Zero faffage, no swearing and no beard, you’ve come along way Jim. Love your videos especially the latest ones. You’re a god damn hero for putting this information out there into the big wide world for us amateur mechanics.
Great video... What about pumping out the pistons slightly and cleaning off the ring of crud? They csn then be easily pushed back in. Or can use a cheap piston spreader tool
Great video, simple & clear. I've had my bike since 2002, 75k miles, ridden in all weathers. I do exactly the same procedure with my brakes (every few years or so). I've renewed the front caliper seals & serviced the calipers once only (2 years ago ). No new pistons required, tokico six pots. Still got brilliant brakes all round. This procedure works. It's your own preference on what lubricant you use. BUT, if expert gives you advice for free..........🤔
When cleaning callipers to that extent I remove the pistons and seals, get out the dremel with a soft brass wheel and clean out the seal grooves and de-crud the pistons, I use silicon grease in the seal grooves and seals sparingly as I use silicon fluid, find it stops the oxidation behind the seals stopping the piston binding as I ride all year round in our wonderful weather. About to do all this again on one of my bikes but going to give stainless steel pistons a go, sick of corrosion. Keep up the very good videos.
I been meaning to contact you and thank you for this one. I did front and rear caliper cleanup and man it worked great. I even changed the breaks. Thank you very much.
I admire your work and the way you explain those thing with brake calipers .. how it should be made are very clear and easy to understand even for me, were I`m not a god friend with English language. I have two questions. You put almost on anything copper grease (not on the face of the pads, or the brake disk, I understand why :) ) but what about the dust !? If were are riding and the dust will come on the moving parts cover with the copper grease, that will not make a layer witch is resisting the moving of the pads?
This was the best DIY I have seen. Detailed....... And with all the precautions. Thank you so much. Subscribing. Waiting for more. I have a 2015 cbr250 r abs, bought second hand in may2017
Very helpful to see your pro 'tricks'. Clearly I've been too timid in dismantling and greasing in the past but in future I'll be following your methods. I'm off to track down some spray copper grease! Thanks for the video, I'll be checking out your others.
I was told to use red rubber grease only on the pistons, you are smearing a lot of copper grease about, I'd be worried it might get on the pads. great vid.
Excellent video. I am encouraged to do the brake calipers of my SV650 S. Now, this tutorial was done on a DL1000 V-Strom. Is the assembly/dis-assembly the same for the SV650 ?
Great vid, very easy to follow! I am hoping to do the same on my aprilia caponord very shortly. Front and back need doing, will forcing back the pistons in the brake callipers with the old pads in place to make room for the new ones cause air bubbles in the brake fluid? what would you recommend?
Great presenter providing clear instructions + great cameraman = great video :) One question though - will I have to bleed the brakes after doing exactly what you did on the front calliper or is it OK to reinstall the calliper and go ride straight after? Cheers!
I’d say a bit excessive on the copper grease. It attracts dirt itself. You’re better off just greasing the sliding pins slightly (where the pads move) and leave it at that. Also, ceramic grease may be a better alternative to copper grease as it can cope better with higher temperatures.
@@twowheelsquirrel you’ve got to be careful putting grease on rubber boot too. Some greases can swell the rubber so watch out for that. A good one for rubber is red rubber grease, hence the name haha
After 50 years of working on Cars, Vans, Motorcycles and Commercial Aircraft, I guarantee that brake dust, dirt and corrosion will always negatively impact brake efficiency more than Copper Grease is ever likely to. Clearly you need to use it sensibly and sparingly as demonstrated in this video.
Hi James, great video. I am just about to service my brakes, waiting for winter to leave here, I noticed at about 3:50 into your video you had washed caliper part and then sprayed it with something, was that just more brake cleaner? Also I will be changing my lines, I was wondering if when you clean the brake calipers with the lines off, what do you recommend sealing the brake line inlets with? Is it ok if some of the cleaner gets into the fluid side of the pistons? Thanks
I plan on using a small smear of copper slip on my caliper pins but will lube my exposed piston faces with red rubber grease or silicone brake grease. I have seen forum threads where riders have blamed copper slip for ruining their piston seals and causing them to swell. Of course, it is possible they are wrong in their assumptions. Perversely, my Tiger manual advises the use of copper grease but in the next sentence warns that mineral-based compounds should never be used anywhere on the braking system and can cause brake failure. I have been unable to find a synthetic or castor based copper grease so don't know if it's available. I also heard (but can't confirm if it is true) that copper slip can interfere with ABS systems due to the electrical conductivity of the copper and that BMW will invalidate your warranty for brake claims if they find copper slip has been used. I have no first hand experience of this and so maybe it is BS but it's made me concerned. Your experience would seem to suggest the risk is perhaps more theoretical than real. Excellent video and clearly explained.
I don't like to use normal petroleum-based grease in guide boots, it will eat the boot or deform it in the long run, you can use silicone based grease to avoid that.
+Miguel Paolino He's not the one who will be paying for new seals, boots and guides (because the guides will get corroded once the seals get swollen up and stop doing their job), so why should he care? ;) However, to be fair, he did a good job explaining how the calipers work and how to go about servicing them on this specific bike model.
Hi can you explain clicking on front brakes? Is it likely the way pistons are not going back as they should only noticed at low speeds lately all seals were replaced a while back and the pistons were cleaned like new no scuffs have noticed some new surface rust only small amounts would you recommend seeing to pistons with pads out and using lever to bring pistons back and for? Any help thanks
I can't remove the caliper carrier on my front ones. Plus one piston comes out unless I clamp it and then the other comes out. They both do not come out at the same time. Got a Suzuki bandit 600 gsf 1999 model. It's got a front right and left caliper and one rear caliper which is stuck in on the strut arm. Also when I g clamped the piston on the front caliper ( since it popped out) can see a bit of bubbles pop out the side as if the piston is just pushing below the seal.
