81 Brakes

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DynoDan
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81 Brakes

Post by DynoDan »

Howdy to all... Just had the front and rear brake rotors for the 81 blanchard ground. Blanchard grinding insures that both sides of the rotor are parallel, and is a superior method of refinishing brake rotors. I have high hopes that this will resolve both the squealing when applying the brakes at low speed and improve the brake efficiency.

Now to my question... There is a noise supression gasket between the rotor and the wheel. I ordered new gaskets, but they are much smaller (they are sculputred and do not have the same contact surface). Has anyone changed or re-surfaced the rotors on their 81 or 82 CBX, and did you replace the noise suppressors with the new style? If you have, were they effective? Any problems?

I would appreciate hearing from anyone regarding this matter.

Thanks, DynoDan, So. Cal

Passx
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Brake Rotor Grinding

Post by Passx »

Dan,

I work for one of the best (my opinion) brake OEM suppliers and we have tested surface finish results a lot and can honestly say that the Blanchard grind is far and away the best way to go, unfortunately brake pad material, size, finish, prep, etc,etc, has just as much affect on brake noise.
I just put EBC Kevlar pads all the way around on my 81 and at least at this point it no longer squeals but I also only have about 200mi. on these pads which should be "bedded" in by now. The rear pads were gone at 12,500 mi but the fronts still had about 60% life left but squealed so bad that you really did not want to use them, kinda explains their long life. By the way I did not refinish the rotors. Our testing has also showed that unless you have a brake that pulses all thats needed is to break the glaze with some fine sandpaper, which I also didn't do. So also by now you've realized that even though I know what to do to make it right sometimes it just doesn't happen and you get lucky. Also make sure that you clean and lightly regrease the pins, this IS very important so the pads don't drag, get hot, glaze, and start to squeal. This alows the calipers to freely center over the rotor. Good Luck,

Steve P. #5220
76 GL, 80 CBX, 81 CBX, 88 Super Magna

EMS
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Brakes

Post by EMS »

Steve:

I hope you did not post this three times just to make sure your boss would see how proud you are to work where you do?? :D :D

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DynoDan
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The 81 & Brakes

Post by DynoDan »

Thanks for your reply... I found that the old rears on the 81 were just about toast as well (15,000 miles) and the fronts had not worn the original grooves down.

I put new DP pads on, and have only had time to ride around the block so the pads have not seated yet. I'll get some more miles on her before the Death Valley meeting next weekend.

My original question was regarding the silencer shim. I went ahead and put the new style in, but probably could have used the old ones.

Again, thanks for your comments regarding blanchard grinding. My rotors came out beautiful, (Cost was $95.00 for all three) and still exceed the minimum thickness.

In response to several requests:
Commercial Grinding Co., Inc.
6829 Walthall Way
Paramount, CA 90723
562.531.9970 or fax 562.531.9979
Ask for Brian

Incidently, go to Goggle, type in "Blanchard Grinding" and you should get some hits...

Regards to All... DynoDan
Last edited by DynoDan on Sun Apr 20, 2003 7:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

skipscbx

grinding rotors

Post by skipscbx »

can someone please post where we could " blanchard " grind our brake rotors. I need to have mine done but dont know who can do this. thx.

andy

squeeks

Post by andy »

81 brake squeeking ALWAYS stops after cleaning discs w/ scotchbrite or sandpaper. I do mine everytime I wash it (S100) and give them a scuff. No more squeeky discs 4 me!:banana:

retrex
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Re: Brake Rotor Grinding

Post by retrex »

Passx wrote:Dan,



By the way I did not refinish the rotors. Our testing has also showed that unless you have a brake that pulses all thats needed is to break the glaze with some fine sandpaper, which I also didn't do. Also make sure that you clean and lightly regrease the pins, this IS very important so the pads don't drag, get hot, glaze, and start to squeal. This alows the calipers to freely center over the rotor. Good Luck,



Steve P. #5220

76 GL, 80 CBX, 81 CBX, 88 Super Magna


Can someone fill me in on this technique. Am I understanding correctly that you should take a fine grit of sandpaper and lightly sand the rotors to get rid of squeal? What about when you change pads, should I be getting this Blanchard Grinding done at this point?
1982 Honda CBX - Mobile and loving it

1981 GS1100EX - Undergoing rebuild

1981 GS1100EX - Rolling rebuild

Why two GS11s? A man doesn't feel like a man unless he has a big pair.

