Stopping your machine should be paramount over going fast, or you will only go fast once! Your braking system should be designed to handle the machine and rider and in ordinary riding situations should be more then adequate for quite some time before needing your attention, except for brake pads. Pads should be checked before each ride as in certain environments such as riding in mud or when there is a lot of water on the trail your brake pads can get worn down extremely fast leaving you in a bad spot with no brakes!
When you have to get more involved with your calipers due to a rebuild or to fix an issue beyond brake pads, you should know what is involved and for most, the job is simple and will save you some cash over taking it to the dealer. There are five major components to your braking system:
Brake Master Cylinder- Holds fluid and when operated by your brake lever pumps pressurized brake fluid to the caliper to make it operate
Brake Lines- carries the brake fluid from the master Cylinder to the caliper
Caliper- Houses the pressurized brake fluid and when applied, forces a piston out of the caliper to contact the brake pad, which in turn forces the pads to squeeze the brake rotor.
Brake Rotor – This item is connected to your front hub or rear axle assembly (rear Brake Hub) and is what the brake pads contact when pressure is applied to the system via the brake lever(s)
Brake pads- These two pads are made of either sintered metal or organic compounds and are held in place by two sliders in the brake caliper housing and provide friction from the force of the system to stop your machine
All of these components work in harmony to bring you to a nice stop when needed and are often overlooked during routine maintenance. Here we will take an inside look at how to disassemble and reassemble a Honda 400ex caliper. (Most all calipers for ATV’s equipped with hydraulic braking systems are of similar design even though the outer appearance may be different)
Tools needed: Small pick, 4mm and 6mm allen head wrench, soft jaw pliers,
Always start with a clean work area and get the calipers as clean as possible before starting your work. The caliper consists of several parts including the housing, sliders, various seals, piston(s), bleeder valve and caliper mount.
Start by removing the outer dust caps to access the slider pins and retaining bolt. Save these or replace as they will keep debris out of the bolt heads and make for much easier maintenance in the future
Using the 4mm allen head wrench, remove the sliders and once removed, the brake pads will fall from the caliper. Then remove the Bushing Pin with the 6mm allen head
The piston can now be removed, and there are a few methods you can choose from. Tool companies offer an attachment for your air compressor that can pressurize the caliper and force the piston out, or you can use a set of soft jaw pliers to gently remove the piston. Care should be taken when using any pliers and usually a gently turning motion to spin the piston while pulling outwards will release the piston. If the piston is flush with the caliper, use compressed air blown through the bleeder valve hole (reinstall the brake line bolt) to release the piston. Care should be taken and low pressure used to avoid shooting the caliper out and damaging the piston and your fingers
With the piston removed, use a small pick to remove the two seals from the caliper housing. These seals last a long time and very seldom need replacing, however a good inspection is easy and makes for good piece of mind.
That’s it, you have just disassembled a brake caliper! Re assembly is the reverse of disassembly and total time for both should run about 10 minutes. When re-assembling, be sure to lubricate the internal seals and piston with a small thin layer of brake fluid to keep them from drying out and to aid in reinsertion. The slider pins should be cleaned well and a waterproof grease applied often as they can become corroded and cause issues with the brake pads as the pad will not release off the rotor adding wear to the pad and more money from your wallet.
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