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During the same years I had the Giant, I also had a heavy steel frame entry level Trek hardtail MTB with hydraulic disc brakes. I didn't put nearly the same miles on it - maybe 3500 - but owned it for about the same time. They also never gave me problems despite me completing neglecting maintenance other than pad changes. That's actually a great advantage over the cable operated ones because I had to replace those cables at least once and they went internal to the carbon frame. Not fun. I've also had the cables freeze up in very cold weather. That may have been what led to the replacement. But both types braked very well.
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Jan 20, 2023 23:43
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Jim Silly-Balls posted:my wifes bike (bicycle) has cable operated disk brakes, and all I know about them is they are loud as hell. On my two bicycles with hydraulic brakes one squeals when it's wet and the other when it's dry.  Last set of pads (on the former bike) that got contaminated from a leaky caliper (replaced now) were hilariously loud though, there was chatter to the point that the brake didn't work well at all unless it was raining. The struggle is real, at least for me. I do ride about 200km/week this time of year on roads that are usually covered in salt though which might have something to do with it.Wife's bike is also cable discs and they're fine but yeah hydro is superior when they work right.
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Jan 21, 2023 07:49
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Brembos? Nope, Huffy
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Jan 21, 2023 19:22
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My bicycle has hydraulic operated rim brakes. Weirdest combination ever. They work fine but i get the impression that in cold weather they get progressively mushier up to the point that at 0 deg C, i can easily squeeze the levers all the way to the handle bars. Still plenty to stop way faster than anyone expects from a bicycle but certainly odd. They're of the same brand KTM mounts on their motorcycles.
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Jan 22, 2023 09:59
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I’m rebuilding calipers on dual disc front brakes. I have the left one off and a rubber stopper in the banjo fitting to keep everything from draining out. Do I finish and reinstall the left before taking off the right? Or just take them both off? Or does it not matter? Edit: I’m partial to the “push the pistons out hydraulically” method because I don’t have easy access to compressed air. epswing fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Jan 29, 2023 |
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Jan 29, 2023 00:19
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You probably already lost the ability to push the pistons out on the remaining side the moment you disconnected the first caliper. Your options now are to either refit the first caliper and bleed it completely to restore hydraulic pressure to push the pistons out on the other side, or find a different way of taking the pistons out. Has it still got rubber lines? You might be able to use a $5 line clamp to pinch off the disconnected side and get some pressure back to push out the pistons on the other side, provided too much air hasn't already gotten in there. If you have braided lines this is off the table. You can also get specialized pliers that grip the inside of the pistons to pull them out, this works well when they're not seized and very badly when they are.
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Jan 29, 2023 00:27
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Ok, yes, they’re rubber lines, I’ll try the line clamp first, if that doesn’t work I’ll just take the caliper to a friend with an air compressor (or fix mine). Guess I should have gotten the pistons almost all the way out, then blocked them and switched to the other side. Edit: The hose clamp worked! epswing fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Jan 29, 2023 |
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Jan 29, 2023 00:52
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Just as a followup, after squeezing, my front brake lever returns slowly to the usual position. Is this a symptom of something wrong with the MC? Should I expect it to snap back more quickly?
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Jan 29, 2023 01:49
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Are you expecting normal operation while you've got one of the calipers off or...? E: reading the post again, what returns the MC is a spring. The only things that can stop it coming back easily are the lever being bent/jammed somehow, or the seals are swollen up in the bore and sticking, or the return hole is clogged. If you're rebuilding the calipers because somebody put the wrong fluid in then the MC seals will also be hosed. Slavvy fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Jan 29, 2023 |
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Jan 29, 2023 03:21
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Sorry, I should have mentioned this was during normal operation, I noticed it would take a second for the lever to return to ‘zero’, which I guess is longer than I’ve ever noticed on previous bikes. And frankly I’m suspicious because Harley were the last ones to touch the brakes. I’m rebuilding the calipers because the brakes just aren’t braking as effectively as I’d expect them to. My reference is the last Sportster I owned, a 2015 with a single disc which stopped better by an order of magnitude, and the state of the rear caliper and MC I rebuilt on this bike not too long ago. I bled them a couple times a couple times to be sure, the lever was pretty solid, both sets of pads have lots of material left, but it’s taking a full handed squeeze just to approach moderate stopping power. I’m undecided if I should also do the front MC. Rebuilding the rear MC was if nothing else a great learning experience, and while I don’t want to fix something that’s not broken, it’s wintertime, and would certainly give me peace of mind to know the entire braking system was done at time X. epswing fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Jan 29, 2023 |
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Jan 29, 2023 05:12
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Put it this way: the same fluid that hosed up the front brakes is also in the MC.
