mjoekingz28,
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
When changing pads, you have to push the piston back in....should this be done with the bleeder open? I thought i read somewhere that it did, but most or all my pad replacements in the past i just used my fingers to push the piston in, but it is so tough, i bought a big c clamp for next time.
There is a lot of discussion about this. Some people say that if you do not open the bleeder valve when you push the piston back, the fluid travels reverse direction and the master cylinder seals may "flip" resulting in total loss of braking. You can find in google that there are some cases like these with GM cars, mainly Opel (in Europe).
I have two Haynes manuals for both my cars (non GM) and in both manuals it is recommended to open the bleeder valve and put a hose on the brake line when pushing the piston back. That is the way I do it, but I cannot say I am experienced DIY mechanic. I am simply enthusiast who does DIY from time to time and I am trying to protect master cylinder of my cars
For actual pushing the piston I am not using the fingers even if I open the bleeder valve. I bought on Amazon the expander tool for 5 $ and I am happy about it. If you are interested, I can share with you the link, but it is easy to find. The thing is, if you are opening the bleeder valve you need to quickly push the piston so that air does not get sucked in, so the tool really helps to do this without too much hassle.
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Volodymry, nice bike. I had a couple of thundercats in the past and was going to get back into sportbikes and was loving the F4i, as the RR is to track focused. But then i took a motorcycle course and saw a photo of a XR750 and that got me looking into domestics.
I am glad you bought XR750 since maintaining F4i or RR is a PITA
Before F4i I had Honda CB 400 SF (naked bike) and it was much simpler to maintain. So if I could go in past and instead of F4i simply buy Hornet or Bandit I would do it. Harley is a nice choice, plus I think it is important to support domestic products and you are always sure you can get spare parts without too much of overpricing.