Front brake rebuild

[bakeLit]

Hey guys,

so during our build, I've got to the part where I'm gonna rebuild the front brake. I've pushed out the caliper piston and found masses of dirt and sand in there as well as some rust and corosion on the piston. Is it necessary to replace the piston if it has some slight scratches and mini-holes caused by the rust, or is he gonna take it? The next thing is, I've also removed the master cylinder and its internals that I intend to replace, too, but I've come across some cheap complete master cylinders on ebay, such as this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sale-Front-...13?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item234620e40d

Is it better to rebuild my master cylinder or just buy a new one under 40 bucks for the same price? Thanks!

 

[levdir]

Yes, the piston will leak continuously if it's badly pitted. I've been running a Chinese master cylinder from eBay and it works fine; the only issue I ran into is the hose between the reservoir and master cylinder being permeable to brake fluid, so I replaced it.

 

[Lego]

i had the same issue, and because that chinese cylinders are the same price as rebuild kit for stock cylinder, i used chinese such as that you posted, and there is no problem with it. actually in my opinion it looks better than original .

 

[arfstrom]

After 30 + years, I don't' know if mine will survive much longer. it seems the MC reservoir is breaking down every year. (not aging well), That might get added to my 'to-do' list.

 

[iamunique127]

My MC caliper piston has some visible pits in it and I was a bit concerned but decided to give it a try. It is fine. I guess it depends on how bad the pits are and where.

Photos always help.

 

[BamaBill]

I have been running a Chinese master cylinder for less than a year. It is the one with the cast "box" style reservoir all one piece. I'm having an issue with it now leaking through the piston seal. I'm about to order another one, but going to research the ones on Mikes and compare. This one has ruined my paint on my triple tree and handles.

 

[JARichmond]

I'll be doing a front caliper rebuild for my bike and would like to post it in the "how to" area. Before I start, are there any things that I should keep in mind? I'll be using my previous caliper (the internals worked fine) and a caliper I picked up from the junkyard (that has a better-working housing).

 

[arfstrom]

In the Lounge, you can post your progress, then we can work with steps, to help finish, and or add comments to, then when finish, you can create a "how-to" thread, that will have the finished product ready for either front page annoucement, or added to the Tech folder, (Think Drewpie's Re-Wire)

 

[norrie]

Has anyone tried one of these? And is it easy enough to switch my original silver lever onto it?
Is this the one you were referring to @BamaBill and @Lego ?
EDIT: Whoops! Just noticed this thread was April 2015, not 2016. Rookie mistake.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/7-8-Blac...444493?hash=item3f54405f4d:g:INMAAOSwiLdWBN56

 

[Lego]

Norrie, I am using similar front cylinder, only difference ist that lever is silver. They are not the same shape as XS400 original, so swap will not be possible I suppose.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MOTORCYC...-7-8-/390871349420?hash=item5b01bf78ac&_uhb=1