Finally got to ride.

[lwinders]

Well, I finally got all the plastic back on my ’83 VR and took it for a little ride. I only rode about 5 miles because I still need new tires. I am really pleased with the way it is running. Now I’m really getting excited about getting it on the road. I’ve haven’t had the carbs synced yet but I really don’t see how it can run much smoother. Of course I’ve been riding my 1100 so maybe it just seems smooth because I’m going from a V-twin to the Venture. So now comes my question. When I returned from the short ride, my rear brake rotor was very, very hot. I knew my brake was dragging, but I guess it was worse than I thought. I’ve done some more work on the proportional valve and it seems a little better but I was wondering how much drag is acceptable. When I try to spin the rear wheel, it will only turn about ¼ turn after I release it. I would appreciate any ideas on how to free it up. I’ve had the calipers apart and cleaned them. The brakes do seem a little spongy.

[Trader]

check your resevoir too....if it is more than 1/2-3/4 full, once it heats up it could cause the brakes to engage.

 

 

or so I've learned from this site. Never experienced it myself.

[mbrood]

The back tire should roll fairly smooth... you have to consider the drive train of the shaftdrive and gearing though.

 

I would pull the caliper and insure that each puck can be eased back into it's sleeve... if one is 'tough'... it needs resolved... often just a good cleaning is required.

[lwinders]

Thank you for the suggestions. I know for a fact that the reservoir is completely full because I filled it until it wouldn’t take anymore. I didn’t know this would be a problem. When I turn the rear wheel, I can hear the brakes rubbing. I took it for another ride after checking the proportional valve but the rotor still got hot. I will be removing the rear wheel to replace the tire so I will take the caliper off and give it a good cleaning again. When I worked on it the last time, I remember that the sleeves were pretty tight. They may need to be polished.

[Marcarl]

Couple of things I've noticed.

Your reservoir should have an expansion chamber in it, in other words there is a rubber cell in the top, one part with the gasket and it looks like the air bag of a accordion. This design is so that there is lots of expansion room available in the reservoir as it fills about half the space.

The calipers need to be very clean and you must remove the seals to get this done right. Crap will work it's way under the seals and so make things run tight. The piston is not the most important, seeing as most of it does not deal with anything under pressure or with the brake fluid. It should be clean though, to keep everything else clean, and if it's starting to pit and rust, you should replace it.

There is a wee little pin hole in the master cylinder that will also give you the same symptoms, if it's not clean. It's not easy to see and bit of a rotter to find, but if you haven't dealt with it, you probably haven't found it yet.

[lwinders]

I checked the master cylinder the other day and found that the small holes you are talking about were in fact stopped up. I took a small wire from a wire brush and cleared the holes the best I could. Although they may need some more attention. I am going to pull the master cylinder off tonight and make sure everything is in good shape. And as I said, I am also going to pull the caliper and check it out. Where can I get new seals for the caliper?

[Marcarl]

I checked the master cylinder the other day and found that the small holes you are talking about were in fact stopped up. I took a small wire from a wire brush and cleared the holes the best I could. Although they may need some more attention. I am going to pull the master cylinder off tonight and make sure everything is in good shape. And as I said, I am also going to pull the caliper and check it out. Where can I get new seals for the caliper?

As far as the master is concerned, you have to make sure everything is absolutely without any dirt, totally clean and this also means the reservoir and the connection hose.

For the caliper, as important as it is, and as important that everything is in proper shape, a lot of the times the seals can be used again. This means that during removal you haven't scored them and that the cylinder, (not the piston) has no imperfections that had to be fixed. In other words, if the cylinder, (or the bore), is clean and smooth upon first inspection, there is no real reason for the seals to be adversely affected. For seals I would go see my local Yammi dealer.

[lwinders]

Thank you Marcarl. That is very good information. When I had the caliper apart before, the bore looked very good. So maybe my problem is the mastercylinder. It still has the original hoses also. I guess I should replace them as well. Thank you again for your help.

[lwinders]

I pulled the rear wheel off last night and now I have another question. I'm not sure if I had the washer in the proper position. In fact, the exploded view in the manual shows a collar that I don't have. If I don't have it assembled correctly, this may be why my rear brake is dragging. Please take a look at the attached pictures and tell me if I have the washer in the correct position. Also, should there be collar as shown in the manual?

[Marcarl]

That would do it. The spacer the manual speaks of is the brake caliper bracket and the washer goes between the wheel and the brake bracket. This leaves a space between the bracket and the swing arm,,, but that's the way it is.

[lwinders]

It seems then that I have the washer in the wrong position. So the shoulder on the axile should be pulled up against the bracket. Is this correct?

[Marcarl]

It seems then that I have the washer in the wrong position. So the shoulder on the axile should be pulled up against the bracket. Is this correct?

Correct!

[lwinders]

Thank you very much for your help.

[gscbertrand]

You should have the collar that usually stays on the wheel.

[lwinders]

gscbertland,

 

Are you talking about the collar that is shown in the exploded view?