Passx
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Post by Passx »

Retrex,

Unless your brakes are pulsing when applied or deeply grooved I would not as a matter of routine grind the rotors, any good machine shop can do this but it is imperitive that they get the surfaces parallel. Otherwise I guess I would just clean the rotors well with some alcohol and just replace the pads, I used the EBC pads on my 81 and they do not squeak at all even after 10k miles and mine squealed so bad I would hesitate to apply them :shock: not really a good thing. I like the attention that the "X" gets but not that kind. Also like I said in my original post it is really important to clean and lightly grease the pins to keep the calipers moving freely, you can get a specific grease for this from most autoparts stores just don't over grease or get sloppy with it, hope this helps,

Steve P.

retrex
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Post by retrex »

Passx wrote:Retrex,

Unless your brakes are pulsing when applied or deeply grooved I would not as a matter of routine grind the rotors, any good machine shop can do this but it is imperitive that they get the surfaces parallel. Otherwise I guess I would just clean the rotors well with some alcohol and just replace the pads, I used the EBC pads on my 81 and they do not squeak at all even after 10k miles and mine squealed so bad I would hesitate to apply them :shock: not really a good thing. I like the attention that the "X" gets but not that kind. Also like I said in my original post it is really important to clean and lightly grease the pins to keep the calipers moving freely, you can get a specific grease for this from most autoparts stores just don't over grease or get sloppy with it, hope this helps,

Steve P.
Thanks Steve, I know what you mean about not wanting to apply the brakes to avoid that squeal. I grimace every time I have to stop. I'll give the cleaning a try. Any comments on using fine grit sandpaper on the rotor itself? What weight of paper do you think would be appropriate? I have never had any experience doing this so I am a little leary to try it. I'll give the cleaning a shot first and as a next step maybe try sanding with some wet/dry paper and Simple Green or alcohol. I'll leave the turning as an option of last resort.
1982 Honda CBX - Mobile and loving it

1981 GS1100EX - Undergoing rebuild

1981 GS1100EX - Rolling rebuild

Why two GS11s? A man doesn't feel like a man unless he has a big pair.

Passx
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Post by Passx »

Retrex,

Personally I would probably go to a different pad material, the OE Honda stuff has a very high metallic (copper) content which is fine for racing but bad for noise. I would clean the rotors well with alcohol and maybe depending on the surface scuff them with a fine scotchbrite pad or steel wool, nothing to aggressive before washing them but I myself would probably just wash them good with the alcohol and then put in a new set of ebc pads. Be aware though that the ebc's seem to be veeerrrry slow to bed in (not much grip,, ie..stopping power). The one's on my 81 took about a thousand miles to do what is normally a 100 mile or less process, but they do work well now. I have SBS's on the front of my 80 with the EBC's on the back and the SBS's give a lot better initial bite but don't seem to have the longer staying power that the EBC's do. I also have the stock Honda linings still on my 76 Wing and will tell you that they seem a little more wooden in the feel but do work quite well. I'll be trying a complete set of Bendix pads on the 76 LTD wing that I'm restoring now but won't know how they work until sometime in the spring since the weather in pretty crappy here in NW Indiana now. This is a little long in explanation but the subject is a little hard to really define and the results short of a lot of dyno testing is really individually subjective to the feel you want. If you do decide on the EBC's just remember to go slow and work the new pads in easy for at least the first 100 miles and keep in mind that the stopping power is reduced if not applied by a strong hand but they will come in and they do not squeal. Most of the complaints that people have about their brakes is really the result of the pads and a change of material can really change the results. I know that most prefer the 81/82 dual piston brake over the79/80 single piston brake but unless there is a significant increase in piston area (more force) which I haven't calculated to this point, a different pad can make a world of difference in the brake performance and perception. Personally like a less grabby pad that doesn't fade, this gives you a less touchy feel so that in a panic mode you're less likley to lock a wheel and can then progressively feed in brake after the initial pucker,,, my .02 worth. Hope this helps some,



Steve P.

retrex
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Brakes revisited

Post by retrex »

This weekend I did a quick wash and sanding on the brakes. Used 400 wet/dry and Simple Green. Rinsed it with clear water. It worked wonders, no more squeals. I don't know how long this will last.

Steve when I redo the brakes I will revisit this thread. For now I have engine troubles to deal with. Thanks for your input.
1982 Honda CBX - Mobile and loving it

1981 GS1100EX - Undergoing rebuild

1981 GS1100EX - Rolling rebuild

Why two GS11s? A man doesn't feel like a man unless he has a big pair.

retrex
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I'm back, with a question on pads

Post by retrex »

OK I am finally doing some brake stuff, as usual sidetracked myself from what I should be doing . You might have noticed the thread that I started on a pair of front rotors I came across via ebay. This is more of a pad question so I don't want to stick this in there and muck that thread up. My question is, is there anyplace that you can go to to see what the dimensions of a pad are for a particular bike? Stuff like pad thickness, overall thickness, you know dimensional stuff? I am trying to adapt a set of non CBX rotors to a CBX. Also the current pad surfaces on my bike look like the face of the moon. They are all cracked and creviced. It looks like stuff in it just disolved away by corrosion leaving gaps and fissures. What is this all about?
1982 Honda CBX - Mobile and loving it

1981 GS1100EX - Undergoing rebuild

1981 GS1100EX - Rolling rebuild

Why two GS11s? A man doesn't feel like a man unless he has a big pair.

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