Just to ask - are you putting some copper grease on the pad pivots(especially the threaded ones)? Also - always wandering if I can put on alu. calipers copper grease on the bolts, instead Locktide, and then to torque wrench them? Cheers!
GREAT VIDEO!!! Love the detail & explanation. Do have a question about the Cu grease. Seems like others recommend silicone grease. Wondering if things have changed since this video was made & if you're recommending silicone now. Also, noticed that you used/ recommend Cu grease on caliper bolts & am wondering if you would recommend Cu Anti-seize. EXCELLENT VIDEO ~ thanks for sharing!
Yep ... the lads doing it all wrong ... silicone grease on slide pins, red rubber brake assembly grease on pistons, far too much copper spray grease used, never on rear of pad if backing plate has holes like these pads have, grease wicks thru to the braking surface ... no brake / oh shit / crash!!!
@@mickeymouse4897 AWESOME! A little late, because I asked these questions around a year ago. Nevertheless your information is good for future jobs and others who might have similar questions. Also, wondering about your background? What is your feedback based on - experience? THANKS!!!!
Thanks for the tutorial, again very useful. You use copper grease on your caliper bolts, would you recommend I do this on my track bike? Most of my friends use thread lock on those bolts! Would it be better to use copper grease and then lock wire the bolts for race/track use? Cheers, Jonny
Hi James, I have to do the same job on my front caliper (Suzuki Bandit S 2001), but I found that the O-Rings are damaged and losing oil. Do you have a video explaining step to step approach to do a full caliper renewal? Many thanks for your help. Max
In my view, if your caliper pistons are leaking, then pump your brake levers gently to push pistons out. Then pull them out, replace with new set of O rings and reseat them. Then bleed the brakes with new dot 3/4 oil. If that solves it, great, otherwise you would need new calliper housing. This is though, is my advice.
Let me ask you something about the copper grease: I think you use it too much, if even a little bit of grease sketch on the brake pads or disc could be a problem don't you? It's however a grease. Because of this fear I never use it, I only clean very well everything, I only use a Molybdenum bisulphide grease on the caliper pins but nothing on the pads.
Look at how the guy is using it too, would be very easy to get that shit on the brake pads when he's spraying it and moving them about the table. Copper grease should be fucking banned so idiots don't slather it on everything. I mean who thinks grease on calliper bolts is a good idea? That's going to play hell with the torque settings.
Hey James, really love your videos. Need your expertise with Quick question on replacing brake fluid please. When pads are half way worn, the level of brake fluid is gonna be lower as the pistons are out a bit more. So question is when you replace the fluid, do you fill on that exact particular, lower level or as if you had new pads and top up all the way up to max? Thanks in advance for your time
Thanks for watching, When I replace brake fluid as part of a service I always top up the reservoir to the uppermark regardless of pad wear. When you're replacing brake pads you should always remove the reservoir cap when you push back to the pistons to make sure it isn't over full. Then set the level correctly once the new pads are installed. Hope this helps :)
Superbike Surgery Ltd Hey James, this really does help as it’s an exact answer covering everything, not to mention a very quick reply. I really appreciate your time on this knowing how busy you are. Many thanks. Can’t wait for your next how to or diagnosis video :)
Hello great videos and very helpful. Would like to mention a mechanic told me copper grease is not the best thing to put on your calipers as if it heats up it dries up and gets quite sticky and powdery. He recommended a white silicone type of grease . Sorry can't remember the name of it. Your thoughts on this ?. Thanks for the videos.
DO NOT use copper grease anywhere near rubber! It will eat through it. I found this out the hard way. If you have to use it because of squeak, only brush it lightly on the back of the pads that touch the piston. The pins that go deep into the rubber seals need SILICON grease on them! It is rubber safe and doesn't melt off under high temp. This video also does nothing to address binding pistons, which you are sure to have in British weather. He doesn't strip anything down, or work any toothbrush round the pots. This is completely amateur. He doesn't even tell you how to re-install the front brakes properly so they line up true, if you have the radial type.
@@Labgorilla It won't do anything to grease them, in fact it will just attract dirt and road salt. The pistons get lubed by the internal brake fluid. Best thing is to clean them with brake dust cleaner and soapy hot water, and make sure you rinse with plenty of clean water after. (or they will bind up when the water dries)
use copper grease on anything exposed to high temperatures is that the copper enables it to transmit the heat quickly away, otherwise the grease would simply burn up. Just apply a smear of grease onto the back of the pads to stop them squealing, and also onto the sides so they move easily within the callipers. If you don't do this they can become siezed and the brakes will bind and then get hot.
Nice video but for one thing, I personally would not go anywhere near my brakes with any copper grease and certainly not in the quantities that you are using (if at all!) How easy would it be for any of that grease to end up on the rotors or the faces of the pads? Apart from the sliding pins ( which are enclosed in rubber gaiters) I do not use grease anywhere on the calipers at all.
Hi James, am loving your tutorials as I'm restoring a classic two stroke at the mo. Question though, where do you get your silicon spray and dispenser from? I can't find them anywhere. Thanks in advance.
This video is great :). Love your silicon spray idea and also the copper spray too. I never thought of either of those ideas. Is the other grease you use the special brake grease? I have some brake grease and I was wondering if i should use that instead of the copper grease? I'm assuming I should stick to copper grease on the bolt threads? Is any silicon spray okay for the brake caliper? Thanks again :)
Use copper grease on anything exposed to high temperatures is that the copper enables it to transmit the heat quickly away, otherwise the grease would simply burn up. Just apply a smear of grease onto the back of the pads to stop them squealing, and also onto the sides so they move easily within the callipers. If you don't do this they can become siezed and the brakes will bind and then get hot.
