My front brakes have been inconsistent lately. The lever has to travel varying lengths to brake well. Sometimes the brakes feel like new and sometimes I can pull the lever nearly to the handle. I bled the brakes using Speed Bleeders and they are still inconsistent. I hear noise from one (or both?) of the front calipers when I pull the lever. It sounds like the fluid sloshing around. I can't hear the same noise with the back brake. I didn't see any leaks. What should I check?

 

Could still be air in the lines or possibly a hung caliper. Check the lines again and the fluid and also the caliper mechanism where the pistons are and where the pads are mounted.

 

I bled the brakes again. There doesn't seem to be air in the lines. It seems like the noise is only coming from one caliper. The pads don't have wear marks. I'm not sure if it's because they're aftermarket or if the pads are worn past them. Could these symptoms be from worn pads?

 

Did you bleed the brakes at the master? Sometimes the bubbles get trapped up there at the banjo. Make sure you put a bunch of rags up there so the fluid doesn't get on the paint.

Why would you have air in the lines anyway? Did you open the system?

 

I bled the brakes because the performance was inconsistent and the symptoms sounded like air in the system. My peak performance has improved, it's just not always working at peak performance. Would the overnight bleed method (zip tie the brake lever) remove air if it was trapped at the banjo bolt?

I'm thinking my problem is something else, though. I didn't bleed the brakes at the master cylinder, but I could try that. I am very suspicious of the one caliper that is making noise when I grab the brakes, even with the bike still. I had a high side at the track last year and the master cylinder touched the ground. The cover got scraped a little bit, but nothing else happened to it. The suspicious caliper is on the other side of the bike that never hit the ground.

 

When I replaced my brake fluid, a bunch of air came out of the banjo at the Master. I've heard of people recommending the zip tie overnight. I haven't tried it though.

I wonder what's up with that noisy caliper.

 

you should flush/change the brake fluid, not just bleed the brakes. brake fluid breaks down over time. It may even be worth it to pull the caliper in question and inspect off the bike, and possible go ahead and rebuild it. you dont want to be screwing around with iffy brakes.

 

I pulled off the front calipers today. Only 3 of the 4 pistons are moving like they should on both sides. Do I need to rebuild the calipers to fix this problem?

Also, I pumped the brakes with nothing in between (off the rotor). Now I'm thinking I read somewhere that it's bad to do that. The pads on one rotor are stuck together now. What's the safest way to get them back apart without prying?

 

It looks like it'll be cheaper and easier to buy a used set of calipers. I'll see if I can find a nice set tomorrow.

 

If it were me, I would just rebuild them, also rebuild the mastercylindars, and put on new brake lines.

however, it may be easier and safer for you to just buy replacements, although you are still going to have to flush and bleed the brake system