DaveInDaytona
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posted August 23, 2002 02:45 PM
Anyone Seen this Front Brake Problem ??
I talked to a 2000 ZX-12 owner today and he described a problem I haven't heard of before. His problem was that his left side brake pads wore out A LOT sooner than the right. He looked at all the possible problems causes but couldn't find anything obvious. He's a Kaw mechanic with nearly 30 years experience and knows his stuff but this sounds like it stumped him. He asked me to check with the other 12 owners I know to see if anyone else has seen the problem.
Thanks,
Dave
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swft
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posted August 23, 2002 02:47 PM
He needs to check his front wheel spacing. If it's centered correctly, I don't see how that could happen.
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DaveInDaytona
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posted August 23, 2002 02:50 PM
Thanks swft, I asked that one but he said it was ok. I don't see how it could happen either. I was thinking a sticky caliper, but wanted to see if anyone else has seen this problem.
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Y2KZX12R
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posted August 23, 2002 02:59 PM
Dave, he set the right front fork spacer gap acording to the manuals addendum?
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Wildman
Expert Class
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posted August 23, 2002 03:54 PM
Bad brake line? On the left would be my guess if it is the case.
A partially clogged line will play hell with your brakes and it's so rare that no one looks for it. I had it happen on a car, ate up a couple of calipers before I figured out what was going on.
(Not really a likely thing, but conceivable)
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TurboBlew
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posted August 23, 2002 03:57 PM
Does the wheel free spin on a front stand?
Perhaps the brake pads were *softer* on one side. From what Ive been reading, EBC has had quality control problems?
Did he measure the thickness of both rotors?
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redelk
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posted August 23, 2002 04:30 PM
Not that this is any reason for the problem and if anything one would thing this would cause a problem on the RIGHT side, but...
Has anyone noticed this? If one installs their front wheel according th KMC specs and has the proper gap between the wheel spacer and the right fork, the right caliper is NOT centered over the rotor. It's off center about the same amount as the gap between the spacer and the fork.
Of course, this would make sense because both calipers are attached to the fork tubes the same way and both wheel spacers are the same size. During my extensive "rotor testing", I chose to make a few alterations to the OEM set up. One of the changes I made was to remove the plactic spacers between each rotor and the wheel. The other change was to use a washer as a shim between the right fork tube and caliper. That way, the right caliper was centered over the rotor, just like the left one.
Like I said, I'm sure that this has nothing to do with the problem he is having. Just a FYI.
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DaveInDaytona
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posted August 23, 2002 04:57 PM
Thanks for the replies, I'll leave this open a little longer and take this thread down and fire off a few more questions. One of his comments today was "most of what I know is what Kawasaki wants me to know, I have to learn the good stuff from my customers"
Y2KZX12R, is the addendum a common issue ? I'm not familiar with it.
Thanks everyone,
Dave
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slug
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posted August 23, 2002 05:29 PM
does the zx12 have single line to one caliper, then branch line from that one to the other side?
or does it have 2 complete seperate lines, one for each caliper?
if it only has one line, it might make sense that one side wear a bit faster, as it has more immediate pressure, and less headloss due to the added line to other side. (which would cause the caliper furthest from master cylinder to have less efective pressure actingon it.)
of course im quite sure that the KHI engineers would have designed around this, perhaps a slight flow-restricting orifice in the first caliper feed, so that it would also see an 'artificial' headloss equal to the other side's hose-induced headloss.
other stuff: has he tried full system flush with new fluid? perhaps something crappy got in system, maybe a little amount of moisture in one side would cause it's fluid to boil sooner and induce the same sort of wear problems.
just stabs, but hope they help, perhaps a few more ideas rolling around ;P
 
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Bikelover
Novice Class
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posted August 23, 2002 06:45 PM
Yep, seen it. In my case it was due to corrosion in the caliper bore. This kept the pistons from retracting fully after a brake application. After you wash your bike, it is very important to ride it and get the braks hot to be sure that no water stays in the calipers.
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Y2KZX12R
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posted August 23, 2002 07:11 PM
Dave, its a single sheet that was issued by kawi that replaces page 9-4 in the service manual about front wheel installation.
I dont have my scanner right now I loaned it to my father for a while. Otherwise I'd scan it and send it to you.
Maybe someone else has a digital copy?
In any case tighten the left side of the axle pinch bolts and bounce the front end several times as hard as you can to set the rt front fork to a neutral position. measure the gap between the front spacer and the fork. it should be between .030" and .130"
Another thing to check for is sticking pistons on the caliper. Silicone based brake fluid is a natural absorbent of moisture. It makes the fluid dark and lowers the boiling point of the brake fluid. So a 600 degree fluid becomes a 400 degree fluid type thing. This is usually what causes the brakes to go away when you are practicing stoppies with old fluid.
But more importantly that moisture oxidizes the aluminum that it comes in contact with. It can make a mess of your calipers if its left in there for a long time. Thats why brake fluid should be completely changed once a year with somthing like Motuls DOT 4 585 degree 100% polyglycol fluid. It doesnt have any silicone in it but it still absorbs moisture. Ususlly a bottle of dot 4 will give you the "dry" boiling point and "wet" boiling point of the fluid. Usually the drop with 2% moisture saturation is well over 100 degrees. But back to your problem... remove the caliper and check the dust seals. I've seen A LOT of people just push the pistons back in and slap new pads on. This is asking for stickey pistons. And like wildman said a torn inner lining on a rubber (stock) type line acts like a check valve and wont let the pressure return quickly or sometimes not at all. This is usually more prevelant on automotive applications with big heavy calipers because people let the calipers hang from the hose while working on the brakes. This is usually what tears the inner lining right at the metal crimped ends and wala, you have what most people think is a sticking caliper. I've never seen it on a bike but saw it several times on cars and trucks when I was a mechanic.
I use brake cleaner and a tooth brush to clean the caliper seals each time I do pads.
Hope this helps.
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