Replacing Front Brake Pads

Here are some pictures and notes on how I changed my front brake pads.

Remove the reflector using a 8mm wrench.

Remove the brake hose holder using a 10mm wrench.

Loosen the retaining bolt using a 6mm hexx wrench. Do not remove yet. Next remove the caliper mounting bolts. For this picture, I borrowed a picture of Pete Behm's bike as mine has aftermarket caliper covers and different mounting bolts.

Carefully lift caliper away from rotor. Now finish removing the retaining bolt you previously loosened using a 6mm hexx wrench.

Now rotate the caliper away from pad holder portion to expose the pads. Note that the pad that goes against the outside rotor has a caliper shim on it.

Remove the old pads from the pad holder. Remove and clean the caliper shim from the old outside pad. Clean and inspect the pad springs. They should be replaced if extremely worn or damaged. Mine looked fine so I reused them.

Now is a good time to give the inside of your calipers a good cleaning. Be sure that you now throughly clean the exposed portion of the caliper pistons. For this I used a soft nylon brush and some brake parts cleaner. You do not want to push a dirty caliper back into it's seat as it can cause damage to the piston seals.

Next, cover the painted areas of your bike that are underneath the master cylinder. Brake fluid can be very harmful to painted surfaces. Be sure to wipe clean the area around the master cylinder lid to avoid contaminating your brake fluid. Remove the two screws that hold on the master cylinder lid and remove the lid and diaphram.

Since my master cylinder reservoir was nearly full, I removed a little brake fluid using a clean eye dropper to minimize the mess when I pushed in the pistons.

Now carefully push the pistons in until they bottom in the bore. If the pistons do not move freely, it could indicate that caliper needs to be taken apart and service further. In most cases this should not be needed. When you push these in, brake fluid will likely overflow from the master cylinder. Be sure none gets on your painted surfaces!

We are now ready to put in the new pads and begin reassembly.

Place the cleaned caliper shim on the brake pad to be used for the outside of the rotor as shown below.

Place the new brake pads in the pad holder. Be sure that the pad with the caliper shim shown above will be located on the outside of the rotor. The pistons push against the caliper shim. Also be sure both pads have the brake surface facing the rotor. Don't laugh... I almost put one in backwards.. haha

Next, clean the shaft of the retaining bolt and lightly coat with some lithium soap grease.

Swing the caliper back together and insert the retaining bolt. Tighten finger tight.

Now carefully place the caliper in place being certain that the rotor goes between the two pad surfaces.

Reinsert the two caliper mounting bolts and tighten to 30 ft-lbs.

Now tighten the retaining bolt to 18 ft-lbs.

Reinstall the brake hose holder and your reflector.

At this point, I screwed the lid back onto my master cylinder and repeated the entire procedure for the other side. When finished, be sure that you check the master cylinder fluid level and fill if needed.

Last update: 01:32 PM Saturday, September 2, 2006

• Installing R1/R6 Front Brake Calipers
• Rear Brake Pad Replacement
• Replacing Rear Brake Pads
• Front Brake Squeal?
• Build Your Own Integrated Brakes
• Rear Caliper Assembly
• Front Caliper Assembly
• Are drilled or slotted rotors more efficient than solid rotors?
• Replacement Pads
• Bleeding Your Brake Lines