Member Contributer Skids Posted August 11, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 11, 2016 I plan to overhaul the brake calipers on my 70,000 mile '08 VFR800. Do I plan to replace the caliper pistons or not? The difference in price is significant: £16.95 / £18.95 without pistons, £69.46 with pistons (that's for each caliper). I have no idea how much, if at all, the pistons deteriorate over time/mileage so any assistance or advice greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimbot9000 Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Most of the time you wont need to replace the pistons. However if they are rusty/ pitted/ scratched on the sealing surfaces then its new piston time because that damage will ruin your new seals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted August 11, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 11, 2016 15 minutes ago, Aimbot9000 said: Most of the time you wont need to replace the pistons. However if they are rusty/ pitted/ scratched on the sealing surfaces then its new piston time because that damage will ruin your new seals. Yeah, I figured that but if I don't buy new pistons and discover they are pitted when I remove them, I'll have to wait until pistons arrive which keeps the bike off the road so I just wondered if it was likely I'd have to change them or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 2 hours ago, Skids said: I just wondered if it was likely I'd have to change them or not. Not very likely. You can inspect the pistons without removing them, just remove one brake pad (or wheel+brake disc) and press the brake lever a few times. The pistons wont pop out of the caliper, and you can inspect the area that is unprotected from the elements and where pitting occurs. Make sure when e.g. you remove a brake pad that your brake disc does not get contaminated with grease that is regularly applied on the outside of the caliper pistons. I had had sticky pistons and some looked pitted but after some cleaning they all were restored the as new condition: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted August 11, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted August 11, 2016 Although I had a similar situation to V4 Rosso, the two main pistons of my rear caliper were damaged a bit more than pitting. How they got that way, who knows but I think you would know something is wrong by the way the brakes feel. Doing what Rosso suggest is probably the best way to determine the status of your pistons before you begin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted August 11, 2016 Author Member Contributer Share Posted August 11, 2016 Ok, thanks guys. Be another month or so (2000 miles to go to 72k) before I do the next service which will include a caliper strip. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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