GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Photos and progress of your restorations, even bikes you had but no longer own.

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Madbuffalo
To the on ramp
Posts: 470
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:55 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT750
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Post by Madbuffalo »

Well my calipers have slowly been getting sticky so I finally decided to rebuild the front brakes a couple weeks before our annual Muskegon event. Of course it turned into a mad rush at the end working in the garage well past midnight the last two nights in order to be ready. :roll:

No before pictures. :cry: Starting point was just your typical 40 year old lines and calipers with paint fade, corrosion, and stuck bleeder. Thank you RingDing for the donors. :up: The calipers were dismantled, cleaned, and sanded with 500 grit before laying down 2 coats of epoxy primer followed by single stage PPG Omni series black. I've heard people raving about some all-in-one spray cans lately for smaller parts but I still prefer the wide linear spray pattern of the nice paint sprayers compared to an aerosol can. It just makes it easier to get the paint on evenly and avoid runs. The third caliper pictured was basically an "I'm spraying two anyway, might as well have a spare" and I'll plan to rebuilt that too in the near future.
Image

While all the paint equipment was out it was a good time to re-spray the upper triple tree that had suffered from long term key slapping. There was NO paint left on some parts of it. :wth:
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Just for you Allan. 8) After about 4 years of you're incessant badgering to replace my original lines I got around to it. Sure they were badly cracked and extremely dangerous but who's keeping track right? :lol: These are the $65 reproductions from CruisinImage on Ebay. Very consistent with the originals except that I had to cut the upper most line's outer sleeve down a bit. Not complaining at all for the price and 99% closeness to original. I'm very happy with them.
Image


Here's a finished caliper. New piston seals & dust covers, new bleeders & caps, new slide o-rings, and new decals from reproduction decals (diablo cycle). Vesrah pads and master cylinder were new a few years ago. Slowly but surely the old buffalo is getting restored when I'm not out riding it.
Image
No really... it's supposed to smoke.

1974 Suzuki Nomad 340
1975 Suzuki GT750 Waterbuffalo
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oldjapanesebikes
Moto GP
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Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT750(Jx3,L,M,A,B),T500
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Re: GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Post by oldjapanesebikes »

:up: :up:
Ian

If at first you don't succeed, just get a bigger hammer !
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Alan H
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Suzuki 2-Strokes: 4 x GT550s - J, M, A, B.
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Re: GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Post by Alan H »

Nice job.
Think of how stupid the average person is, then realise that half of them are more stupid than that.
Madbuffalo
To the on ramp
Posts: 470
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:55 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT750
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Re: GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Post by Madbuffalo »

Thanks guys! Just a drop in the bucket compared to a lot of the resto work by the experts here. Sadly the entire front end is back off at the moment. Shortly after it was all back together I noticed some binding in the steering stem that I wasn't comfortable with. The allballs kit's on order and everything's apart in waiting. Hopefully I'm one of the lucky ones that won't need the neck lathed (fingers crossed). Also replacing the tach cable that was jumping a bit, while things are apart again.

Sometimes I wish I didn't know anything about repair work so I could be less critical of everything and just enjoy the ride for once. :roll:
No really... it's supposed to smoke.

1974 Suzuki Nomad 340
1975 Suzuki GT750 Waterbuffalo
r3tro74
On the main road
Posts: 131
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 10:25 am
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: 74 GT550
Location: Michigan

Re: GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Post by r3tro74 »

Madbuffalo wrote: Sometimes I wish I didn't know anything about repair work so I could be less critical of everything and just enjoy the ride for once
Its funny how the more perfect we make something, it makes all the little things that would otherwise not matter stand out...
1974 Suzuki GT550
1983 Honda XL250
2002 Yamaha Bear Tracker
1959 Lone Star Malibu
Madbuffalo
To the on ramp
Posts: 470
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:55 pm
Country: USA
Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT750
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Re: GT750 Brake Calipers Restoration

Post by Madbuffalo »

r3tro74 wrote:Its funny how the more perfect we make something, it makes all the little things that would otherwise not matter stand out...
You got that right. :roll: I've had a similar issue on my truck lately. I've been systematically replacing all my steering components. After I fix the play in one part another it becomes more apparent in another one, and so on. $450 and I've given up for the time being. :roll:

You gonna make it to Flint Bikes on the Bricks this year? Any other good events coming up I should know about?
Josh
No really... it's supposed to smoke.

1974 Suzuki Nomad 340
1975 Suzuki GT750 Waterbuffalo
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