Hi. I noticed that you sprayed a lot of copper grease on the pistons and generally all over the internal parts. Is this safe? i mean if the grease melts or somehow touches the inside part of the pad there will be problem!!! Am i wrong?
Thanks for the tip James! Great! Once i've cleaned the the calipers on my old v-strom 650. The brakes were working great. But after a few months, the shiny pistons went black again. This is great for easy re-cleaning!
I dont normally go out of my way to post neg ... but please bring yourself into line with modern day technology, your influencing the audience to apply copper grease to brakes equipped with anti squeal shims, modern brakes dont really squeak these days due to pad compound or special backing shims as in your video. Also thats a huge amount of copper grease to apply to something which heavily relies on friction to do its job
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV Thanks for the reply, no its not textbook and im very confident in my competency / practical experience being a mechanical engineer and spending most of my life in my own garage. I have never seen a caliper on a motorcycle come from factory covered in copper slip to protect it from the elements, the engineers have already thought of everything and designed it to do its job regardless of weather, yes intermittent cleaning and re grease of the sliders is needed but in my opinion applying copper grease over everything is just going to attract dust and mess. also the anti squeal shim are designed to work dry. if the bike was a 1960 Norton Dominator id give a thumbs up
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTVWhere i live in the UK i ride all year round and average 8k a year wet and dry and never had a problem tokico on my hayabusa and brembo on my ktm.. You will find that caliper piston quality on a motorcycle is much higher quality than car caliper pistons and they dont corrode being coated aluminium in most cases where as car caliper pistons are just steel with dust seals hence the requirement for protection of the moving parts with a dust seal
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV tell me whats going to cause more trouble your copper grease with embedded dirt and grime all over the sliding piston after a few miles or the clean piston with usual road debris waiting to be swilled off with water when it gets washed? iv just never had a problem with sticking / ceasing / corroding calipers on a motorcycle
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV PISTONS MOVING 5 inch ?? II hope you mean MM ?? its not even that much to be honest, its more like 1mm. Its quite frustrating getting mugged off by a motorcycle mechanic questioning my mechanical understanding on something second nature to me, truth is id have to take a 30k pay cut to fix motorcycles for a living so i best just keep my gob shut and leave you to keep them customers corrosion free and happy
There is a problem with copper grease . . . it is mostly mineral based and you shouldn't let mineral based compounds get within a country mile of any rubber seals or O-rings etc. Perhaps not a good idea to spray it on the pistons or you risk the piston seal rubber swelling up with corresponding issues with the brakes sticking on.
great video. i do a similar brake caliper service when i replace brake pads or when pistons get stiff. I use brake grease though on slide pins and pistons. I dont grease backing plates at all though. Just seems like it would collect grime.
We used to use copper grease many years back on the back of pads and wheel hubs on cars, and on some today it's not a bad idea to put a little, but no need on copper backed pads (this is why they are copper backed of course). I certainly wouldn't use it on the pistons and sliding pins, it's an abrasive, it's for mating surfaces, on the other parts (in rubber boots etc), use an all purpose grease. I wouldn't put anything on the pistons, but a little WD40 or ACF-50 to protect them for a while isn't a bad idea, but anything abrasive is obviously not a good idea, plus it will attract dirt and brake dust and hold it there.
That rod (the one with the R clip/pin) is UNMOVABLE!! I can't get it out with any f***** way... It is stuck and I even tried to hit it a little with a hammer with no luck :( What to do??
Why are you applying copper grease? Dust will stick to it. It's grease, so it can melt onto the pads. And the back of the pads are clearly copperplated already. Those little plates are rustproof. And the pin has a zink coating.
The reasons for using copper grease in the UK have been debated over and over and over again in this thread. Please just read the comments, I can't be bothered to have another conversation about it :)
No idea why? It works this end. There used to be a very well documented TH-cam bug that caused this but I thought that had been resolved a long time ago.
excuse me, I am living in Vietnam and there are not any commercial brake cleaner liquid available in my countries. Could you please give some other replacements such as kerosene or something else ? Thank you.
How not to service brakes. I have been a brake specialist for 21 years. There is absolutely no need for copper grease in any component of the braking system, it will simply collect road grime and brake dust very quickly. Plus copper grease on calliper retaining bolts??? This should be stud locking solution to keep them from vibrating loose, using a grease of any king is absolutely dangerous.... The only thing that needs lubricating is inside the slider gator and not with copper grease, this should be with a silicone grease only, plus a torque wrench should be used by everyone regardless of level of experience.
One again another opinion dressed up as fact. Speak to the manufacturers of pads and calipers and ask them about the use of copper grease as a corrosion inhibitor in countries that use road salt. It's also alarming you call yourself an expert but don't understand the use of copper grease as an anti-seize compound on nuts and bolts. If you think they are somehow more likely to come undone 🤣 Unfortunately your opinion contradicts the work done by almost every Car and Motorcycle workshop the word over for the past 50 years. But as you said you're the expert so everyone else must be wrong 🤣.
Superbike Surgery Ltd mate the reason I found your video is it’s doing the rounds on social media on how NOT to do your brakes.... why would you want anti seize media on your retaining bolts and pins when they are not held in by any other mechanical means eg: lock wired. This is the only time I will ever use a grease or specifically acf50 on retaining bolts only if they are lock wired as a means of keeping them secured. The use of copper slip grease should have died out 25 years ago. Your video is outright dangerous to those not in the know
@@richardb2468 I feel you are completely missing the point. We have a very specific problem in the UK with the type of grit spread on our roads during the winter, really high sodium chloride (Salt) content. This basically dissolves un protected parts, especially brake components due to the constant temp changes. Bikes are especially at risk because the pistons unlike most cars don't have a rubber boot. You can take a brand new bike and ride it through one winter and end up needing very expensive caliper rebuild wotk in just a few months. I've literally seen it hundreds of times. Have you ever tried to remove a seized in pad retaining pin? Probably not if you are suggesting putting them in dry! The product I use is Wurth CU800 and is specifically designed for this very purpose. Maybe Wurth have also got it wrong, one of the biggest Workshops sundries suppliers on the planet. The copper grease debate has been going on for years so these arguments are old news to me. There seems to be two very distinct camps. You have the guys like me who work in the real world day in day out, skinning our knuckles on seized bolts because somebody didn't use copper grease. And then you have The text book waving keyboard warriors. Thanks for your comments.
