Very stiff rear brake.

greetings all. Brand new to the forum, and brand new to the VFR platform. Bought a 1998 VFR 800 last week and love it. Been reading the posts on the braking system and definitely have something wrong. Rear brake works, but you have to literally stand on it to make it work. The previous owner had brakes put on about 200 miles ago and the bike has an automatic chain oiler (not sure if it's needed). I'm thinking I should 1st- pull the caliper and clean it, 2nd - degrease the rotor and clean the shoes, 3rd - bleed the brakes and see how it works. Am I missing something? Bike has 43k on it, but it's in showroom condition, not a mark on it. Ohlins shock, corbin seat, and new Pirelli tires, always garage kept. Any suggestions?

 

When I got mine I had the same problem and I bled and that made a huge difference

 

Maybe something is seized up due to corrosion or rust? I'd start at the brake lever and carefully check everything. Also, be sure to give the rear caliper a very careful going over. Make sure all sliding pins are corrosion free and lubed up with silicone grease. It's possible that it just needs rebuilt, or just some love to free it up. Whatever route you take, if you reuse the existing pads, be certain to degrease the rotor and pads with brake cleaner before you reassemble. It would also be worthwhile to give the rotor a good cleaning with some steelwool or use a Flex Hone on both front and rear. https://youtu.be/nVOb7yX1qy8

 

yay linked brakes

 

I had a similar issue when I bought my 5 Gen, let's just say that lack of maintenance by the PO was the main cause of the issue! For starters, the brake fluid, front, rear and in the clutch reservoirs looked like a cup of strong coffee! Two of the rear Pistons were stuck, this was due to nicks on the pistons that was rubbing away at the seals and this was gumming them up to the point that they would hardly move, in or out. A rebuild and bleeding took care of the issue.

If you do not have the Honda Service manual, send me a PM and I can send you a link to it. The manual does a really good job of explaining the bleed process.

 

Darryl, can you tell me if you can move your wheel when the left front caliper is compressed. The manual says that when squeezing the caliper it should stop the back wheel from spinning, which it does, but I can still move it by hand. I cannot move the real wheel if I step on the pedal. Bled the brakes, but waiting for seals to rebuild them. Thanks ROB

 

Sorry for the delay. Too much non VFR business to deal with this week/weekend. So this evening I was able to test this for you. Here's the deal, if I could keep sufficient pressure on the SMC I really didn't have much leverage to spin the rear wheel. If I positioned myself to get better leverage on the rear wheel, I had less pressure on the SMC. Long story short, if I held sufficient pressure on the SMC I really could not turn the rear wheel.

 

Darryl, thanks for the response. I ordered new seals for the rear caliper. Just FYI my honda dealer said the 1998 seals were discontinued, but BikeBandit said they are used in the CR1000RR and the CRF450. Anyway 6 seals cost me 55.00 bucks. When I pulled the caliper apart and hit the brake it moved nice and smooth, however only one of the 3 pistons came out, the other two stuck in. In looking at both of those seals they each had a very minor tear in them with a very small piece of rubber floating in the caliper. Im assuming the debris is causing the sticking but will install tomorrow and see how it works. I can't wait to ride this bike. Thanks and I'll let you know how it turns out..RK