BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I had the day off and it was rainy out. I could have taken a ride but I've been needing to put on some new rear brake pads so that's what I did.

Items you'll need:
-needle nose pliers
-hammer
-something to knock the pin out with (I used a small torx driver)
-T45 Torx bit and something to twist it with (I used a breaker bar)
-rag
-something to knock the pin back in with (I used a large phillips screw driver)
-Torque wrench
-Large flat head screw driver (for light prying and pushing)
-something to push the pistons back in with (I used a thin wood shim)


Wear indicator showing rotor through the pad material (inside of caliper viewed from left side of bike):


New sinterd Carbone Lorraine pads from Beemerboneyard.com:


Overview of the steps involved:
1)Remove the clip holding the pin.
2)Knock out the pin.
3)Remove the two bolts holding the caliper.
4)Remove the caliper and pads.
5)Press the pistons back into the caliper.
6)Insert the pin through new pads into the caliper.
7)Seat front tabs of the pads into the caliper.
8 )Install the caliper.
9)Seat the pin.
10)Replace the clip on the pin.
11)Check everything.

1) Remove the "C" clip from the pin. I used needle nose pliers and easily freed the clip with perpendicular force away from the pin.


2) Knock the pin out. I used a hammer and small diameter torx driver. This takes several pretty smart taps. Do not remove the caliper until you've freed the pin. This is much easier to do with the caliper still bolted on.


3) Remove the two bolts holding the caliper. A breaker bar and T-45 Torx bit is handy here.


4) Remove the caliper and pads. Slide the caliper up being careful not bang it against your rims. The pads will likely fall out. Lay a rag over the final drive and let the caliper rest on it as necessary.


Old pads and new pads compared:


5) Press the pistons back into the caliper. With a thin flat wood shim I put it against the pistons and squeezed the caliper to force the pistons back inside. This is an important step because it creates room for the thicker new pads.


6) Insert the pin through new pads into the caliper.


7) Seat front tabs of the pads into the caliper. This is the most "fiddly" part of the job. Do the "outer" pad first (inner pad is show in the pics). It's the one that goes up against the pistons. There is a tab in the caliper that acts as a spacer between the pads. It is in the caliper on the opposite end of the pin. The tabs on the pads slip into the caliper on either side of it. These tabs on the brake pads slide in a track in the caliper (technically on the rear, the caliper slides). You'll understand this easily when you see it. This is where the flathead screw drive might help.


8 ) Install the caliper. This is the opposite of step 4. Make sure the pads are spread apart as much as possible. Grip the whole caliper and rock the pads so the disc slide in between them. It might be a tight fit. Torque the caliper bolts to the proper torque. This is the opposite of step 3. (Proper torque seems to be either 30Nm or 40Nm, see this thread http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10950)

9) Seat the pin. Using the hammer and the big phillips screw driver (or whatever), peck the pin from the other side of the bike until the groove for the "C" clip is exposed. Again this will take some sharp blows, be careful. I don't have a picture of this step.

10) Replace the clip on the pin. Using the needle nose pliers again, snap the "C" clip back onto the end of the pin.


11) Check everything. Check that the wheel moves. The new pads may drag some, remember we had to push those pistons back into the caliper. Check that the pedal works. Check that your fluid level is not above MAX.

Clean up your tools and go for a test ride.

I did not test ride today. Last summer I bleed my brakes and suspect my fluid level may now be to high. I'm going check the level and may remove some fluid before test riding. If anyone has advice her I'm open to it. I'm a little scared of opening the reservoir if it is now pressurized and having fluid spew out.

Also, I'm open any criticism. Anything I missed? Cleaning the parts? Any tips or advice is welcome too.

All Photos are here:
http://DSKYZD.smugmug.com/gallery/43635 ... 0678_6jj5r


Thanks for your time!

DSKYZD

Great job & excellent photos. Thanks for sharing this.

Thanks for the very detailed and comprehensive instructions; your timing is excellent.

cheers gunga

Excellent documenation. Could have used that a few times myself.

jb

Excellent write up and pics for a job that i have never done on a Beemer.

Not even got mine yet!! see how excited i am?? changing pads and not rode it yet

But can i just note: you are concerned about the level of the fluid??
when i have done this job on my other bikes (and car) i have removed the lid from the master cylinder and wrapped a large rag around its edge, or in one case i removed an amount with a CLEAN syringe. If you remove or at the very least loosen the lid it will allow the pads to be pushed back much easier because they won't have the air pressure keep trying to push them back out again.
and as a last note....as a safety aspect - before you go ride, you make sure you pump that pedal a couple of times to put the pads up against the disc/s, else you be giving it a big hand foot full with no result But it won't seem funny at the time.

DSKYZD wrote:I had the day off and it was rainy out. I could have taken a ride but I've been needing to put on some new rear brake pads so that's what I did.
DSKYZD

Big respect for a job well done, nice clear pictures.
I had the day off too, it was below freezing - not safe to ride, could have done an oil change but I went to the pub

Brian----really nice job!

Wayne

Thanks for the support guys.

digga,

I underestimated the thickness of the new pads. When I bled the brakes last summer and topped off the rear the pads were well worn at the time so I bought new ones. I figured they'd lasted that long so I had some time to get around to this job. I also (wrongly) figured it wouldn't change the fluid level that much by pressing the pistons in. When I checked the fluid, sure enough the reservoir was full, well above MAX. I will have to wrap a rag around it and loosen cap, then draw off some of the fluid with my turkey baster.