Superbike Surgery Ltd my apologies I didn’t realise a multi million pound company was recommending the use of a product that they sell. Retaining pins should always go in dry. I live in the us so I know exactly the problem you talk about but the solution to this is more regular maintenance not shortcuts as you describe. I can guarantee that if you pull the pin once a month and emery it then it will never ever get stuck.
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV not really funny promoting poor work to others via social media encouraging the use of copper grease on everything. had you left out the copper grease part been a good video.
@@bikerboi1983 FFS Are you reall going to resurrect the Copper Grease debate, I thought we were done with this years ago. I've debated this many times with many people over the years and cant be bothered to do it again. 30 years of servicing bikes professionally in the uk has tought me a few things. One is that Copper Grease used it the correct way is a good thing. Sorry but all I suspect you have is an opinion baced on somthing you have watched or read, I've literally thousands of reall world case studies over three decades. Thats the end of discsion for me. Thanks for watching. P.S. If you hate Copper Grease You'll love this! :) th-cam.com/video/wGZyGbQ9ixY/w-d-xo.html
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV 30 years of doing something wrong spraying it straight on to stainless pistons too, christ 🤦♂️ and people pay you for this? 30years of buggering stuff. if you aren't intelligent enough to know not to put copper grease on to "copper plated pads" then there is no helping you. I guess all the race teams and moto gp engineers cover everything in that crap too, oh wait..
@@bikerboi1983 Well done you have completely missed the point. A Moto GP bike has FA to do with a road bike making it though a British winter. You clearly have no actual real world experience. As I already said this subject has been discussed at huge length over the last few years including taking to manufacturers of bikes and pads. The conclusion has already been arrived at. Unfortunately you are about 5 years late joining this debate. It was settled long ago. This really is the last I'm going to say on this. One again, thanks for watching.
You really love that Copper grease, tut tut Jim ... never on slide pins, especially if they contact any rubber bush or sleeve, just asking for trouble ... silicone grease is the correct slippy slidy stuff u should be using... copper grease on rear of pads tut tut, bike pads often have holes in the steel backing plate, any grease can wick thru the pad friction material to the braking surface, copper grease on pistons tut tut, pistons need pushing out a good way, then clean em, then a slight smear of red rubber brake assembly grease on the pistons, push em fully back in & wipe off any excess grease, never copper slip as it hardens with time, & is abrasive to piston surface & swells seals ... shame on you boy.
Zero faffage, no swearing and no beard, you’ve come along way Jim. Love your videos especially the latest ones. You’re a god damn hero for putting this information out there into the big wide world for us amateur mechanics.
I,ve been watching all kinds of motorcycle servicing videos, this one is the most professional of all. Thanks for posting.
Great video... What about pumping out the pistons slightly and cleaning off the ring of crud? They csn then be easily pushed back in. Or can use a cheap piston spreader tool
Great video, simple & clear. I've had my bike since 2002, 75k miles, ridden in all weathers. I do exactly the same procedure with my brakes (every few years or so). I've renewed the front caliper seals & serviced the calipers once only (2 years ago ). No new pistons required, tokico six pots. Still got brilliant brakes all round. This procedure works. It's your own preference on what lubricant you use. BUT, if expert gives you advice for free..........🤔
Very nice instruction video. I remember this video any time I service my brake calipers. Wonderful to see in what a good condition they stay.
When cleaning callipers to that extent I remove the pistons and seals, get out the dremel with a soft brass wheel and clean out the seal grooves and de-crud the pistons, I use silicon grease in the seal grooves and seals sparingly as I use silicon fluid, find it stops the oxidation behind the seals stopping the piston binding as I ride all year round in our wonderful weather. About to do all this again on one of my bikes but going to give stainless steel pistons a go, sick of corrosion. Keep up the very good videos.
I been meaning to contact you and thank you for this one. I did front and rear caliper cleanup and man it worked great. I even changed the breaks. Thank you very much.
I admire your work and the way you explain those thing with brake calipers .. how it should be made are very clear and easy to understand even for me, were I`m not a god friend with English language.
I have two questions.
You put almost on anything copper grease (not on the face of the pads, or the brake disk, I understand why :) ) but what about the dust !?
If were are riding and the dust will come on the moving parts cover with the copper grease, that will not make a layer witch is resisting the moving of the pads?
Hands down, the best motorcycle maintenance videos I've seen on TH-cam. Love watching you. Where is your brake bleeding vid? can't seem to find it.
This was the best DIY I have seen. Detailed.......
And with all the precautions.
Thank you so much.
Subscribing.
Waiting for more.
I have a 2015 cbr250 r abs, bought second hand in may2017
Very helpful to see your pro 'tricks'. Clearly I've been too timid in dismantling and greasing in the past but in future I'll be following your methods. I'm off to track down some spray copper grease! Thanks for the video, I'll be checking out your others.
I was told to use red rubber grease only on the pistons, you are smearing a lot of copper grease about, I'd be worried it might get on the pads. great vid.
I’ve done brake callipers but never thought to put grease around the calliper pistons, great tip for corrosion prevention.
I like the tutorials and subbed. First time I see someone so freely spraying grease and lubrication oils on the brake calipers!!
Great video , can you please put links to the product you have used.