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Jan 29, 2023 05:25
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Once you've done it, brake work is really easy, on the condition you have the right tools. Taking a front MC apart is literally just taking it off the bike, unscrewing the hose and reservoir, taking the lever hinge pin/bolt out, removing the rubber dust boot and removing the circlip under the bolt that keeps the piston from shooting out. Then clean, clean, clean. There is nothing special about it. The only daunting thing is the feeling of 'If i gently caress this up, i have no brake anymore'. I've done 2 MC's now (i know i know, that's not many at all) and in both cases there was coagulated crap in places where you don't want it. In my case, the rubber components looked fine. In the case of the rear MC i replaced because i had them - the front rubber parts i'm gonna leave in place, just to see if the stock MC works well with the different, more powerful calipers that are on the bike. No point in spending the money on that if i'm gonna end up not using the stock MC at all. Do not lose the piston's circlips. Do not use those cheap chinese circlip pliers with 4 different 'heads'. They will bend and make the circlip fly away. New ones are surprisingly hard to buy as a single part, and universal sets don't always fit right, or lack some protrusions on the inside to keep the piston in place. There is a bit of an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' aspect too, of course. You might just opt for flushing out the passages with fresh brake fluid, if the MC is otherwise working just fine (so no squishy feel, no 'creaky' feel, does not sink to the bottom of travel when held for a while). But be aware - clear fluid coming out of the brake lines does not mean the MC is necessarily clean inside.
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Jan 29, 2023 12:00
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I’m not sure about one of the pistons (the other three look ok, at least to my untrained eye). In this photo, the one on the left, near the bottom, is showing some wear. When should pistons be replaced? Edit: Another angle: 
epswing fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Jan 30, 2023 |
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Jan 30, 2023 04:08
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That's less than nothing, not what wear looks like, don't worry about it
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Jan 30, 2023 04:24
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Slavvy posted:That's less than nothing, not what wear looks like, don't worry about it If I can feel a dent/nick with my fingernail, is that auto-replace or might still be fine? What’s the threshold?
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Jan 30, 2023 22:59
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If it's what I can see in they picture it's nothing. If there's like actual divots or pits or gouges then you replace. Worth bearing in mind the part you're looking at will never touch the seal in normal operation, I have cleaned up substantially worse than that with fine grit sandpaper and never had a problem. Another thing to consider is that they move like a millimeter at a time, very slowly, so it's nothing like what you'd be concerned about on something that moves quickly or rotates.
Slavvy fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jan 31, 2023 |
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Jan 31, 2023 02:02
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Ah yeah, I’d moved on from my pistons and was asking what to look for in the future. Speaking of looking ahead, sounds like I’ll need to mount and bleed both calipers at the same time, I’ll need to get another 8mm box wrench!
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Jan 31, 2023 14:39
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You bleed them one at a time lol Like yeah put them both on the bike but you don't need to like, simultaneously bleed both
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Jan 31, 2023 17:18
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Slavvy posted:You bleed them one at a time lol Can you tell I've never played with dual disc brakes before  Ok, fair enough, I guess I was just considering that I'll be bleeding with dry lines, and trying to think about the air in the line from where the brake hose splits from the Y connection to the other caliper. But thinking about it now, I guess when I pump the lever, it's just building pressure on both sides equally. Probably overthinking this but, ok, makes sense.
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Jan 31, 2023 18:55
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I would say focus on rebuilding your mc first, if the lever doesn't come back you've got a real problem in there somewhere. If the original problem was purely putting in the wrong fluid then every seal in contact with that fluid is hosed.
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Jan 31, 2023 19:16
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Incidentally, one of my students asked me today if I knew why his Ducati scrambler rear brake just suddenly got super squishy and he had to "pump it up" to make it work again. I asked him a bunch of questions and he said it hasn't happened before, there was no fluid leaking out, the bike didn't tip over, the reservoir is topped up, and it was serviced by a dealership a thousand miles ago. Any ideas, slavvy?
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Feb 1, 2023 02:43
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The master cylinder reservoir has extreme proximity to the rear header, also the vertical Ducati rear MC loves to gently caress out and draw air for no reason. I have never seen a modern multiatrada with a properly working rear brake for example. They are also a prick to bleed and it's very easy to introduce air into the system if you don't unbolt and elevate the caliper. Bad clutch slave and bad rear brake are like the two most Ducati things I know of.
