Front brake pads replaced + advice needed

[wickedmonkey]

Hi guys,

MOT happened a couple of days ago. The bike passed but I had a warning about the front brake pads being very low. I replaced them today mostly without a hitch (pics of old ones attached). Because of the extra friction material on the new pads (SBS sintered), it looked like there was now too much brake fluid in the system as the brake lever barely moved before stiffening up. So, I syphoned off some fluid from the master cylinder (homemade syphon pic attached) but the lever is still stiffening too soon. The front wheel turns easily but not freely so the pads must be touching at rest. The master cylinder fluid level is just above the low mark now and the lever indicator is on '1'.

What am I missing here? This is the first time I've done the brake pads so it's quite likely I'm being a doughnut.

Finally, as you can see in the picture, one of the old pads has worn unevenly. I'm presuming this is because the callipers need cleaning. How easy is this? Can anyone point me to an idiot's guide?

David.