Great video, I would be interested in a in-depth video including removal of the pistons and seals
Why can't I have blokes like this living next door to me?
Excellent video. I am encouraged to do the brake calipers of my SV650 S. Now, this tutorial was done on a DL1000 V-Strom. Is the assembly/dis-assembly the same for the SV650 ?
Great vid, very easy to follow! I am hoping to do the same on my aprilia caponord very shortly. Front and back need doing, will forcing back the pistons in the brake callipers with the old pads in place to make room for the new ones cause air bubbles in the brake fluid? what would you recommend?
You forgot to mention that you need to pump the break several times before going for a ride.
Great presenter providing clear instructions + great cameraman = great video :)
One question though - will I have to bleed the brakes after doing exactly what you did on the front calliper or is it OK to reinstall the calliper and go ride straight after? Cheers!
Late response but you can reinstall them as is!
I’d say a bit excessive on the copper grease. It attracts dirt itself. You’re better off just greasing the sliding pins slightly (where the pads move) and leave it at that. Also, ceramic grease may be a better alternative to copper grease as it can cope better with higher temperatures.
I don't want grease anywhere near my pads, especially the amount he's smothered on! I'm with you, a little on the slide pin and the rubber boots.
@@twowheelsquirrel you’ve got to be careful putting grease on rubber boot too. Some greases can swell the rubber so watch out for that. A good one for rubber is red rubber grease, hence the name haha
@@alexhorky6454 yep, I've got a grease for every job. (For the bike, the Mrs needs something else)
After 50 years of working on Cars, Vans, Motorcycles and Commercial Aircraft, I guarantee that brake dust, dirt and corrosion will always negatively impact brake efficiency more than Copper Grease is ever likely to. Clearly you need to use it sensibly and sparingly as demonstrated in this video.
@@tonyb622 right, so you’ve just more or less clarified my point… except I wouldn’t be putting that much on, there’s no need for so much.
Hi James, great video. I am just about to service my brakes, waiting for winter to leave here, I noticed at about 3:50 into your video you had washed caliper part and then sprayed it with something, was that just more brake cleaner? Also I will be changing my lines, I was wondering if when you clean the brake calipers with the lines off, what do you recommend sealing the brake line inlets with? Is it ok if some of the cleaner gets into the fluid side of the pistons? Thanks
I plan on using a small smear of copper slip on my caliper pins but will lube my exposed piston faces with red rubber grease or silicone brake grease. I have seen forum threads where riders have blamed copper slip for ruining their piston seals and causing them to swell. Of course, it is possible they are wrong in their assumptions.
Perversely, my Tiger manual advises the use of copper grease but in the next sentence warns that mineral-based compounds should never be used anywhere on the braking system and can cause brake failure. I have been unable to find a synthetic or castor based copper grease so don't know if it's available.
I also heard (but can't confirm if it is true) that copper slip can interfere with ABS systems due to the electrical conductivity of the copper and that BMW will invalidate your warranty for brake claims if they find copper slip has been used. I have no first hand experience of this and so maybe it is BS but it's made me concerned. Your experience would seem to suggest the risk is perhaps more theoretical than real.
Excellent video and clearly explained.
I don't like to use normal petroleum-based grease in guide boots, it will eat the boot or deform it in the long run, you can use silicone based grease to avoid that.
+Miguel Paolino He's not the one who will be paying for new seals, boots and guides (because the guides will get corroded once the seals get swollen up and stop doing their job), so why should he care? ;)
However, to be fair, he did a good job explaining how the calipers work and how to go about servicing them on this specific bike model.
Brilliant video. Helps a lot. Especially as these the exact calipers I have on my Bandit. Thank you so much for this.
Hi can you explain clicking on front brakes? Is it likely the way pistons are not going back as they should only noticed at low speeds lately all seals were replaced a while back and the pistons were cleaned like new no scuffs have noticed some new surface rust only small amounts would you recommend seeing to pistons with pads out and using lever to bring pistons back and for? Any help thanks
I can't remove the caliper carrier on my front ones. Plus one piston comes out unless I clamp it and then the other comes out. They both do not come out at the same time. Got a Suzuki bandit 600 gsf 1999 model. It's got a front right and left caliper and one rear caliper which is stuck in on the strut arm. Also when I g clamped the piston on the front caliper ( since it popped out) can see a bit of bubbles pop out the side as if the piston is just pushing below the seal.
Been hunting for a vid on that rear caliper for ages.. thank you James.
love your videos, hope to see some more about servicing
Do you have to put copper grease on the back of the pads on all bikes ?
the chim, 16:40, is it an universal size?
Just to ask - are you putting some copper grease on the pad pivots(especially the threaded ones)? Also - always wandering if I can put on alu. calipers copper grease on the bolts, instead Locktide, and then to torque wrench them?
Cheers!
What brand of silicone grease so you use on rubber boots ?
What silicon spray do you use please?
What is the copper grease for? Isn't it make the brake pads slippery when raining the grease goes to the pads?
they must be the most complex brake calipers i have seen brakes are usually a lot easier than this. great vid.
GREAT VIDEO!!! Love the detail & explanation. Do have a question about the Cu grease. Seems like others recommend silicone grease. Wondering if things have changed since this video was made & if you're recommending silicone now. Also, noticed that you used/ recommend Cu grease on caliper bolts & am wondering if you would recommend Cu Anti-seize. EXCELLENT VIDEO ~ thanks for sharing!
Yep ... the lads doing it all wrong ... silicone grease on slide pins, red rubber brake assembly grease on pistons, far too much copper spray grease used, never on rear of pad if backing plate has holes like these pads have, grease wicks thru to the braking surface ... no brake / oh shit / crash!!!
@@mickeymouse4897 AWESOME! A little late, because I asked these questions around a year ago. Nevertheless your information is good for future jobs and others who might have similar questions. Also, wondering about your background? What is your feedback based on - experience? THANKS!!!!