DSKYZD

Don't remove the cap!! Just bleed the brake (the right amount). It's easier & cleaner.


To your above pictorial tutorial I would add:

Before the old pads are removed, pump the brake pedal once using the outboard brakepad to extend the pistons evenly. After pad removal, they will be better positioned so you can clean off the dirt. You do not want to shove any of that dirt into the seals when the pistons are compressed for the new pads.

!!Do NOT!! use any spray brake cleaner, it will age the piston seals and cause problems!! Brake cleaner is for cleaning pads, rotors and all other STEEL/ALUMINUM parts.

For piston OD cleaning a dry paper towel will do. If a liquid cleaner is needed for really tough deposits, dip the paper towel in half a capfull of brake fluid. Then rub/wipe the mess until clean/dry. Now you can temporarily reinstall the old pads and use a big screwdriver between the old pads, where the rotor goes, to expand the pads and fully compress the pistons. After that, you know the rest.

.

Brian,

Great training session, I'm sure it will mean a lot to some of the less experienced owners.

The only thing I'll add, since you are on the rear brakes, is to change the brake fluid if you have 2 years or more on the current one. Remove the cap and drain the old fluid to the bottom of the reservoir, add new fluid cap the reservoir and start bleeding, the color of the first fluid bled could be anywhere from yelow to dark brown. Keep replacing fluid in the reservoir until the fluid being bled is clear. This is easier on bikes w/out ABS, but can also be accomplished on those with ABS.

Great stuff...Thanks.

DJ

CycleRob wrote:Don't remove the cap!! Just bleed the brake (the right amount). It's easier & cleaner.


To your above pictorial tutorial I would add:

Before the old pads are removed, pump the brake pedal once using the outboard brakepad to extend the pistons evenly. After pad removal, they will be better positioned so you can clean off the dirt. You do not want to shove any of that dirt into the seals when the pistons are compressed for the new pads.

!!Do NOT!! use any spray brake cleaner, it will age the piston seals and cause problems!! Brake cleaner is for cleaning pads, rotors and all other STEEL/ALUMINUM parts.

For piston OD cleaning a dry paper towel will do. If a liquid cleaner is needed for really tough deposits, dip the paper towel in half a capfull of brake fluid. Then rub/wipe the mess until clean/dry. Now you can temporarily reinstall the old pads and use a big screwdriver between the old pads, where the rotor goes, to expand the pads and fully compress the pistons. After that, you know the rest.

.

I agree with Rob about the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY of cleaning off the pistons and caliper before re-assembly.

Have to say I've never heard that about spray brake cleaner though - I've used it for years on the pistons/seals with no trouble whatsoever.

I did'nt think that the spray brake cleaner would hang around long enough to cause damage.

the stuff i have soon evaporates!!

UPDATE:

I ended up removing the cap, contaminating my brake fluid, and sucking out the excess w/ my brake fluid changing turkey baster. It involved removing the 4 screws for the side panel, and one screw for the saddle bag rail to get the clearance to remove the side panel. Personally, that was easier than fussing with the vacuum bleeder. Bleeding is still a fiddly process for me. Even though I can do it, I'm not confident about it yet.

Thanks for adding some great advice men.

I am rather experienced in changing brake pads on a variety of cars and trucks and now, motorcycles but...the problem I am having is getting the pads apart enough to slide between the rotor...not easy and I certainly don't want to goof up the pad's surface by chipping them trying to get them over the sharp edge of the rotor. I will fiddle with it tomorrow.

It seems as of the caliper slider (Silver aluminum piece) is pushing the inner pad out of position as it travels but here's the thing: It needs to move out of the way of the rotor so that i can slide the caliper assembly over everything.

Any suggestions or corrections to my methodology would be most helpful.

Post retraction: D'OH!!! I went out side one more time to close the garage door and thought, I'll try it one more time before it's totally dark outside. Took is all apart, re-assembled it and it slid right in! How dumb....it was a very easy job indeed.

Tomorrow, I will bleed the brake line and test ride the R1150RT-P

Just had to say that I found this in prep of putting new pads on the rear of my '07 R12 - and it just made it that much easier. Only difference was a cotter pin instead of a C-clip on the retaining pin - but otherwise, very easy DIY. I did make the noob mistake of not taking out some brake fluid from the reservoir under the seat - it looked like there was enough room to compress the pistons (I did loosen the cap), but no - nice little spot on the garage floor. Didn't hit much else...just the rear shock guard. So, saved me some basting or bleeding. The hardest part was getting clean hard contact when seating the pin back in. A long phillips was the solution.

Great write-up, nice photos!!!

It maybe worth mentioning that the pads are not the same thickness when new, although you can remove pads that appear to be the same thickness when worn.

John

I'm curious... I've changed read pads and cleaned the calipers a few times now (BTW, there's another great writeup on taking apart and cleaning the rear calipers on avrider.com "wisdom page"). I've always gone with the BMW OEM Organic pads (I have ABS, so I think I need to stay organic), mainly because the port-hole type wear-indicator on back is pretty easy to read. Anyway, I see alot of good pads available alot cheaper, but they all use the traditional "rut-type" wear indicator, which I imagine would be extremely difficult to quickly read on this bike without actually removing the pads. Is this correct? How do you guys check wear on the rear?

Oh, and thanks for the great writeup and pics!!