81 SUZUKI KATANA GSX SZ 1100
RESTORATION
STAGE 8
FRONT & REAR BRAKE PREP
After the front /rear brake calipers & discs were degreased with hot soapy water (kero or solvents will damage the seals) the old paint was stripped off.
Calipers
Rebuilding the calipers is a fairly straight forward procedure however if you have any doubts in your technical capabilities they should be left to an expert.
Disassemble
The dust rubbers are removed easily with the use of fingers, the next thing to remove is the pistons. Remove the bleeder nipples place a piece of wood in front of the piston so it doesn't shoot out across the workshop.
Apply air pressure to the bleeder port and the piston will pop out. After the pistons have been removed the piston seal can be removed.
The pistons should be inspected for rust spots or scoring if any is observed they should be replaced.
Reassemble
To Re assemble lightly grease the new piston seal with rubber grease, insert it into the groove in the caliper & make sure it is correctly seated. The piston can now be inserted & the new rubber dust cover installed.
After the assembly the bleeder nipples were replaced with stainless steel bleeder nipples - these where purchased with a set of braided stainless brake lines from Hel Performance along with a full set of stainless steel banjo bolts.
The calipers where then sprayed with Rust Guard satin black epoxy enamel & left to dry before being Re installed on the bike with the new Hel brake lines.
Bleeding Brakes
The brakes where then bled. This is slightly more difficult because of the anti dive units. I have found a vacuum bleeding setup can cut down the time it takes to bleed the system by pulling fluid through the dry system.
My setup consists of a Mighty Vac hand vacuum pump connected to a jar with two peices of brass pipe soldered into the lid, this stops brake fluid from being drawn into the gun.
They are bled in this order LEFT ANTI DIVE UNIT. LEFT CALIPER RIGHT ANTI DIVE UNIT RIGHT CALIPER This will have to be done a few times to remove all the air from the system.
Some air may get trapped in the anti dive units, the manual suggests removing the units and tipping them upside down to move the trapped air however I have not had to do this as I let the system settle overnight and bled it the next day and it was fine.
The rear caliper recieved the same treatment, bleed the inner bleeder first the outer one second.and it's done.