Do squeaky brakes matter?

[zombie]

Hi


Brakes squeaking when applied at low speed (maybe high speed too, but not noticeable). This has started during the winter. No new pads or parts.


Its a bit annoying, but does it matter? They seem to still work fine.


K5


Cheers

[Craig380]

Have a quick check of the brake discs, if you can see any signs of fresh scoring (which would mean there was a stone of similar stuck in the pads) then you'd need to pop the pads out to see what's happening.

But if the discs look normal with no fresh score or scratch marks, no worries. The squeal is caused by the pads vibrating in the calipers. If you get a spare 45 minutes one evening or weekend it's a quick & easy (but mucky) job to unbolt the calipers from the fork legs, pop the pads off, give everything a hose with brake cleaner, grease the slider pins with red rubber grease** etc.

The other thing worth doing which takes 15 minutes is cleaning out the disc bobbins - maybe they've got crudded up and are stopping the disc from 'floating'. How to do it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qoPqN2GBdw


(** my preference for slider pins. Other greases are available)

[zombie]

Cheers Craig, appreciate the helpful reply

[Blapper]

Call me OCD but I use three different lubricants/protectors when I over haul my calipers. Copper grease for the back of the pistons to anti-squeal shim contact area (tinty tiny smear), RRG for all rubber/brake fluid interfaces and Molykote G3407 for the sliding pins and their rubber covers.

Castrol RRG by Andrew Hayes, on Flickr

Molykote G3407 by Andrew Hayes, on Flickr

[R1ffR4ff]

This is quite common with brakes on Motorcycles with a few years on them.My old Honda CX500s used to get this.For me the fixes were this.

1:Take the pads out and lay some 120/180 wet&dry/grit paper down on a concrete paver.Rub the gloss/ruts off the pad.Not a lot,just make it dull and even.

2:Apply a thin smear of RTV/Gasket Sealer to the back of the pad and let it dry.This acts as a pad against the vibrations that can cause the squeal.

Although not harmful itself the,"Squeal" is a warning that things ain't right and won't get better unless addressed and eventually or sooner the braking will become intolerable and or dangerous because of wear and or contamination.

[Kenzie]

I had brake squeal on my Honda Civic and it turned out the pads we stuck and wearing unevenly. No loss in performance but obviously not right.

[SV650rules]

Pads and discs can get glazed (polished) if brakes are only ever applied lightly - and this can cause squealing. Especially on a bike like SV where you don't really use brakes to slow down most of the time because the engine braking is so good it is as well to deliberately brake hard sometimes (in a straight line on a dry empty road LOL) so that it gives the brakes a bit of a workout.

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

Pads and discs can get glazed (polished) if brakes are only ever applied lightly - and this can cause squealing. Especially on a bike like SV where you don't really use brakes to slow down most of the time because the engine braking is so good it is as well to deliberately brake hard sometimes (in a straight line on a dry empty road LOL) so that it gives the brakes a bit of a workout.

Great post.I regularly test my brakes on quiet clear roads because the engine braking on my old CX500s seems to be like what I have heard about the SVs e.g great.

Around once a month I do an emergency stop check,again on clear safe and empty roads.This also tells me if there's anything wrong with the geometry/tyres/brakes/suspension etc.

[Blapper]

I had to do an emergency stop in a Mercedes I owned from 125MPH to a standstill. The car was main dealer serviced with genuine parts (thankfully) but the brakes got cooked and were noisy until changed after that.

[Wolfendenr]

I serviced my brakes when I got my SV, was very glad of this the other day when a stupid b!tch pulled out in front of me. If the squealing is concerning you I would recommend stripping the calipers down and cleaning them, new seals won't hurt either. I didn't think mine looked too bad till I took them off and only one piston on each caliper was moving.