{"id":78862,"date":"2009-10-15T18:56:45","date_gmt":"2009-10-15T09:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/?p=78862"},"modified":"2026-09-24T13:41:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T04:41:32","slug":"gsf1200-caliper-cleaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/20091015\/everyday-events\/gsf1200-caliper-cleaning","title":{"rendered":"GSF1200 Caliper cleaning and such"},"content":{"rendered":"

 
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Replace the pads, change the fluid,
\nchange the fork oil,
\nand change the engine oil.
\nAll the fluids get replaced.
\nIt’s caliper cleaning time.
\nIt’s a tedious job, but doing it once in a while is a good idea \u2606
\nJust cleaning doesn’t cut it, I think.
\nThere’s a big difference between people who clean frequently and those who only clean when they change pads \u2606
\nFor frequent cleaners, "neutral detergent" and such should work fine,
\nbut most people only do it \u25cf when they change pads.
\nFor really dirty ones, we clean them with alkaline detergent and hot water.
\nSince it’s powder detergent, you can adjust the concentration \u2606 If you make it too strong, the paint will thin out, so be careful.
\nDon’t soak them.
\nIf you think it’s really dirty, hot water is faster.
\nBoiling water will burn you, so something comfortably warm is best.
\nDo one caliper, then do the other one.
\nNote: Some people remove both pads and squeeze the master, letting fluid drip everywhere.
\nFirst, make sure the outside of the caliper is really clean.
\nAnd clean the piston and rotor escape grooves too \u2606
\nA toothbrush works, but a cylindrical brush is pretty handy.
\nOnce you’ve finished cleaning everything, squeeze the master to push the piston out a bit and wash the piston again.
\nThere’s still debris on it.
\nFor the parts you can’t see, gently rotate the piston with a piston tool\u2014the back side tends to accumulate a lot of debris\u2014
\nso please clean it thoroughly.
\nInspect the piston visually. Even aluminum or titanium pistons can lose their surface treatment and develop step wear,
\nwhich is bad \u2606
\nFor iron or plated pistons, remove any rust. Wet sandpaper works, but it’s very soft,
\nand brass brushes are sold, so gently remove the rust \u2606
\nSome people do endless air blowing to dry, but that’s a waste of time\u2014just wipe it with a clean cloth.
\nThen lubricate the piston with metal rubber to establish contact between the piston and seal, and work it back and forth.
\nAll four won’t move at once, so keep pushing out the stuck spots and retracting to establish contact
\nand break them in. Moving and working them in really helps!
\nIf the return is light and smooth, that’s good. If the return isn’t smooth, you’ll probably need a seal replacement and
\ncaliper body cleaning.
\nWipe off the metal rubber thoroughly, and cleaning and working are done \u2606
\nDon’t soak the pads in water\u2014use air blowing or a dry toothbrush to remove dust, then chamfer the edges.
\nNext, check the pad pins\u2014they wear surprisingly fast, so replace any with severe step wear.
\nIf it’s just dirt, polish them and apply a thin coat of heat-resistant grease for rust prevention.
\nPads are a pair, so put them back in the same spot \u2606
\nCan’t remember which goes where? For dual-diameter piston calipers\u2014
\nlook at the back and check the piston push marks, and you’ll see right away \u266a You can mark it with a marker too.
\nLeaving cut wire rings on the ground is really inconsiderate \u2606
\nEven if you blow them away or lose them, always pick them up and throw them away.
\nThis stuff actually causes flats.
\nThen reverse flush, clean the rear, change the fluid\u2014
\nand cleaning the rotor with brake cleaner makes it even better.
\nMan, what a tedious job\u2026
\nSince it’s brakes, be careful and do it if you can.
\nCheck first, check second \u2606 It’s dangerous.
\nYum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                           Replace the pads, change the fluid, change the fork oil, and change the engine oil. All the fluids get replaced. It’s caliper cleaning time. It’s a tedious job, but doing it once in a while is a good idea \u2606 Just cleaning doesn’t cut it, I think. There’s a big difference between people who clean frequently and those who only clean when they change pads \u2606 For frequent cleaners, "neutral detergent" and such should work fine, but most people only do it \u25cf when they change pads. For really dirty ones, we clean them with alkaline detergent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pochipp_cv_data":"","swell_btn_cv_data":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1924],"tags":[156,55],"class_list":["post-78862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday-events","tag-gsf","tag-old-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.decoboco.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}