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Feb 1, 2023 03:00
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Lol I asked him if the fluid had boiled maybe, and he did say that the rear brake system is basically wrapped around the exhaust. Well done guys  I will tell him next class that it's Just Ducati Things
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Feb 1, 2023 03:03
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Rate my caliper cylinders! These two scratches between the seals I can feel with my fingernail:   This scratch further in the cylinder wall I can lightly feel with the end of a toothpick:  Is this nothing or is there something I can/should do about it or should I bin this caliper entirely. (The other caliper has no scratches/blemishes in either cylinder.) Edit: I ask partly because the FSM just says "if bores show pitting or corrosion, replace caliper", which this isn't, but still. epswing fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Feb 2, 2023 |
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Feb 2, 2023 03:44
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I would take those down with some very fine grit sandpaper until nothing is sticking up proud then send it
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Feb 2, 2023 03:53
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oh no absolutely not man. you're going to have to get a TIG welder and patch those up and then re-bore. sorry no way around it they're fine
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Feb 2, 2023 03:57
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Welp my '18 VanVan 200 (fuel injected, California market) just acted up again Thursday with the rarer of its quirks. It's only got 2600 miles on it, mostly from this last year and a half, and in that time it's only done this surging throttle thing to me 2 or 3 times (another rider's video): https://www.facebook.com/894950384/videos/963218631513037/ I started off, lurched for half a block before deciding that yeah something was definitely fucky and it wasn't my grip, turned it off, turned it back on and then it ran me home normally. No FI light or codes. These weird faults seem to happening around sudden weather warmups to a balmy 76F but that could still be coincidence considering how rare they are. They don't persist after powering off for a minute and starting it back up. I'm going to remove and inspect the IAC valve next chance I get, as I planned to do this next time it cuts out on me at speed (a DIFFERENT extremely intermittent fault). While I'm removing the tank, any other ideas? These were Slavvy's spitballs regarding the at-speed cutoffs, in case the above surging might stack: slavvy posted:CKP faulty, fuel pump relay faulty, kill switch/stand interlock circuit (disable all this poo poo if you haven't already), some California emissions madness I'm totally unfamiliar with, ignition coil faulty, ECU or it's power circuit faulty. I have not disabled the kill switch/sidestand stuff yet, considering excising that that and the CA evaporative system after I figure out what side effects the latter will have. Remy Marathe fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Feb 11, 2023 |
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Feb 11, 2023 20:07
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I would check the sidestand switch first since they're typically very easy to bypass and can cause all kinds of annoying intermittent issues when faulty.
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Feb 12, 2023 14:43
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Howdy, CA! I stumbled in here after asking dumb questions about my car in AI so I'm gonna ask dumb questions here, too! Please be gentle  My only motorcycle experience was once on some dirtbikes in a field as a teenager (rad) and stealing my dad's kz1000 and subsequently laying it down as a teenager (not rad). I also got thrown off the back of a ducati once but I wasn't driving. I've driven a couple quads before as well. I do have a lot of experience on two wheels in the form of bmx/mtb riding. I understand that's different but I figured I'd bring it up. I'm used to playing in traffic and being on rough surfaces. I live in a relatively small town where it's easy to get nearly everywhere without touching the highway but there are some places just outside of town that require some highway. We've also got a fair amount of dirt roads. I used to ride a bicycle all over the place but I've been in my car a lot lately and I want to get on 2 wheels again. I've been lusting after a Honda Ruckus for a few years but I just found out about the Honda Trail 125. I'm having trouble deciding which I'd like to get. Note that I have no desire to ride a "real" motorcycle. I just doesn't appeal to me. Ruckus pros: seems to be more storage options, no license/registration, easy to wrench on, like $1k cheaper (or more if used) than the Trail 125. Cons: 49cc, no highway so limited range. Trail 125 pros: moar power, extended range because I could use short highway sections to connect areas. Cons: storage seems more limited (or maybe I gotta be creative?), seems more complicated so I don't know if it'd be harder to fix myself. I also have to figure out how to get a motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license and the that's really stressing me out. Is there anything else I should be considering? I know I breezed through my situation but which sounds better overall given the limited intro? The wild card here is I also just learned about the Yamaha TW200 and dual sport bikes in general but they're more expensive and are encroaching upon "real" motorcycle territory in my opinion so I'm not considering those at the moment. Thanks so much! 
