Brake Caliper Seals

[Adrian]

See attached photos.....
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You can see that the new caliper seal is in place. I am not sure how to fit the dust seal.
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As there is a gap around the main seal in the caliper - does this mean that the dust seal raised edge has to fit into the gap?
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Or is it sufficient that the dust seal only fits to the piston?
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All the photos I took when I was taking it all apart aren't clear enough to show me what is correct.
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Thanks ...... Adrian

[Adrian]

Well I found a picture with the dust seal still attached to the piston. It clearly shows the dust seal having the same gap around it as the main seal. So I think I just managed to answer my own question.
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Yay for digital photography when stripping things apart :-)

[clonmore1]

Liking those black calipers, Adrian.

It's going to look good

[Adrian]

Thanks Chris - its all black and shiny at the moment :-)

[marcmiller001]

Black calipers are awesome! See attached...

[georgesgiralt]

Hello,
I'm surprised to see there is some gap between the seal and the caliper body.
IRC the seal goes into a groove in the body, is against the back of the groove, and extend into the cylindrical bore, pressing hard on the piston.
This seal deform itself when the piston move and this torsion gets the piston back in when pressure is released.
They are difficult to install.
So I wonder if you got the correct refurbishing kit ?
As per the outer dust seal, it attaches to the piston with it's interior hole and to the caliper body with the outer diameter. There should be grooves for this purpose.

[Adrian]

Hi George and thanks - I'm just checking Munich Motorcycles to see what the kit they sell looks like - this kit was bought from Motorworks in the UK- It makes sense that the edging of the dust seal goes around the grove where I have that flat seal.

[Adrian]

So having checked Moto bins - Munich Motorcycles and Motorworks web sites - they all show that the kit I have is correct for my 1984 R65 with Brembos.
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So now I am at a complete loss .........
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Here are the photos of the kit I was supplied with by Motorworks for my model.
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One photo is from Motorworks and one is from Munich Motorcycles. As you can see they are identical kits.
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I am very confused .....

[Barry]

I may be getting confused as to which caliper we are taking about.  marcmiller's picture shows an Ate caliper and the dust seals are secured to the body of an Ate caliper with a spring steel circlip.  Don't know how the Brembo dust seals are secured but they are definitely not the same as Ate dust seals.

[georgesgiralt]

All the Brembo maintenance kits look alike. only the parts size change...
You, for sure, have Brembo calipers.
Now you have to check what are the piston diameter of those Brembo.
IIRC the BMW Brembo use an unusual 36 mm dia piston. So the seals you bought are sized for 36 mm pistons, and maybe your brake system had been tempered by a PO...
the square section ring should fit snugly into the caliper groove and extend a bit in the bore making the piston installation somewhat difficult (use the "grease" in the kit and nothing else to fit it.)
I confirm that the dust sealing rubber is hold by a spring by Mr ATE and Mr Brembo use the rubber elasticity to keep them seated...
Simpler and very effective also.
Hope this help.

[mrclubike]

Like George said They all look the same
You need to measure the diameter of the piston and order from that
It could be 36 or 38mm (F08)or 48 mm (F09) or the 32mm (F05)
Hope fully you have the 38 mm standard F08 Brembo caliper that is very common and cheap to rebuild
and not the expensive BMW OEM 36mm F08 (pain in the but)

This is exactly why I got rid of the OEM 36mm ATE  and replaced it with a standard off the shelf 38mm Brembo F08 
Parts are very cheap and easily available 

[Adrian]

Thanks people for all the advice - I finally understood what the problem was. After realizing that I had experienced a major Seniors Moment - I found that the original seal was still in the bore - no wonder I couldn't see the channel for the main seal.
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Well - I am 62 with a neurological disorder lol lol - My friends think of it as Daft Old Buggers Disease........

[clonmore1]

Easy mistake to make, I could list the mistakes I have made but nobody would bother to read the list as it would be too long[ch128580][ch128563]

The good news is you know what to do next and great advice from all on the forum[ch128077]

[georgesgiralt]

Have you ever tried to ride an R65 with the steering column not torqued solid to the frame ?
Well I did that during rebuilding after the powder coating of the frame...
And I thought the handling was somewhat weird...
When I arrived at the friend's house he said that something must be wrong because the angle in the front department was not standard....
And I was just 58.....

[Adrian]

Thanks guys - no doubt there will be many more Daft Old Bugger moments in the weeks to come as I go thru the rebuild process  [smiley=mad.gif]