Thanks for the tutorial, again very useful. You use copper grease on your caliper bolts, would you recommend I do this on my track bike? Most of my friends use thread lock on those bolts! Would it be better to use copper grease and then lock wire the bolts for race/track use? Cheers, Jonny
Great video, but is there a danger that copper grease on the calliper pistons can cause the rubber piston seals to expand and deform ?
fab vid matey, have you done one on refurbing/polishing furred up pistons????
Hi James,
I have to do the same job on my front caliper (Suzuki Bandit S 2001), but I found that the O-Rings are damaged and losing oil. Do you have a video explaining step to step approach to do a full caliper renewal? Many thanks for your help. Max
In my view, if your caliper pistons are leaking, then pump your brake levers gently to push pistons out. Then pull them out, replace with new set of O rings and reseat them. Then bleed the brakes with new dot 3/4 oil. If that solves it, great, otherwise you would need new calliper housing.
This is though, is my advice.
How much time did you spend cleaning both callipers?
What an amazing job, mate! Way to go!
Let me ask you something about the copper grease: I think you use it too much, if even a little bit of grease sketch on the brake pads or disc could be a problem don't you? It's however a grease. Because of this fear I never use it, I only clean very well everything, I only use a Molybdenum bisulphide grease on the caliper pins but nothing on the pads.
no need to use it on brake systems especially not motorcycle brakes.
Using copper grease liberally is a patriotic duty in the U.K.
@@sv650nyc7 only retards use it.
Look at how the guy is using it too, would be very easy to get that shit on the brake pads when he's spraying it and moving them about the table. Copper grease should be fucking banned so idiots don't slather it on everything. I mean who thinks grease on calliper bolts is a good idea? That's going to play hell with the torque settings.
@@sv650nyc7
😂😂
Hey James, really love your videos. Need your expertise with Quick question on replacing brake fluid please. When pads are half way worn, the level of brake fluid is gonna be lower as the pistons are out a bit more. So question is when you replace the fluid, do you fill on that exact particular, lower level or as if you had new pads and top up all the way up to max? Thanks in advance for your time
Thanks for watching, When I replace brake fluid as part of a service I always top up the reservoir to the uppermark regardless of pad wear. When you're replacing brake pads you should always remove the reservoir cap when you push back to the pistons to make sure it isn't over full. Then set the level correctly once the new pads are installed. Hope this helps :)
Superbike Surgery Ltd Hey James, this really does help as it’s an exact answer covering everything, not to mention a very quick reply. I really appreciate your time on this knowing how busy you are. Many thanks. Can’t wait for your next how to or diagnosis video :)
Hello great videos and very helpful. Would like to mention a mechanic told me copper grease is not the best thing to put on your calipers as if it heats up it dries up and gets quite sticky and powdery. He recommended a white silicone type of grease . Sorry can't remember the name of it. Your thoughts on this ?. Thanks for the videos.
The method's on youtube are all old
The award goes to you.
Hi James.Can you tell me what silicone spray you use as there are a mind boggling variety on the market.
*****
Thanks James,will get hold of some!
DO NOT use copper grease anywhere near rubber! It will eat through it. I found this out the hard way. If you have to use it because of squeak, only brush it lightly on the back of the pads that touch the piston. The pins that go deep into the rubber seals need SILICON grease on them! It is rubber safe and doesn't melt off under high temp. This video also does nothing to address binding pistons, which you are sure to have in British weather. He doesn't strip anything down, or work any toothbrush round the pots. This is completely amateur. He doesn't even tell you how to re-install the front brakes properly so they line up true, if you have the radial type.
I had wondered about the pistons themselves
@@Labgorilla It won't do anything to grease them, in fact it will just attract dirt and road salt. The pistons get lubed by the internal brake fluid. Best thing is to clean them with brake dust cleaner and soapy hot water, and make sure you rinse with plenty of clean water after. (or they will bind up when the water dries)
Hello.
I make you a question about the cooper paste ¿can be replaced for lithium grease in service of the brake system
Thanks
use copper grease on anything exposed to high temperatures is that the copper enables it to transmit the heat quickly away, otherwise the grease would simply burn up.
Just apply a smear of grease onto the back of the pads to stop them squealing, and also onto the sides so they move easily within the callipers. If you don't do this they can become siezed and the brakes will bind and then get hot.
Oh man!!! If you are that thorough with the service I would like you to do my bike. NT700
Is it worth popping the caliper pistons out carefully a few millimetres using the brake lever to better clean and grease the pistons?
Nice video but for one thing, I personally would not go anywhere near my brakes with any copper grease and certainly not in the quantities that you are using (if at all!) How easy would it be for any of that grease to end up on the rotors or the faces of the pads? Apart from the sliding pins ( which are enclosed in rubber gaiters) I do not use grease anywhere on the calipers at all.
What is that silicone spray?
I have a leak on my bleed nipple heard there are ball bearings in the calipers is this true ? can u buy new ones?
Hi James, am loving your tutorials as I'm restoring a classic two stroke at the mo. Question though, where do you get your silicon spray and dispenser from? I can't find them anywhere. Thanks in advance.
+James Wright-Roberts it does, appreciate it, thanks
This video is great :). Love your silicon spray idea and also the copper spray too. I never thought of either of those ideas. Is the other grease you use the special brake grease? I have some brake grease and I was wondering if i should use that instead of the copper grease? I'm assuming I should stick to copper grease on the bolt threads? Is any silicon spray okay for the brake caliper? Thanks again :)
Great vid, along with your steering bearing video! Question though what's your take on all that copper grease attracting crud during wetter weather?
Again, Brilliant! Thanks for making a simple job simpler! Cheers!
Great videos James. Very professional.
