Notchy (maybe not the best word) Front Brakes

[Guest]

My front brakes finally irritated me enough to make me investigate.

The symptom is that the level feels notchy--maybe "chattery?" I struggle for an adjective. As I squeeze the brake lever, the brake lever will at first not yield. As more pressure is applied, it will eventually yield, but only in that it releases then stops again. As I continue to squeeze, the effect is that the lever chatters as it grabs and releases. The effect on the road is that the brakes feel (again, maybe another poor adjective choice) "digital" rather than analog. Instead of getting the exact braking result I want, I have to settle for "this step" on the lever, or "the next step down," and so on, emitting a creaking noise as it goes.

Now that I have described the scene so poorly, I will say that I removed the calipers and found one stuck slider pin. The caliper grease had fossilized into a sticky, varnishy goo. I removed, cleaned, greased, and reinstalled all caliper pins. This did improve brake feel, but if I squeeze the brake lever repeatedly, the same notchy/chattery/digital/creaky phenomenon happens again. I think the next step is to examine the lever and MC. What say you all?

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Time for a complete tear down and rebuild of the caliper and MC. Get OEM piston cup set for MC and and other worn bits. Do yourself a favor and (if you haven?t already) replace the brake line with braided stainless. Brakes are life. Yours don?t work.

[Guest]

Time for a complete tear down and rebuild of the caliper and MC. Get OEM piston cup set for MC and and other worn bits. Do yourself a favor and (if you haven’t already) replace the brake line with braided stainless. Brakes are life. Yours don’t work.

I have a new G lever to install when I change bars, forks, and triples this winter. I have hesitated to change bars because the change is going to lead me down another rabbit hole of making/buying new brake lines (not looking forward to making at all) and identifying the shorter cables that will become necessary and buying those. I did not want another two month project during riding season, but riding season is nearly over for me.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

The alternative is riding without reliable brakes (forget the rear, they don't figure into the equation enough to matter). There very well could be a quick fix to the immediate issue, but you've already identified "The caliper grease had fossilized into a sticky, varnishy goo". Once you start taking more of the caliper apart, you'll likely find old sludged up brake fluid causing the piston to stutter-step, or pits in the chrome of the piston, or who know's what. Those are just guesses.

[Guest]

While you're at it, it would be worth making sure your discs aren't warped.

[Guest]

While you're at it, it would be worth making sure your discs aren't warped.

This makes me think back to the days of automotive forums when there would always be that one guy who said "cAAst IrOn dooOoesn't wAArp." Of course it can warp. Brake action is pretty good--no throbbing or pulsating as I brake. But I do intent to replace the pads. I assume from the (lack of) thickness of these rotors that they cannot be turned and must be replaced.

[RichDesmond]

Lube the brake lever pivot.

I'll give you can to six pack odds that that fixes it.

[Guest]

Lube the brake lever pivot.

I'll give you can to six pack odds that that fixes it.

That was my next stop. I was mainly thinking the contact point between the lever and MC piston, but I'll lube both. This is mostly just poking around with it before I tear the whole front end apart this winter.

[RichDesmond]

That was my next stop. I was mainly thinking the contact point between the lever and MC piston, but I'll lube both. This is mostly just poking around with it before I tear the whole front end apart this winter.

It's almost always the pivot.

[Guest]

It's almost always the pivot.

Do you like oil or grease?

[RichDesmond]

Do you like oil or grease?

Little bit of grease.

[bwringer]

Lube the brake lever pivot.

I'll give you can to six pack odds that that fixes it.

That was my next stop. I was mainly thinking the contact point between the lever and MC piston, but I'll lube both. This is mostly just poking around with it before I tear the whole front end apart this winter.

Yep, both. A wee squidgen of grease (anything will do; I have brake grease on hand, so I use that) 'twixt the lever contact point and the piston is that last, little-known detail in making your braking action smooth and silky. The lever "nose" has to slide slightly across the piston as you apply force, and if this point is dry, it skips and feels notchy.

And of course you have to have a wee bit of grease in the pivots and where the levers slide in the lever perches. The clutch lever also needs little grease at the point where the barrel on the end of the cable sits in the lever; this has to be able to pivot or you'll quickly break the cable.

I'll also mention that there's nothing like new OEM levers for maximum smoothness and precision. Most are still available from your favorite Suzuki bits vendor, and they're surprisingly cheap. The aftermarket levers (Motion Pro, Parts Unlimited, etc.) are absolute crap, and seem to wear far more quickly at the nose and pivot points. The same goes for cables; OEM only.

With stainless lines, good modern pads (I'm partial lately to the EBC red semi-sintered compound), and reasonably fresh OEM innards (no imitation junk kits!), stock GS brakes in the 1980+ models are surprisingly effective.