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Not sure what springs I have in my forks, as a I bought a used pair years ago?
But what I do know is that the 15w slightly heavier oil makes a very pleasant difference up front and is highly recommended.

Not sure whether you've been told but the way to check for brakes binding is with wheel off the ground, actuate the brakes hard for approx 4 seconds release and immediately try to spin the wheel if they are binding there will momentarily be resistance. Best to have hold of the wheel before releasing the brake


I wouldn't and don't use red rubber because 1. it would attract crap to stick    2. according to my Yam dealer, too much can have a negative impact on the seals and should only be used sparingly to help initial installation and whether or not that is the case  3. the brake fluid lubricates the piston anyway.


Before removing the pads i push both pistons fully in then remove pads and clean the caliper with a tooth brush. put a spanner between the slot and then a wedge between the spanner and one of the pistons so that I can pump one piston out at a time to clean. 


Once cleaned if they are still binding a bleed may finish the job

I totally disagree about the red rubber grease.
It certainly doesn't do anything negative whatsoever otherwise I would know about it by now.
And you say it attracts crap. Yes indeed it does, but that crap stays on top of the grease and doesn't touch the pistons. Many times I've gone to clean them and they look covered in dust and all a bit grotty, which will happen anyway if you ride in all weather's, but what I've found is that underneath all that crap the pistons were totally clean and protected from the elements by the grease. A few sprays of brake cleaner and a scrub with a toothbrush and they all look like new again. I only serviced mine again two days ago and sure enough they were in very good nick as usual. They appreciate the clean of course, but none were seizing up at all, and even the slightest touch of the brakes going to work today was extremely responsive and instant.
Mustn't overlook the pad pins either, they need properly cleaning up so the pads can slide freely, because if you neglect them and you get hints of rust then more problems will arise.

If the concern is there, don't do it. Because if anything goes wrong it will be a world of pain.

Do you have to put a thin bit of wood in between the pistons, otherwise is there a possibility of the pistons compleatly popping out.

If you pump the rear brake pedal gently enough they will slowly come out a bit at a time. But if one piston slides out much easier than the other then i use some small G Clamps that i bought just for this job, to stop the pistons being pushed out any more.
The front calipers are more fiddly as there are 4 pistons to keep control of.


Bear in mind i'm on about cleaning them up in situ, avoiding the need to mess about with bleeding the brakes. I normally clean mine up around now in Spring time when the weather takes a turn for the better, and also as near to winter as i can get that's still a warmish day for me to sit outside to do it.
To be honest though, once a year would be enough for my bike, it just depends if i have any spare time on my hands but the bike does sit outside my workplace in all weathers all year round so it's always good to keep them maintained.

I'm not convinced I've the technical confidence to do that Darsi.

Assuming you unbolt the caliper and pull it away from the bike before gently applying pressure on the pedal?
Do you remove the pads or can you get access to the pistons?
Do you then prise the pads apart to refit?

When the bike was serviced they did say the pistons looked ok so I'm assuming the issue is with the seals ?

I hear you, it's a daunting task first time at anything when you're not sure of what you're doing.


I'll see if I can find a video explaining things more visually.


There are two bolts holding the caliper on, and two smaller bolts (pad pins) that secure the brake pads in place. Once the pad pins are removed the pads will drop out. (do not over tighten pad pins when refitting, or they will chew up the caliper thread)

I know it sounds daft, but is there a chance the oil filter wasn't tightened up properly to begin with?
I used an oil filter chain wrench on mine last week, which are great for undoing stubborn filters, but i'm a bit weary of using them to tighten them as it feels like it might do some damage, and after i tightened it as far as it felt i could safely go i then managed to get my hand onto it to double check and it moved about another half turn, which surprised me a bit. Doesn't help matters once you have oil on your protective gloves either.


Also, you say you replaced the rad and pipes, but did you clean the whole coolant system while you were at it? If you have scaled up waterways inside the engine that would cause overheating.
If you haven't done the Radflush treatment i would recommend that too, especially as you have nice new parts on there.

It's not not the bulbs that are the problem, it's the reflective part of the headlight housing that is poor quality.

My insurance a couple of years ago only went up by £10 so I went with it as wasn't interested in spending time getting cheaper quotes ringing them up spending an hour in a que all for £10. But the next year it went up by £12 so I let that go but this year this frog has woken up and will no longer be slowly boiled. So I will search for a better quote.
With my current insurance my bike is under a future classic vintage cover 

Hold on a minute....did you just say "ringing them up"? 

Quote from: darrsi on 06 April 2023, 04:56:13 am

There was never really an issue with '98 models, and i think the 25 year time span kind of speaks for itself. I wouldn't go out of your way to change it until you need a new front sprocket, and as it's only a few quid now just swap it over then.

Wrong     I know of at least 4 that had issues, only one destroyed their output shaft though.  The others were sorted by application of the correct thread locker. 

And when were they, this year, or many years ago?
I think after 25 years of use we could probably hazard a guess it ain't gonna happen to his bike.

There was never really an issue with '98 models, and i think the 25 year time span kind of speaks for itself. I wouldn't go out of your way to change it until you need a new front sprocket, and as it's only a few quid now just swap it over then.

Personally, when I've put a new disc on I just use a dot of thread lock which is all you need. As you have found out the manufacturers probably dip the bolts in the hard stuff, but it's really not necessary, it just safeguards them from any issues.