What type of Silicon Spray did you use James, the ones I'm looking at are all lubricants.Love the videos.
+James Wright-Roberts Fab thanks James.
what cleaning solvent u are using to clean brake parts
Yes please a name of cleanning solvent 👍?
Use copper grease on anything exposed to high temperatures is that the copper enables it to transmit the heat quickly away, otherwise the grease would simply burn up.
Just apply a smear of grease onto the back of the pads to stop them squealing, and also onto the sides so they move easily within the callipers. If you don't do this they can become siezed and the brakes will bind and then get hot.
My Bracket is seized solid. will not slide out. Any ideas?
Is the silicone spray the same as those use for tyre shine? Can anyone shed some light on this?
No no no it's not. Silicone lubricant is very different
@@lentilsouper Thanks, but what is the one used in this video ("commercial" silicone spray?)
Hi. I noticed that you sprayed a lot of copper grease on the pistons and generally all over the internal parts. Is this safe? i mean if the grease melts or somehow touches the inside part of the pad there will be problem!!! Am i wrong?
Thanks for the tip James! Great! Once i've cleaned the the calipers on my old v-strom 650. The brakes were working great. But after a few months, the shiny pistons went black again. This is great for easy re-cleaning!
Rear sprocket to be replaced 4:40, looks like worn out.
I dont normally go out of my way to post neg ... but please bring yourself into line with modern day technology, your influencing the audience to apply copper grease to brakes equipped with anti squeal shims, modern brakes dont really squeak these days due to pad compound or special backing shims as in your video. Also thats a huge amount of copper grease to apply to something which heavily relies on friction to do its job
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV Thanks for the reply, no its not textbook and im very confident in my competency / practical experience being a mechanical engineer and spending most of my life in my own garage. I have never seen a caliper on a motorcycle come from factory covered in copper slip to protect it from the elements, the engineers have already thought of everything and designed it to do its job regardless of weather, yes intermittent cleaning and re grease of the sliders is needed but in my opinion applying copper grease over everything is just going to attract dust and mess. also the anti squeal shim are designed to work dry. if the bike was a 1960 Norton Dominator id give a thumbs up
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTVWhere i live in the UK i ride all year round and average 8k a year wet and dry and never had a problem tokico on my hayabusa and brembo on my ktm.. You will find that caliper piston quality on a motorcycle is much higher quality than car caliper pistons and they dont corrode being coated aluminium in most cases where as car caliper pistons are just steel with dust seals hence the requirement for protection of the moving parts with a dust seal
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV tell me whats going to cause more trouble your copper grease with embedded dirt and grime all over the sliding piston after a few miles or the clean piston with usual road debris waiting to be swilled off with water when it gets washed? iv just never had a problem with sticking / ceasing / corroding calipers on a motorcycle
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV PISTONS MOVING 5 inch ?? II hope you mean MM ?? its not even that much to be honest, its more like 1mm. Its quite frustrating getting mugged off by a motorcycle mechanic questioning my mechanical understanding on something second nature to me, truth is id have to take a 30k pay cut to fix motorcycles for a living so i best just keep my gob shut and leave you to keep them customers corrosion free and happy
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV you mean folding away your B&M Bargains paddling pool lolol nah mate same to you happy new year all the best
There is a problem with copper grease . . . it is mostly mineral based and you shouldn't let mineral based compounds get within a country mile of any rubber seals or O-rings etc. Perhaps not a good idea to spray it on the pistons or you risk the piston seal rubber swelling up with corresponding issues with the brakes sticking on.
great video. i do a similar brake caliper service when i replace brake pads or when pistons get stiff. I use brake grease though on slide pins and pistons. I dont grease backing plates at all though. Just seems like it would collect grime.
ybliga
yeah with you on this. Bested on most recommendations I've been using red rubber grease with great results.
I use high temperature red rubber grease on brake caliper sliding pins, I lubricant pistons with brake fluid.
We used to use copper grease many years back on the back of pads and wheel hubs on cars, and on some today it's not a bad idea to put a little, but no need on copper backed pads (this is why they are copper backed of course). I certainly wouldn't use it on the pistons and sliding pins, it's an abrasive, it's for mating surfaces, on the other parts (in rubber boots etc), use an all purpose grease. I wouldn't put anything on the pistons, but a little WD40 or ACF-50 to protect them for a while isn't a bad idea, but anything abrasive is obviously not a good idea, plus it will attract dirt and brake dust and hold it there.
Whats the liquid in your trusty cleaner bucket? Just soapy water? Solvent of any kind?
Really nice video James.
That's just brilliant. Thank you so much for your effort and knowledge sharing.
Your Awesome James, thanks for sharing.
That rod (the one with the R clip/pin) is UNMOVABLE!! I can't get it out with any f***** way... It is stuck and I even tried to hit it a little with a hammer with no luck :( What to do??
gr8 vid....ta,yeah Robert Hutchinson ..I second that...
Little groove is for dispersing heat, not water.
Very thorough. Many thanks
why would you put grease on your brake caliper that will attract all the brake dust to it?
Oh where is your video regarding chaining brake fluid? :)
Thanks James , good vid .
Superb stuff.
Thanks James.
Thank you very helpful. Cheers
Copper grease? Not on caliper bolts, they should have locktite surely?
On the back of the pads? What purpose?
This isn't servicing, this is just cleaning. Servicing would be doing piston seals
***** I would. Safety first.
Thanks for sharing
The award goes to you.
dapaah Ebenezer what award
why all that copper grease?
Thanks...
Will the copper grease eat the robber....?
You ignored the biggest problem of pistons sticking, and how to get them out and clean them.
Why are you applying copper grease? Dust will stick to it. It's grease, so it can melt onto the pads. And the back of the pads are clearly copperplated already. Those little plates are rustproof. And the pin has a zink coating.
