Brake Maintenance

[Nimrod11]

Extra Maintenance

Guys, I took a look at the manual, and have considered what should be done for 20k, 30k and 40k - my bike is at 30k now, but previous owner probably never did anything and it will be at 40k when I finish my trip to Bolivia and Peru.

Regarding the brakes, the manual talks about
Brake master cylinder - renew seals - 4 yrs
Brake Calipers - renew seals - 4 yrs
Brake hoses - 4 yrs

amongst other things, and Drive chain rubbing trip - check every 10k .

I quote the above at my supplier and got this:
- front brake hose $55.17 x 1
- rear brake hose $54.19 x 1
- brake master cylinder seals:
....- front piston kit $59.91 x 1
....- rear piston kit $44.14 x 1
- brake caliper seals:
....- front $39.96 x 1
....- rear (piston and seal kit only) $83.53
- drive chain rubbing tip. $77.53 x 1

Does that sound right to you all? Not sure what the rear "piston and seal kit only" means. Seems way more expensive than I thought for seals. I don't need to change the pistons themselves.

Thanks for the help.

John
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[Nimrod11]

Guys,

I've just been informed that Triumph only sells the brake kits with the cylinder AND seals. They don;t sell the seals only. The dumb thing is that the manual only talks about changing the seals, not the cylinders...

Any tips here? Non-OEM seals? Best to change the lot, considering my upcoming 10,000 km trip, with a lot of dirt roads?

Thanks!

[514Advrider]

I you ask me, all of this is a bit of overkill maintenance IMO. Unless your bike has been sitting outside for a few years, I would just change the brake fluid, check the pads and not worry about the seals.

If your bike was 20 years old, maybe it would be worth doing all of this, but I doubt all the seals are in such a bad shape on a 10 year old (or less) motorcycle with only 30K miles.

[Nimrod11]

Thanks for the advice. Just wanting to get the expert's tips here. I don't want to ruin my trip because of a $10 part, like those lousy plastic fuel connectors.

The manual does recommend them changed... I have no opinion. Yet.

[Danny955i]

I just did the following:

HH EBC brake pads in the front, Organic EBC brakes out back...

Check every inch of hose for scuffs and tears (they are steel braided coated in a rubber... so they should last the life of the bike...).

Check that both pistons work in all 3 calipers... (push on them one at a time... as you push down one, the other should come up... and vice-a-versa).

Next... ensure there is nothing wet anywhere.... the only place there should be brake fluid is in the reservoirs.

If you have wetness near the handle, the MS on the pedal, or any fluid in the calipers themselves... then they need new seals. Otherwise, they're fine.

Just bleed in new brake fluid until all the brown chunky stuff is gone, and all the air bubbles are gone.

99.9% of the time... new pads and a bleed make a whole new bike.

[markreck]

For preventative maintenance, I:

Bleed (buy some speedbleeders, $27 for 3, delivered)

Slightly extend and clean the pistons. use brake cleaner for this and a light abrasive to get any crud off.

Install New pads, I like the EBC HH's

If you need new seals, buy them from honda, much cheaper. If I recall, the ST1100 seals are exact replacement.

[EvilBetty]

For preventative maintenance, I:

Bleed (buy some speedbleeders, $27 for 3, delivered)

Slightly extend and clean the pistons. use brake cleaner for this and a light abrasive to get any crud off.

Install New pads, I like the EBC HH's

If you need new seals, buy them from honda, much cheaper. If I recall, the ST1100 seals are exact replacement.