Rear Brake Problem

[Mrclean81]

I've had my bike torn apart all winter, and I'm finally getting it back together. The bike was on center stand and the rear wheel was off, and one night I hear a noise and see my youngest son pumping the rear brake. I knew when the time came, that this was going to be an issue, but never dreamed I would be this disgusted with it. For the life of me, I can't get the piston to compress enough to slide the caliper back over the disk. I'm not much of a mechanic to begin with, and this is really irritating me. I did refer to the manual, but its kind of vague when it comes to this. The C clamp I have is one I use on cages, and its too big to fit in there. Is there something I might be doing wrong or some trick I don't know about?

[rexazz2]

open the bleeder screw on the caliper and the piston should go back in much easier
if you can close that bleeder again before the piston stops is best
Bleed the system as normal

btw
I like to put a wedge of wood in there to prevent that type of thing from being able to happen

[wickeded]

I normally remove the cover from the master cylinder to allow the fluid to run back up as the piston is pressed into the caliper.

[Mrclean81]

Thanks guys. Not sure when ill have another free minute to work on this some more, but hopefully this advise helps me. Next time measures will definetly be taken to prevent this.

[ncj_23]

Im not sure if it will work but the way i do it is to pull the bleed screw then take one old brake pad and a normal nail hammer and pry the piston that way. Thats how ive always done it. Im not a big fan of c clamps

[squiggy]

Originally Posted by rexazz2

open the bleeder screw on the caliper and the piston should go back in much easier

This is what I have done as well.

Be aware that you also have 2 bleeder valves because the rear caliper is a twin piston design.

[boomer_95]

try prying the pads apart with a screwdriver or pry bar (with old pads in place so you dont ruin good ones) and if it wont go open the bleader screw then pry. i say pry with the bleaders closed first as you wont have to blead the system afterwords, were you do need to when you open the bleader screw. ive never meet a caliper that couldnt be pryed apart. good luck

[Mrclean81]

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully I can get out later this week and give it another shot.

[Mrclean81]

Well I had a chance today to work on it, and after taking the advise given here I was able to compress it with little problems. Thinking I was finally going to be able to get to ride this thing after months of sitting (through a 70 degree winter no less) I finally get the rear wheel on and I think I messed up. It was a very tight fit getting everything squeezed in there, and after I did, I noticed I forgot something. I stand there scratching my head for an hour or so trying to figure out where it could go. I refered to the manual and saw nothing. There is no way in hell there is room for this anywhere that I see. I'm now worried that I did something wrong. Could anybody tell me where this goes?

[05RedKat600]

Originally Posted by Mrclean81

Well I had a chance today to work on it, and after taking the advise given here I was able to compress it with little problems. Thinking I was finally going to be able to get to ride this thing after months of sitting (through a 70 degree winter no less) I finally get the rear wheel on and I think I messed up. It was a very tight fit getting everything squeezed in there, and after I did, I noticed I forgot something. I stand there scratching my head for an hour or so trying to figure out where it could go. I refered to the manual and saw nothing. There is no way in hell there is room for this anywhere that I see. I'm now worried that I did something wrong. Could anybody tell me where this goes?

I did the SAME THING! Had to see the parts fiche on BikeBandit

That, good sir, goes between the rear wheel bearing and the sprocket cover. Take the wheel off, then the sprocket part back off, and the milled end goes towards the wheel.