replacing rear brake pads- help!

[flaco]

Rear brake pads needed replacing, so I bought a new pair. That was the easy bit. Removed the calliper and the old pads, and cleaned everything up. Fitted one of the new pads, but couldn't fit the other because there was no room. I needed the pistons to slide back, so tried to unscrew the cap of the master cylinder, as recommended in Haynes. Screws wouldn't shift,even after soaking with WD40, and now they're both graunched.
My question is, should I try to drill them out? Or what? Any suggestions would be gratefully welcomed. When it comes to wrenching, I'm more of a playwright, I'm afraid. Or more of a hamfisted git. I'm constantly in awe of the level of expertise and skill exhibited by you chaps.

[John Stenhouse]

Why not just lever the piston back to get the other one in?

[TigerTrax]

Those pistons will move with a little pressure by prying them with a long heavy screwdriver or brake tool.... just be careful. You should clean the piston area while yoiu are in there.

One of my reservoir screws 'buggered up' and I managed to 'ease' it out
by drilling. Mind you... it takes a sharp drill bit.

[rf9rider]

Which screws are graunched?

[flaco]

Thanks for the advice, chaps. I did try to lever the pistons back in, but maybe I didn't try hard enough.
The graunched screws are the ones holding down the reservoir lid on the right-hand bar.
I'll have another shot this morning.
Thanks again. It's good to know you're out there.

[iansoady]

Hang on a minute - you say it's the rear pads you're changing but you talk about the reservoir on the bars which is for the front brake.

The reservoir for the rear brake (at least on my 04 955i) is under the RHS side panel.

I wouldn't often say this but maybe you should take it to someone who knows what they're doing.......

[Chris Canning]

Always squeeze the pistons back in with a G cramp and a cloth on the outside to stop it being marked.

[Chris Canning]

Hang on a minute - you say it's the rear pads you're changing but you talk about the reservoir on the bars which is for the front brake.

The reservoir for the rear brake (at least on my 04 955i) is under the RHS side panel.

I wouldn't often say this but maybe you should take it to someone who knows what they're doing.......

And ditto.

[Bixxer Bob]

Beat me to it Chris! :lol:

[flaco]

All done. The problem was finding a way of holding the calliper still while I did the levering.
But apart from all that...your comments about taking it to someone who knows what they're doing are absolutely right. Trouble is, I couldn't move it without brakes.
I'm gonna crawl into a hole in shame. Then I'm going out for a ride in the sunshine.
Thanks again, everybody. BTW, the Haynes manual is quite confusing on these matters. Or is it just me?

[Bixxer Bob]

No, the Haynes manual is quite confusing in these matters.... :)

[Nick Calne]

The problem with the Haynes manuals is that they don't deal with the problems of older bikes.  It's only ever a '3 spanner' job when it's new!   When it's got the wrong bits in the wrong places or something is heavily corroded, seized or something it's inevitably a harder 5 spanners b*st*rd  take it to the specialist job.  Not much Haynes can do about those things I guess but the other thing is that they often skip over a critical detail just on the bit that is obvious to seasoned mechanics but completely new to the amateur like me.

If it makes you feel better, I found doing the brakes, using the manual quite difficult.  

That said the Haynes are bloody invaluable.

[Chris Canning]

If a person needs a manual to change a set of brakes pads,they ought to be paying a.n.other to be doing it. :roll:

[Bixxer Bob]

If a person needs a manual to change a set of brakes pads,they ought to be paying a.n.other to be doing it. :roll:

Everyone's got to start somewhere Chris; nobody's born a mechanic.  I started when I was still at school fettling an ancient Honda 90 armed with enthusiasm borne of ignorance, a bag of rusty assorted spanners from my grandad and - yes - a Haynes manual...  

But to take your comment in context, it's one thing tinkering with a old Honda 90 but there's no margin for error working on the brakes on a 250kg 130 mph hulk like a Tiger.

[Chris Canning]

My old man bought me a 1954 plunger framed Tiger cub in 1969 my first bike,I started to take it to pieces,when he came home i asked if he could help me put it back together,did you make any notes about how you took it apart he asked??,no I sheepishly replied,well you'll bloody well remember next time,it took me 4 weeks to get the bloody thing back together,after that i'd ask him first,and if i was in the soft and smelly he'd help.

Fast forward 41 years

If i'm unsure,i do my homework,and if i'm doubly unsure i make certain that i've got a.n.other with me who knows better.