The reasons for using copper grease in the UK have been debated over and over and over again in this thread. Please just read the comments, I can't be bothered to have another conversation about it :)
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV I read the comments, but I can't see your replies.
No idea why? It works this end. There used to be a very well documented TH-cam bug that caused this but I thought that had been resolved a long time ago.
Trust a mechanic to say you can't do something lol.
excuse me, I am living in Vietnam and there are not any commercial brake cleaner liquid available in my countries. Could you please give some other replacements such as kerosene or something else ? Thank you.
How not to service brakes. I have been a brake specialist for 21 years. There is absolutely no need for copper grease in any component of the braking system, it will simply collect road grime and brake dust very quickly. Plus copper grease on calliper retaining bolts??? This should be stud locking solution to keep them from vibrating loose, using a grease of any king is absolutely dangerous....
The only thing that needs lubricating is inside the slider gator and not with copper grease, this should be with a silicone grease only, plus a torque wrench should be used by everyone regardless of level of experience.
One again another opinion dressed up as fact. Speak to the manufacturers of pads and calipers and ask them about the use of copper grease as a corrosion inhibitor in countries that use road salt. It's also alarming you call yourself an expert but don't understand the use of copper grease as an anti-seize compound on nuts and bolts. If you think they are somehow more likely to come undone 🤣 Unfortunately your opinion contradicts the work done by almost every Car and Motorcycle workshop the word over for the past 50 years. But as you said you're the expert so everyone else must be wrong 🤣.
Superbike Surgery Ltd mate the reason I found your video is it’s doing the rounds on social media on how NOT to do your brakes.... why would you want anti seize media on your retaining bolts and pins when they are not held in by any other mechanical means eg: lock wired. This is the only time I will ever use a grease or specifically acf50 on retaining bolts only if they are lock wired as a means of keeping them secured. The use of copper slip grease should have died out 25 years ago. Your video is outright dangerous to those not in the know
@@richardb2468 I feel you are completely missing the point. We have a very specific problem in the UK with the type of grit spread on our roads during the winter, really high sodium chloride (Salt) content. This basically dissolves un protected parts, especially brake components due to the constant temp changes. Bikes are especially at risk because the pistons unlike most cars don't have a rubber boot.
You can take a brand new bike and ride it through one winter and end up needing very expensive caliper rebuild wotk in just a few months. I've literally seen it hundreds of times. Have you ever tried to remove a seized in pad retaining pin? Probably not if you are suggesting putting them in dry!
The product I use is Wurth CU800 and is specifically designed for this very purpose. Maybe Wurth have also got it wrong, one of the biggest Workshops sundries suppliers on the planet.
The copper grease debate has been going on for years so these arguments are old news to me. There seems to be two very distinct camps. You have the guys like me who work in the real world day in day out, skinning our knuckles on seized bolts because somebody didn't use copper grease. And then you have The text book waving keyboard warriors.
Thanks for your comments.
Superbike Surgery Ltd my apologies I didn’t realise a multi million pound company was recommending the use of a product that they sell. Retaining pins should always go in dry. I live in the us so I know exactly the problem you talk about but the solution to this is more regular maintenance not shortcuts as you describe. I can guarantee that if you pull the pin once a month and emery it then it will never ever get stuck.
@@richardb2468 Once a month-really?I want to be riding the thing not tearing it apart monthly.
why spray copper grease onto a brake pad wit h its backing pad made of COPPER
grease and brakes... OMG JUST NO
Copper grease.......
I didn't hear him mention that, is that what he recommends?
like so....
Waaaaaaay too much grease. 🤦🤦 At one point the bloke says "don't go mad", then goes mad......
please nobody do as he has, grease bloody everywhere 🤦♂️🤦♂️
🤣
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV not really funny promoting poor work to others via social media encouraging the use of copper grease on everything.
had you left out the copper grease part been a good video.
@@bikerboi1983 FFS Are you reall going to resurrect the Copper Grease debate, I thought we were done with this years ago. I've debated this many times with many people over the years and cant be bothered to do it again. 30 years of servicing bikes professionally in the uk has tought me a few things. One is that Copper Grease used it the correct way is a good thing. Sorry but all I suspect you have is an opinion baced on somthing you have watched or read, I've literally thousands of reall world case studies over three decades. Thats the end of discsion for me. Thanks for watching.
P.S. If you hate Copper Grease You'll love this! :) th-cam.com/video/wGZyGbQ9ixY/w-d-xo.html
@@SuperbikeSurgeryTV 30 years of doing something wrong
spraying it straight on to stainless pistons too, christ 🤦♂️
and people pay you for this?
30years of buggering stuff.
if you aren't intelligent enough to know not to put copper grease on to "copper plated pads" then there is no helping you.
I guess all the race teams and moto gp engineers cover everything in that crap too, oh wait..
@@bikerboi1983 Well done you have completely missed the point. A Moto GP bike has FA to do with a road bike making it though a British winter. You clearly have no actual real world experience. As I already said this subject has been discussed at huge length over the last few years including taking to manufacturers of bikes and pads. The conclusion has already been arrived at. Unfortunately you are about 5 years late joining this debate. It was settled long ago. This really is the last I'm going to say on this. One again, thanks for watching.
You really love that Copper grease, tut tut Jim ... never on slide pins, especially if they contact any rubber bush or sleeve, just asking for trouble ... silicone grease is the correct slippy slidy stuff u should be using... copper grease on rear of pads tut tut, bike pads often have holes in the steel backing plate, any grease can wick thru the pad friction material to the braking surface, copper grease on pistons tut tut, pistons need pushing out a good way, then clean em, then a slight smear of red rubber brake assembly grease on the pistons, push em fully back in & wipe off any excess grease, never copper slip as it hardens with time, & is abrasive to piston surface & swells seals ... shame on you boy.