Brake Squeal!

[Wade90]

Had the Fazer (2001 600) about 4 or 5 weeks now and absolutely loving it! Brought as a second bike for commuting during winter months to save my Kwaka 650 Versys but enjoying it more than I ever thought I would!
Only one issue at moment, the front brake has started squealing when applied gently to control speed in traffic and stopping at low speed, doesn't happen under normal braking. To say it's driving me mad is a bit of an understatement! I've tried giving the disc, pads and calipers a good clean by spraying with brake cleaner and hosing off but it's still there, I seem to remember from my days of fiddling with cars ( :o ) that this could be caused by an anti-squeal shim which always seemed a bit ironic?!?
Any thoughts or advice most appreciated, help save my sanity. PLEASE!! :'(

[Fazer Jake]

:eek tink you may have forgot a small layer of copper slip?h

[Dave48]

Hi there! Sounds like youve done a good cleaning job on the outside. However, if you remove each caliper in turn and take out the pads etc and clean up everything including anti-squeal shims,pivot pins etc-make sure you put a thin layer of copper grease on the back of the pads-also on the pins-this will probably cure the problem. While you have the pads out-clean around the pistons with brake cleaner and lube the visible part of pistons with red rubber brake grease-dont use any other type of grease-it will damage the seals. You may have to pump  the pistons out SLIGHTLY to access any old dirt,grease and brake dust. Also clean out any grooves on the front of the pads-they often harbour muck-and while youre at it just make sure there are no small stones or grit embedded in the lining material. Fazer brakes are good but need regular cleaning to get the best outof them. Good luck!

[CharlieDee]

Hi there! Sounds like youve done a good cleaning job on the outside. However, if you remove each caliper in turn and take out the pads etc and clean up everything including anti-squeal shims,pivot pins etc-make sure you put a thin layer of copper grease on the back of the pads-also on the pins-this will probably cure the problem. While you have the pads out-clean around the pistons with brake cleaner and lube the visible part of pistons with red rubber brake grease-dont use any other type of grease-it will damage the seals. You may have to pump  the pistons out SLIGHTLY to access any old dirt,grease and brake dust. Also clean out any grooves on the front of the pads-they often harbour muck-and while youre at it just make sure there are no small stones or grit embedded in the lining material. Fazer brakes are good but need regular cleaning to get the best outof them. Good luck!

Spot on!!  :lol

[Wade90]

Thanks for replies! Looks like I could be a busy boy!??!

[DryRob]

Hang on a minute, I was told not to use brake cleaner as it rots the caliper seals.
I used hand wash, warm water, a toothbrush and elbow grease to clean mine up.

[Major Rant]

Just a 'mine does that too' comment ... :rolleyes

Mine squeaks once every wheel rotation when its braking gently from a slow speed. Makes no noise at all above 10MPH or when braking hard.
Reason ... one of my front discs is a bit warped ever since I hit a deer in the dark at 80MPH and scared myself sh*tless.

Its just exactly on the run-out spec (i've measured it) but it still squeaks.

Eek...Eeek...Eeeek...Eeeeek...Eeeeeeek...Eeeeeeeeeeeek...

You get the picture...

[bikerboys]

Hang on a minute, I was told not to use brake cleaner as it rots the caliper seals.
I used hand wash, warm water, a toothbrush and elbow grease to clean mine up.

I was told to put  brake cleaner on a clean rag and wipe around the disk and has worked wounder for me 

[DryRob]

I meant not to use it on the caliper pots. I remember when I was looking into doing this and seeing a video on youtube of a guy spraying brake cleaner all over his calipers. I read the comments and there was plenty of people telling him he was probably damaging the seals.

I used degreesing cloths that smell like oranges on my discs, they started blue and ended up black.

[Fazerjon]

I always use brake cleaner on my calipers, and pistons etc, and touch wood the seals have been fine. After all it is meant for cleaning brake and clutch systems, so shouldnt harm the rubbers.