a scotchbrite pad). Neither set of pins had any 'O' rings. I cleaned and lubed them up anyway and reassembled and although they are significantly better now (both sides now slide!) I know I am going to have to replace them.

Now I'm in New Zealand and we are not blessed with GS's like the States or UK so spares are harder to find and I'd like to upgrade anyway.

I've searched the treads and I'm on the look out for early GS (or Honda) discs and Kawasaki calipers. The GS discs will be the hard parts to find. One is rare in NZ, let alone two.

I read recently in a British classic bike magazine that the GS1000E of the same era can be upgraded with calipers from a CBR600f. It didn't elaborate on the year or anything else.

So (finally) this is my question: Does anybody know of this upgrade? Has anyone here done it and if so what mods if any, are required. This is all assuming, and I think I'm correct, that the 550E and 1000E used the same caliper?

Any help greatfully appreciated.

Cheers

Rohan

[Nessism]

Use the Advanced Search option and look for Salty_Monks thread(s) on upgrading the brake system. That should tell you what you need to know.

Good luck,

[Big T]

Also, check the "For Sale" forum for parts

Do you need both calipers for the E model?

[Texas Don]

I have a '79 GS550E and recently I tore the front calipers down for a clean and lube.

I found one of the caliper carrier arms and both slid pins heavily corroded (I mean not the kind you sort out with a scotchbrite pad). Neither set of pins had any 'O' rings. I cleaned and lubed them up anyway and reassembled and although they are significantly better now (both sides now slide!) I know I am going to have to replace them. (edited)

Rohan

Maybe not. The caliper carrier arms don't have that much strain on them and they are aluminum, sot while they will corrode, it usually isn't as aggressive as steel. I'm restoring a GS1000E so maybe there are differences, but I think that they use the same caliper. What causes all of the problems is the dust boot rotting away and getting holed. That allows moisture inside the carrier arm cavity and you get rusting and pitting. The pins are machined steel and they are more of a worry than the carrier arm. They won't slide through the bushings on the carrier arm properly if they are corroded.The pins are available from a dealer and should be replaced if they have any pitting or more than mild surface corrosion. Don't worry about the o-rings. The originals were of a rectangular or flat cross section. The new ones have a round cross section and will cause the arm to bind on the pin. Just lube the pins properly with a silicon based, high temp lube if you have it. High temp bearing grease works just fine if you don't.
Renew the dust boots and keep them replaced at any sign of deterioration and you should be able to use the ones you have for many years to come.
Don

[Nessism]

Maybe not. The caliper carrier arms don't have that much strain on them and they are aluminum, sot while they will corrode, it usually isn't as aggressive as steel. I'm restoring a GS1000E so maybe there are differences, but I think that they use the same caliper. What causes all of the problems is the dust boot rotting away and getting holed. That allows moisture inside the carrier arm cavity and you get rusting and pitting. The pins are machined steel and they are more of a worry than the carrier arm. They won't slide through the bushings on the carrier arm properly if they are corroded.The pins are available from a dealer and should be replaced if they have any pitting or more than mild surface corrosion. Don't worry about the o-rings. The originals were of a rectangular or flat cross section. The new ones have a round cross section and will cause the arm to bind on the pin. Just lube the pins properly with a silicon based, high temp lube if you have it. High temp bearing grease works just fine if you don't.
Renew the dust boots and keep them replaced at any sign of deterioration and you should be able to use the ones you have for many years to come.
Don

Depends on the generation of GS caliper, there are three. The first generation used the round puck brake pads. The calipers hangers had bronze bushings inside so they are durable. The 1980 calipers had rectangular pads with small wings on top. These calipers had problems with wear inside the caliper hanger pin bore and the pins would wear as well; the anodizing would wear off inside the caliper bore which would leave ridges inside for the caliper to hang up on - keeps the caliper from sliding side to side smoothly. Caliper hanger brackets are not available anymore and the pins are $20 EACH.

Third generation GS calipers use rectangular pads but with a more pronounced wing on top. These calipers are more durable than the second gen, but the pins are challenged; their is a plastic sleeve which swells up from using the wrong type of grease thus causing binding. Suzuki had a recall but tons of bikes were never repaired - plastic sleeve was removed. At any rate, make sure to use Caliper Grease, not some generic stuff. Brakes are nothing to monkey around with, do them up right.

[salty_monk]

I think you could probably run 1 kawasaki caliper on that model, maybe with a hub spacer behind the disk to bring it over towards the fork.

You'll need a hanger bracket as well.

I've been meaning to take a look at that but not got round to it yet.. a friend of mine has a 550 so I'll have to borrow it some day!

Dan

[Bekker]

Use the Advanced Search option and look for Salty_Monks thread(s) on upgrading the brake system. That should tell you what you need to know.

