Knock Knock

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2015 at 20:12

Knocking sound from front caliper/calipers?

zx6r,they rattle around anyway the pads but today I heard a pronounced knocking sound,need to investigate I just wondered what it was? I dotn feel any pulsating when I brake with front lever so idk if its warped disc or discs?

I looked at the left side pad retaining pin and it wobbles about more than the right side so maybe its that?

discs arnt getting warm either so cant be rubbing much

VoG · 26 Apr 2015 at 21:08

Are you sure it's the calipers tho?, I ask because I had an identical problem on my Bandit 12 which drove me to distraction, turned out not to be the calipers after all but the metal bracket inside the front mudguard had worked itself loose on one side, & was "clunking" from time to time, I could've sworn blind it was the bloody calipers.

wazza300 · 26 Apr 2015 at 21:17

Yh when I pull brake lever it stops,I'm hoping its worn loose pad pin,one definitely is loose compared to the other

Its really loud knock aswell

4T5 · 27 Apr 2015 at 15:22

Whip them off & give them a clean & new pads, It's an enjoyable job to do anyways & a job you should be doing regularly. Make sure you use a torque wrench to do up the calliper bolts as it's a weak spot on most bikes because 2 different metals are being tightened together so easy to strip.
Make sure you use plenty of copper grease on rebuild.

wazza300 · 27 Apr 2015 at 15:25

yh ive cleaned em today,its after you apply the brakes and they warm up the discs you can hear a clack clack sound then it goes

pads are really loose on these models though,i dotn think its serious just annoying,also found out one of the pistons had pushed half its dust seal out

4T5 · 27 Apr 2015 at 16:35

Can you not modify the anti rattle/squeal plate a bit to tighten them up ? Also did you use copper grease on the little tabs on the pads ?

wazza300 · 27 Apr 2015 at 16:38

yh and no,i think they improved the anti rattle on later models

4T5 · 27 Apr 2015 at 16:53

Order a pair of the later ones there'll only be a few quid & well worth a try.

wazza300 · 27 Apr 2015 at 17:09

I think they are different,they switched to radial calipers later,it could be a slightly warped disc idk,the tokico brakes are pretty rubbish tbh,nissin supposed to be much better

4T5 · 27 Apr 2015 at 17:36

Are all the rivets on the disc free so your discs float about nice ?

There are quite a few options of switching to better calipers as there pretty universal when it comes to where the Caliper bolts are located. Front brake on my Trophy isn't rated highly although mine stops me just fine if I was 2 up & fully loaded with luggage I'd want to beef mine up. I'm going to see which ones are a direct swap & then keep my eye open for a Breaker to get them off. Can't remember what ones fit my Trophy but I know Blackbird ones do & the big CBR's.
I bet if you had a hunt about there'd be better calipers out there for your bike that are direct replacements as well.

Dogbreath · 27 Apr 2015 at 23:09

4T5 said:
Are all the rivets on the disc free so your discs float about nice ?

More to the point, are they badly worn so the disc is flapping around in the breeze?

wazza300 · 28 Apr 2015 at 00:05

No the rivets are fine,its either one or more pistons arnt going back in enough or warped disc,but I can't feel it through the lever

leigh_boy · 28 Apr 2015 at 07:50

iv only seen calipers knocking when the bolts have made there way loose

wazza300 · 30 Apr 2015 at 18:51

had chance to look at it properly,spun wheel while it was off the ground,it does seem the retaining clip/tensioner isn't doing its job properly and the pad is flapping up and down as the disc spins

I do confess I bent the retaining bracket back to get the pads in because the bolt had seized in the caliper so couldn't take it off completely,i didn't think it would cause it to do that though,im gonna have to try and get the bolt out and bend the tensioner back