Re: [ST] Mushy Brakes

[David Edmondson <david@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tuesday, April 23, 2002, at 09:57  am, Challenger Timothy APK wrote:

>> I can't think of any reason that extending and retracting the
>> calipers would have such a marked effect.
>
>  The seals on the pistons can swell up or get sticky (dirty, or just 
> dry and
> old). This stops the pistons sliding past them, in effect pulling the 
> pads
> back to their original  "resting" position. With a big movement of the
> pistons, it can allow the pistons to move freely, letting them reset to 
> the
> "proper" position.
>
>

After all this talk I tried the lever on my RS and found that it had got 
a bit mushy so I tried something that has worked in the past. I leant 
the bike and turned the bars so that the path up the hose into the 
master cylinder was all up hill and squeezed the lever hard then 
released it abruptly. After about half a dozen repeats the lever was 
solid and has stayed that way.

I've no idea whether this is forcing the seals to shift or shifting a 
little air but it works.

Dave

PS I'm sure their should be a word for the experience of something 
slowly deteriorating until you suddenly realise it is awful, followed by 
not being able to believe it was ever this good before once it is fixed.


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