Good luck,

Thanks I've done a bit of that and I think I know what I need for the upgrade. Just got to wait for the parts to turn up on our version of ebay. Only 4 million people in this country so it's a kinda small market.

Also, check the "For Sale" forum for parts

Do you need both calipers for the E model?

I'd say so. Don't really want to go down to just the single disc.

Maybe not. The caliper carrier arms don't have that much strain on them and they are aluminum, sot while they will corrode, it usually isn't as aggressive as steel. I'm restoring a GS1000E so maybe there are differences, but I think that they use the same caliper. What causes all of the problems is the dust boot rotting away and getting holed. That allows moisture inside the carrier arm cavity and you get rusting and pitting. The pins are machined steel and they are more of a worry than the carrier arm. They won't slide through the bushings on the carrier arm properly if they are corroded.The pins are available from a dealer and should be replaced if they have any pitting or more than mild surface corrosion. Don't worry about the o-rings. The originals were of a rectangular or flat cross section. The new ones have a round cross section and will cause the arm to bind on the pin. Just lube the pins properly with a silicon based, high temp lube if you have it. High temp bearing grease works just fine if you don't.
Renew the dust boots and keep them replaced at any sign of deterioration and you should be able to use the ones you have for many years to come.
Don

That's pretty much what I've done. Lots of synthetic caliper grease and it is better but I realise it's not a long term solution. New pins here are $45NZ plus freight ex Japan and since the carrier is shot anyway there doesn't seem much point. Looks like there used to be a copper or bronze bush but it's long gone.

Depends on the generation of GS caliper, there are three. The first generation used the round puck brake pads. The calipers hangers had bronze bushings inside so they are durable. The 1980 calipers had rectangular pads with small wings on top. These calipers had problems with wear inside the caliper hanger pin bore and the pins would wear as well; the anodizing would wear off inside the caliper bore which would leave ridges inside for the caliper to hang up on - keeps the caliper from sliding side to side smoothly. Caliper hanger brackets are not available anymore and the pins are $20 EACH.

Third generation GS calipers use rectangular pads but with a more pronounced wing on top. These calipers are more durable than the second gen, but the pins are challenged; their is a plastic sleeve which swells up from using the wrong type of grease thus causing binding. Suzuki had a recall but tons of bikes were never repaired - plastic sleeve was removed. At any rate, make sure to use Caliper Grease, not some generic stuff. Brakes are nothing to monkey around with, do them up right.

Mine has the round puck type pads. The bronze bush had corroded away alone the a decent amount of the corresponding pin! Given that the carriers aren't available I will be upgrading. I agree about not cutting corner (so to speak) with the brakes, although they are far better now than before I cleaned them up. Having said that, it's still a '79 GS so they're nothing to shout about!

I think you could probably run 1 kawasaki caliper on that model, maybe with a hub spacer behind the disk to bring it over towards the fork.


You'll need a hanger bracket as well.

I've been meaning to take a look at that but not got round to it yet.. a friend of mine has a 550 so I'll have to borrow it some day!

Dan

You've got me interested but do you mean going down to a single disc or putting spacers under each side? Or did you mean there is only 1 Kawasaki caliper that will fit this model? From what I remember you've said in the past that the twin disc GS discs are too small and leave pad overhang.

Cheers

[Nessism]

Not sure this would help but I have a nice clean GS550E caliper I went though and cleaned up. Honestly, it's in great shape and I even have some decent pads for it.

How much would it cost to mail to New Zealand? If it's not too much it might be worth going this way.

Edit: looks like shipping is about $25. Not too bad really.

[salty_monk]

If your bike is twin disk then you can just use the same setup as me with either single disk model disks that are bigger diameter:



Or Honda CBR F3 Disks.



I have a couple sets brackets & spacer left. Postage to NZ is $32 express with tracking from memory.
You must have the right Kawi calipers in reasonable supply & the CBR disks are pretty common too!

Dan

[Bekker]

If your bike is twin disk then you can just use the same setup as me with either single disk model disks that are bigger diameter:



Or Honda CBR F3 Disks.



I have a couple sets brackets & spacer left. Postage to NZ is $32 express with tracking from memory.
You must have the right Kawi calipers in reasonable supply & the CBR disks are pretty common too!

Dan

Thanks Dan,

I assume your prices are US$? How much for the brackets?

Which discs do you prefer? There are some CBR discs available here for about $160 nz ($108 usd) a pair but it's a gamble without seeing them first but it probably is the way to go.

[Bekker]

If your bike is twin disk then you can just use the same setup as me with either single disk model disks that are bigger diameter:



Or Honda CBR F3 Disks.



I have a couple sets brackets & spacer left. Postage to NZ is $32 express with tracking from memory.
You must have the right Kawi calipers in reasonable supply & the CBR disks are pretty common too!

Dan

By the way Dan love the bike. That's pretty much how I want mine to look except I'm thinking white tank and plastics.