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Feb 13, 2023 05:49
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1. You ride bikes you don't drive them  2. If you have any distance to travel whatsoever you really, really do not want a 50cc scooter. The ruckus is reasonably peppy by the standards of the category but being stuck at 60kmh is crippling even in this nanny state country, in the land of the free I don't think I'm far off in thinking it would be absolute death 3. A 125 is not meaningfully more complicated. You just have to change the oil once in a while, this is the most basic maintenance task on both cars and bikes and is very easy and cheap to do diy. Those sorts of scooters in general are designed to be very simple and rugged with the expectation that the owner will probably not be taking it to the dealership for anything 4. I can't help with your license situation but I can tell you that a tw200 is very much a 'real' motorcycle and that the skill level for both ownership and operation is an order of magnitude higher than a scooter, if you don't really want a motorbike, don't get one 5. Cargo is not a concern, you can make it happen: And that is an actual motorcycle, scooters are considerably more practical
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Feb 13, 2023 06:04
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Thanks! I only mentioned the bicycles to point out that I have a good deal of traffic awareness on busy city streets when nobody can see me. I don't have long distances to go. My town is about a mile wide in either direction. I also don't "need" to do any of this. It would just be a lot of fun and easier that tooling about in my car and more convenient than a bicycle. The areas I could access by stitching together smaller bits of highway are maybe 3-5 miles away max. But there are a couple near by spots (maybe a mile out) I couldn't reach on a Ruckus legally because the only connecting road is an old highway. That plus dirt road comfort is why I was considering the Trail 125. I appreciate the cargo pic. I have carried a silly amount on a bicycle so I think I could figure it out on a scooter or small motorcycle. I agree completely about the tw200. It's a bit more than I want to deal with at the moment. EDIT: most roads I'd be on would either have a 30mph speed limit *or* they'd be dirt. The highway speed that I might like to be on if I went with the trail 125 for short sections (less than a mile) would be between 45mph and 65mph and are often two lane with no congestion. knuthgrush fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Feb 13, 2023 |
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Feb 13, 2023 06:47
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Would an electric cargo bike be better? Idk what the prices are like though
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Feb 13, 2023 06:53
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Are you buying new? Or beholden to your local used market? How about a klx230 or a xt250. But I also support an e-bike, like a rad power wagon or something. Just don’t go down big hills with stock brakes. Russian Bear fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Feb 13, 2023 |
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Feb 13, 2023 07:28
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Depending where you’re at, you may still need a motorcycle license for a Trail 125. The laws are usually written with a cc threshold, not based on form factor. Ebikes really rule. I love scooters, but you might be able to do everything you want on an ebike.
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Feb 13, 2023 09:20
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Geekboy posted:Ebikes really rule. I love scooters, but you might be able to do everything you want on an ebike.
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Feb 13, 2023 10:02
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I've not heard of the klx230 or the x250. I'll look those up. I wanted an internal combustion engine because I understand them so servicing would make more sense. I have don't a lot of small electronics work and I have repaired/restored hundreds of bicycles. I also think the weight of a scooter or small motorcycle feels more comfortable to me. I don't want to haul rear end on something very light. I absolutely do need a license for the trail 125 where I live. If it weren't for that, I'd just he the thing instead of the ruckus. I just can't quite figure out how to get the license. As I understand it, I can't buy the bike without a license but I can't practice for the test without the bike. There's a permit also but I think that might be for kids. I intend to talk to my in-laws who are motorcycle nerds about that part of it. I kind of worry I might have to borrow one of their bikes for the test and they drive harleys. The only other bike I have access to is a gold wing and lol no. EDIT: re: buying new/used, I'm looking into both. Probably $5-6k is my limit but there's always a bunch of ruckuses for sale around here for like $2k every spring because of the nearby college town. knuthgrush fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Feb 13, 2023 |
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Feb 13, 2023 16:24
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knuthgrush posted:I absolutely do need a license for the trail 125 where I live. If it weren't for that, I'd just he the thing instead of the ruckus. I just can't quite figure out how to get the license. As I understand it, I can't buy the bike without a license but I can't practice for the test without the bike. In my neck of the woods, the first beginner license you can get via written test. The next level up, and the way around that chicken/egg problem you mentioned, is to take a 2-day (weekend) rider training course, where they provide both the motorcycle, and the license at the end of the course.
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Feb 13, 2023 16:30
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Don't think you mentioned your country, if you're in the US the motorcycle safety foundation gives two day courses that will give you a motorcycle endorsement, no need for your own bike or even gear (if you're brave enough to chance the old smelly helmets, at least we know now that fomites aren't a major covid transmission vector!) Take the classes, pass the test at the end, and you've got the license, no need for a MVD/DMV test. Plus you might get to ride a fun bike you never even thought about, depending on what they have in their pool.
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Feb 13, 2023 16:32
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If you're only going a mile back and forth, get an electric bike or the Ruckus because a larger combustion engine won't even have time to warm up in that distance. If you're going 5 miles at a time with a little bit of highway, and want to putter around in the dirt too, the Trail 125 is great for that. Like it'll still be scary on the highway because everybody drives some giant piece of poo poo suburban assault vehicle now and they're all angry maniacs. But if you can limit your time on the highway you'll be fine. A TW200 is a fantastic and super fun little bike but yeah, then you're in full on motorcycle territory with a gearbox and everything. It's not hard to learn, but that may be more than you want to commit to at this point.
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Feb 13, 2023 16:34
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Said tests/class solutions sound like good 'ol American lobbying hard at work! I'll definitely look into it. I hope they take dumbasses because I haven't driven a bike in like 25 years or so. Thanks a ton!
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Feb 13, 2023 16:37
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