How to clean front BMW GS brake calipers

[@marklapirow5473]

You are so right about riders needing to understand and maintain their bikes. May I suggest that the order is spring clip, torx pin, pads, 13mm bolts and remove caliper. That way all parts are supported as you work. I also have a piston expansion tool. Here in Oz, the winter roads are no problem. For your stuck piston, i would space the free pair, and put a spacer to lock the other free piston as best as possible, then use hydraulic pressure to move the reluctant piston. Brake cleaner may help. Then clean the crud. Your GS has more room between the caliper and rim than my RS to snake the caliper off! Over here corrosion has not been an issue on road bikes, also it is a 365 day riding season. Gets a bit hot though...😊

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Thanks for watching and all your comments. All welcome and valid! I lived in Oz for 10 years until 2014 so know exactly what you are talking about. I keep trying to convince the misses to move back but no such luck . Cheers. Billy

[@EmsillCazm]

Hi Billy….. if you use a small block of wood and a wooden shim that will fit between the pistons you can actually move each piston individually, So the shim Will go across two pistons that are next to each other and the block will go In between two pistons are opposite this will leave one piston free to move, just repeat the process until you have pumped out all of the pistons individually 👍

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Thanks for watching and your suggestion! I did manage to get all the pistons eventually and this is another good suggestion. Cheers. Billy

[@kiwideann5632]

I know is a small thing. As you mentioned about the wood wedge. Hardware store and the wedge used to replace and axe/hammer handle. Hard wood.

[@SCORPASRULE]

Brilliant descriptive video Billy, thanks for the info. Will be doing mine asap. 👊🏻👊🏻

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Thanks Scorpasrule for watching and your comment. Great to hear that the video was helpful. Cheers. Billy

[@gnmurray5955]

Thanks Billy, much better now with the correct torque figures. You put some excellent videos on your channel. Thanks :)

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Thanks Geoff for watching, your support and the watch out! I don’t know what caused me to say 24 but I appreciate your comments. Cheers. Billy

[@BlackThor15]

Awesome video Billy, thanks for sharing your knowledge! 👍👍

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Thanks Nelio! Cheers. Billy

[@SOLOMOTOUK]

Hi billy you put this up the other day👍👍

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

I did mate. Had to repost due to quite a significant error on the torque for the caliper bolts. I thought I had corrected it through the post edit tools for live videos but it did not work and some one came back after a few days and was rightly not happy so quickest was to delete and repost. A shame but content needs to be right!

[@SOLOMOTOUK]

@@BillysBikeAdventures hi billy what was the torque of your Calipers on my F850 gsa it’s 38 nm I’ve downloaded a manual for it use it on my phone or table

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

@@SOLOMOTOUK The torque for the 1200 and the 1250 is the same as yours 38Nm

[@SOLOMOTOUK]

@@BillysBikeAdventures I thought it was 👍👍👍👍

[@28valley]

I always tie a tie-wrap to the caliper to hang it from. Then I can scrub without any worries. I dont want to let that caliper go.

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Its good practice to do that. When changing tyres on the wheel that exactly what I do and let them hang for the crash frame. Cheers. ~Billy

[@701Adventures]

I thought I was having a senior moment when I saw this video posted today, it was like a moment from The Matrix! 😂😂 Billy, will you be doing a video for the rear calliper?

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Hi Planet GSA. No senior moment lol. I had made a mistake in the video. Tried to rectify it with the YT post editing tools but it did not work so had to delete and repost with mistake corrected. Yes will be doing the rear brake caliper next week. Thanks for watching 👍 cheers. Billy

[@carmelolongo2988]

Hi Billy great video thank you! I would suggest to tight the two bolts after holding hard the brake lever, so pads and caliper is well aligned with disk, agree?? Rgs

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

HI Carmelo. It a good point however I am not sure there is that much movement of the calipers once the bolts are in. I would need to take advice from a mechanic. If you are one then thank you for the tip :-) Thanks for watching and your comment. Cheers Billy

[@CliveAEdwards]

Great video Billy. I’m fairly certain the brake callipers are dowel guided onto their mounts. So can only go to the right positions. Therefore no need to apply the brake to realign the pads to the disc. You should of course fully pump the brake lever to ensure pads are snug to disc. BEFORE you ride otherwise you’ll find you’ve no brakes when you need them. I’m not patronising anyone but some folks may not know that. Cheers Clive

[@joshdsouza292]

Thanks Billy, what kind of torque wrench do you use, are these with 1/2” drivers?

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Hi Josh. Link to the same one I use, although this is the black version, apart from being black, I am not sure what that means lol. Had no issues with it and it is 1/2 inch. Thanks for watching. Happy New Year! Cheers Billy

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Forgot to add link www.google.com/shopping/product/9173721607214106731?q=sealey+torque+wrench&client=ms-android-google&sa=X&biw=412&bih=775&tbs=vw:l&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALiCzsakdhCenKhbYtAtmT7aSuNRlvS2tA:1672571330119&prds=eto:5442964036490320752_0,cdl:1,prmr:1,rsk:PC_9022117104749674752,cs:1&ved=0ahUKEwjuu_jfnab8AhUpSkEAHctBDAMQgTYI1BA

[@tonyharding5336]

You won’t get all pistons moving together, next time either put your pads in or get a small piece of wood then work the lever so pistons are out a bit more then clean and dry then get a tiny paint brush and put a bit of silicon grease on the pistons, push them back in job done

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Cheers Tony for the advice. Will take that on board the next time I do this. Billy

[@onahi2002]

What did BMW say about the piston not moving ?

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

HI there. I actually took kept pumping the other pistons and it released itself so all good :-)

[@Jason-ry3et]

What ended up being wrong with the piston?

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

They just needed a really good clean thats all. Was a hard winter previously and clogged up with crap. Cheers Billy

[@fly1ngf1sh]

Hi Billy, I think you should have given a warning about the risk of pushing the pistons too far out. Don’t ask me how I know… Also, another tool someone might need before commencing is a brake piston spreader.

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

Hi Andy. Thanks for watching your comments. Good point on pushing the piston out too much! I will see if I can do something on the video even if its just text. Not sure I will be able too. A spreader would be good. Not every one will be able to push them in manually. Thanks for the tips! Cheers. Billy

[@fly1ngf1sh]

@@BillysBikeAdventures Yes what happened to me is even though didn’t pump them out all that far, when I pushed one piston in, another one popped right out! Using a wooden block and shim like someone else suggested might have been a good idea!

[@BillysBikeAdventures]

The same as happened to me but fortunately I was able to push them back in, took some doing though 👍

[@fly1ngf1sh]

@@BillysBikeAdventures did you then have to bleed the brakes to get any air out?

[@kiwideann5632]

Haha. Yep I was about to comment the same about pushing them out to far. I was changing the rotor on a car. Someone hopped in and rested their foot on the brake. Pushed a piston out completely. Real PITA. Preventative maintenance is always better than avoidable repairs. Thanks for the video! Will be doing mine very soon.