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Rear Brake Centering

  • Thread starter Thread starter lukehan
  • Start date Start date
L

lukehan

Guest
Hello,

I'm doing some needed maintenance (fork seals and rear brake pads) and in replacing the rear brake pads something doesn't seem quite right. With the pads out, the caliper doesn't seem to be centered on the disk. I have looked in my factory service manual and clymer manual and neither say anything about an adjustment for this. It seems to me that if I reassemble things like this the disk will be constantly rubbing against the outside brake pad. I have attached a picture taken from behind the bike looking forward. It is a 79 GS850. In the picture there are no brake pads installed. I have rotated the wheel and the spacing doesn't change so I don't believe the brake disk is warped (the disk actually rubs a little when rotated). Is this normal?

Thanks,

Luke

brake.jpg
 
Do you know which one? That is reassuring (in a not very kind of way), as the last person to have the rear tire off was a mechanic at a local bike shop.

Thanks,

Luke
 
Take a better pic showing your spacers. Is #5 on my picture in the right spot?
 
Here are a couple more pics, one is again from the rear and the other is from the rear, but kind of underneath the bike.

brake2.jpg

brake3.jpg


Luke
 
2141_19.gif


I can help you with the pic but I don't know much about the shafties.
Something is pushing the rim to the right. Go through it and try and figure it out.
Sorry I can't be more help.
 
Question: Are those washers I'm seeing between the caliper and the caliper bracket?
 
Last edited:
I don't know if this will help you but, here's what mine looks like. It looks close, but it does not touch the caliper.
DSCN1736.jpg
 
8trackmind said:
Question: Are those washers I'm seeing between the caliper and the caliper bracket?
Click to expand...

Don't know what I did but about burned my brakes apart tonight.:oops: Remembered this thread and so looked at mine. My rotor is also very very close to the caliper. In fact it dawned on me my feeler gauge may tell me for sure if I'm touching. Here's a pic of when I was working on the rear and to me lukehan's looks right. Is this possibly an alignment problem we're having?

VarietySum2006047.jpg
 
I guess it's ok now

I guess it's ok now

Well, I couldn't find anything that looked out of place, no extra washers or anything like that, so I put everything back together and put the pads in, it is very close, but it is not rubbing, so I guess I'll keep an eye on it as the new brake pads wear in. Thanks for the suggestions/help.

Luke
 
lukehan said:
Well, I couldn't find anything that looked out of place, no extra washers or anything like that, so I put everything back together and put the pads in, it is very close, but it is not rubbing...
Luke
Click to expand...

In your first pic it looks like it's not only touching but it's worn a groove in the caliper. I'm still curious if anyone has any suggestions into ways to adjust that gap.

8track clearly has much more clearance on his caliper than yours or mine.
 
my two cents

my two cents

looks to me like the cisk is not sitting square to the caliper. either the wheel is sitting tilted to one side, or the caliper has been slightly bent. i'm no pro, but that's how it looks.

i can see the groove worn in the caliper as well.
 
There is no 'adjustment'. If things don't line up, either parts are missing, or in the wrong place, or backwards, or something is warped or bent...
 
I think that perhaps the caliper bracket got tweaked at some point, the clearance looks normal on the front side. Any ideas on how to check the bracket for square?

Luke
 
Can't tell what is wrong, MY 850 the disk is centered in the calaper
Have you checked the calaper adapter axel hole ??? It looks bent
 
Last edited:
ptm said:
There is no 'adjustment'. If things don't line up, either parts are missing, or in the wrong place, or backwards, or something is warped or bent...
Click to expand...

Thanks ptm..I'm still learning and last night was a lesson I don't want to repeat. I'm still PO'd about what I did to my rear brake....but wouldn't the chain adjusters change the angle of the tire and therefore the disk in relation to the caliper?
 
pearson
''''wouldn't the chain adjusters change the angle of the tire and therefore the disk in relation to the caliper?'''

i don't think so because doesn't every thing gets bolted together through the spindle there for should always be aligned automaticly........
may be caliper support is twisted
 
turkish said:
i don't think so because doesn't every thing gets bolted together through the spindle there for should always be aligned automaticly........
may be caliper support is twisted
Click to expand...

Hi turkish...I completely overhauled the rear end of my bike and just saw no evidence of damage. That's part of what made me ask.

What about overtorquing the axle nut or other associated caliper hardware?
 
Pearson said:
Thanks ptm..I'm still learning and last night was a lesson I don't want to repeat. I'm still PO'd about what I did to my rear brake....but wouldn't the chain adjusters change the angle of the tire and therefore the disk in relation to the caliper?
Click to expand...

Yep, we're all still learning and have lessons we don't want to repeat. Oh, the stories I could tell...

Regarding your question, the disk and caliper both move together. They are all attached or fixed in relation to the axle. That is obvious for the wheel/disk, but the axle also runs through the bottom of the support that the caliper is bolted to. If that weren't the case it would be very hard to get the caliper and disk lined up precisely.
 
If you tighten one side of the adjusters more than the other it could change the angle/alignment of the wheel and disc.
 
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