Brembo Pads for ATE calipers

[Justin B.]

I have rebuilt all three Brembo calipers on my '81 R100 and both front Brembos on the '82 R65LS - no problems (other than having to make two caliper pistons...) or surprises.

[Semper Gumby]

I rebuilt both my ATE calipers with kits from BMW.  I had no trouble getting them apart.  I think I blew the pistons out into a towel with a grease gun!  There was crud in my RH caliper that was preventing the piston from retracting.  The LH caliper from Bluemoon was in better shape.  There was a bit of corrosion in the bottom back which I cleaned out with some Scotch Brite (lightly) and a sharpened wooden dowel.  I also payed close attension to cleaning out the groove for the Square O-Ring.  That was a while ago so its probably about time to go back for a look to see if the "crud" has returned.  

[Ed Miller]

I hope that the crud happens when the fluid isn't changed regularly.  Assuming annual changes, how often do you think those things need to come apart?

[Justin B.]

Ed, that's my thought...

[R65Guy]

Thanks for the feedback.  I will give it another try next time I get ambitious.  The brakes still work great and no leaks or seeps (knock on wood) but I suspect that a bit of crud has accumulated over the years.  
<Neal>

[rl900]

The front brakes on my R65 squeal terribly.  I have replaced the pads in the ATE calipers with new OEM pads and dressed the rotors with a scotchbrite pad on an air grinder.  This stopped the squeal for a short while, but it came back.  Is this a disc problem or a caliper problem?  Is it common on the dual ATE's?

I have a couple extra sets of F08 Brembo's that I could mount, but I notice that the mounting bolt threads are in the leg and my F08's (from bevel Ducati's) are in the calipers.  I could drill them, but if this won't help the problem I don't want to ruin the value of the calipers for Italian bikes.

Any suggestions?

Ron

[Justin B.]

Brake squeal is caused by the pads vibrating at a high frequency.  The easiest way to "fix" this is to spray a coating on the back to dampen the vibrations.  Permatex makes a product called "Disk Brake Quiet" that works very well and I have had wrenches tell me they just spray a couple of heavy coats of some sort of cheapo enamel paint on the back.

[nhmaf]

+1 what Justin suggests - assuming that you have checked your rotors and pads first to ensure that there isn't something stuck in there that could be scoring / scraping on your rotors.  ( I live on a gravel road and occasionally little bits of stone that seem to be as hard as diamond sometimes can get up in there ).    I have used the permatex stuff with good results, though YMMV and it may need to be re applied after some 1000s of miles.   I think that any relatively thick enamel pain that sticks well could work, too.

[Semper Gumby]

I hope that the crud happens when the fluid isn't changed regularly.  Assuming annual changes, how often do you think those things need to come apart?

Hi Ed,

I change the fluid out once a year and still I get turned color fluid.  But my bike spends a lot of time out of doors (in the company parking lot.)  I probably should be cleaning out the calipers too.  As long as the pistons pull back I am loath to pull them apart.

TTFN,

[not-so-fast-ed]

I managed to break apart the caliper halves on my Brembos.  One piston is still stuck in the cylinder & I'm looking for a rebuild kit.  Any web sites you can recommend?  The piston size is 48mm.  "F09"  (?) type
Yes it took my two foot "knuckle breaker" and a great deal of effort to break the two bolts loose once I got it to my vise.  :-/
Ed

[Bob_Roller]

There is a BMW rebuild kit for Brembo calipers , part number 34111454807. One kit will rebuild one caliper, cost is about $21 USD.

[not-so-fast-ed]

Thanks Bob  

[Justin B.]

I have used them and it is a genuine Brembo rebuild kit.  Comes with the square cross-section piston seals, the rubber dust boot/seal, bolts, and a little tube of grease to make everything slide back together real easy.  You will also need to get the"34211238059      MOUNTING KIT CALIPER" if your retaining springs and stuff are real bad, about $10 and you need two...