[EasySV]

After doing a fair bit of work on my SV I took it out for a quick ride. I could hear the rotors skimming the pad while taking it around the block. When I got back there was a ring in the centre of the disk where the pad seemed to be dragging. I pulled the calliper off to see if anything was stuck in there and was causing the issue but there was nothing obvious. I wheeled the bike around and could still hear the rubbing sound. The pads and rotors were not changed, but it did take the front wheel and forks off. Here is a picture.
I haven't ridden it since (no insurance). Current thought was to clean up the rotors and pads with scotchbrite then take it for another ride and see.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Geo Smith]

Mine is dragging too, especially when it heats up. My rears were doing the same thing so I rebuilt the caliper and master cylinder. that fixed it. So in the next few weeks I will be rebuilding the front calipers. I found lots of nasty crud in the rear caliper, so I expect the same up front.

 

[golden chicken]

Please post a picture of the friction surface of the pad that made that mark.

 

[EasySV]

Please post a picture of the friction surface of the pad that made that mark.

Im out of town until Sunday but ill get a picture when get back

 

[EasySV]

Right front caliper dragging

I have plenty of pad left on my brakes (ebc). There are no shims behind them. There are two pieces of metal on the caliper that stick out past the pad and are dragging my rotor. Luckily I caught it before it got to bad but now I don't know how to fix it. I have the stock rotors with ss lines. I...

www.svrider.com

This popped up on my feed so when I get back ill take the wheel off and try to re seat the brake pads when I get home

 

[Straticus]

The three most common areas on Motorcycle Hydraulic brakes that need checking and servicing to prevent dragging are.

1: Master Cylinder possible blockage/Old Dirty fluid ( not so common).

2: Brake pistons not returning correctly and old hard seals ( check for corrosion and clean and lube )

3: Float pins corroded. Sand off with some fine grit paper and polish with Metal polish and lube with proper Brake grease.


HTH

 

[jsanch08]

I would recommend the following having had drag on my own pads twice.

Order a set of new front seals and pistons for the SV650. Get a manual and drain all front brake fluid for the caliber with the problem and remove the front brake caliber. Remove the pads. Carefully pump out the pistons (make sure to keep them even, by pressing on one if it pops out ahead of the other, so you can pull them when they are nearly out).

Look inside the cylinders and carfully clean up any gunk around where the seals are. There will be gunk around the seals. Carefully, with a metal pick (very carefully) clean all the gunk. Use brake cleaner to get everything completely.

Put in the new seals. Lubricate each piston with brake fluid, carefully line up the piston within the seals, then, with your thumb press the center of the piston (fairly hard) and pop it back into the caliper.

IF there was a lot of gunk do the other caliper too.

Add fluid back until it drains, close the brake by hand and pump a bit, then close the bleeder and pump the pistons back out making SURE they both stay equally pushing out till it hits the pad and disk (see manual for exactly how to hold the drain tube above the caliper to get it to bleed properly).

Twice I have had the pistons on my SV650 stick in 20 years of ownership riding only every summer.

Good luck. It takes about an entire day to do both of these if you have not done it before and are taking your time.

make DARN sure you do NOT overtighten the bleeder. If you do, you will have to buy an entirely new caliper. Use a 1/4 inch torque wrench NOT a 3/8 torque wrench.

 

[EasySV]

Here's a pic of the pads... the left pad in the picture is the one that is rubbing (obviously).

the brake fluid was changed and the brakes were bled before I rode it the fist time

I pulled the calliper of cleaned it up, there was some grease in there from before so they are sliding. regreased the pins and installed the caipers

took if out for a ride. still dragging. it doesn't feel like it is causing too much friction, its just touching the pad.

I dont see how it could caliper issue if the brakes are just dragging in one spot.

the only thing that I can think of is that it is a pad issue but I could be wrong.

 

[Straticus]

There is also the possibility that a disc has become warped

 

[golden chicken]

Those pads look contaminated to me. You can try sandpapering them until you get a uniform, flat surface, but I think I would just chuck them for new. Also I would replace the rotors.

The pads will always normally touch the rotor slightly. There's nothing to pull them away. What you don't want is for them to always be squeezing, which would cause excessive heat and wear, and possibly fade the brake fluid. You can easily check this after a ride with an infrared temp gun.

 

[EasySV]

So I pulled the pads off and sanded them down and took the front wheel off to re seat it. while I was in there I noticed one of my brake lines wasn't being run correctly and was pinching at full lock. The previous owners had questionable mechanical skills at best. the line has a little wear in it but not enough to be concerning.

I flipped the line around so it was oriented correctly (im fairly certain its the wrong line as it doesn't have the correct angles according to the maintenance manual but its now routed in a way that it won't bind) and bled the brakes.

no dragging noise when I push it around. I also coasted down my alley with the engine off and no helmet and couldn't hear anything.. possibly solved?

im probably going to bleed the brakes again as I didnt have any clear tubing and went by feel, ill see if that changes anything.

ill wait and see if the mark on the rotor goes away over time.

I was planning on doing pads, lines, caliper rebuild and a Brembo master next year so if I dont have to get new rotors as well that would be excellent as they have plenty of life left.

 

[Straticus]

Looks like you found the problem. Glad all is well

PS

Around once a month on a straight clear traffic free road I practice emergency Braking. This not only keeps my reflexes up but lets' me know the state of my brakes . This has over the years saved life and limb