How To Change Rear Brake Pads On Harley Softail
With the swift evolution of automotive technology, the need to maintain your motorcycle has lessened considerably over time.
While this may exist particularly truthful for premium machines like a Harley Softail, ignoring regular maintenance can pb to a damaged motorcycle, and in the case of brakes, serious handling risks that tin put your life in danger.
This is why it's e'er a great thought to learn how to get your Softail'due south brake pads inverse.
Replacing your restriction pads isn't very difficult, simply it can be time-consuming. You lot should dedicate an afternoon to irresolute them.
If you're not familiar with the entire process of cleaning and replacing your restriction pads, read this article where we tell y'all how to change your brake pads and why you should.
Tools You'll Need to Alter Your Brake Pads
In that location are some bones tools you'll need to conduct out this job. Ensure that you have:
- Spanners, Allen keys, or sockets in the exact size of your caliper bolts.
- Brake cleaner liquid or spray
- An old toothbrush
- A Phillips screwdriver
- A flat-headed screwdriver
- Copper grease
- Bungee cords
- A pair of pliers
- A torque wrench
- A 3/8-inch ratchet
- Compatible brake fluid.
How to Change the Front Brake Pads?
Once yous take everything in gild, you're ready to change your brake pads. Remember, this is not a highly challenging chore. As long as yous have one-half a decent toolkit and know how to plow a spanner, yous're expert to go!
Gather the New Brake Kit
Before starting with the process of changing brake pads, get together the new ones first. Ensure that you've purchased a Harley Davidson brake kit. The pack usually contains everything y'all need. It has pads, some paste to back the plate, and some templates.
What you want to do first is stick the template onto the metallic plate. Don't stick it on the brake pad. The metal plate is at the back of the brake pad. Once the template is on the metal plate, apply the brake paste in footling amounts on the circles and spread it with your fingers.
The pack has a scraper to ensure that the paste isn't too thick. After applying the paste, have the scraper and remove excess layers of the paste. Once yous've layered the paste, remove the templates from the metal plates.
Remove the Bike Calipers
Earlier you lot begin, elevator your bicycle with a jack so you lot can access the caliper with ease. Y'all can replace the brake pads with the calipers on, but it'due south much safer if you lot remove them. This volition likewise permit you to inspect the brake systems better.
At the top, the calipers are held by a brake pad pin. The pin is held by a safety prune. Remove the clip with needle-olfactory organ pliers and carefully guide the brake pad pinout with an Allen cardinal. As you lot move down, remove the two main caliper bolts that hold the piece together with your Allen socket. You tin now remove the calipers.
Pry the Brake Pads Apart
At this point, we've but removed the calipers. The brake pads are however intact. To remove them, accept a flat-head screwdriver and pry them apart. Don't worry about using a niggling extra force because we're going to supplant them anyway. Spread the pads completely apart.
Once the pads are spread out, accept the Allen socket and remove the brake pad pin. This allows the pads to slide off easily.
Clean the Calipers
Later riding it for miles, your wheel could probably do some cleaning around the brakes. This is where your sometime toothbrush comes in handy. Now that y'all've removed the former pads, clean the onetime calipers with a cleaner and your toothbrush. Go rid of all the dirt from the calipers and cheque them for any other problems like rust or pitting.
After cleaning them, you can either leave them out to dry or wipe them with a clean towel.
Inspect the Rotor
If your erstwhile brake pads wore out completely and erased the grooves, you would accept metal-to-metal contact with your rotor and brake pads. Yous'd have grooves all the way effectually. If that's the case, then you need to change your rotors as well.
To ensure that the rotors are working well, spin them slowly to ensure they aren't warped. They should move in a smooth symmetrical motion.
Clean the Rotor
Your rotors volition have accumulated layers of dust and crud from all the miles yous've traveled. Therefore, yous must make clean the rotors to ensure that your brake pads have a smooth and clean surface to work on.
You tin make clean the rotor with a brake cleaner and a Scotch-Brite pad followed past wiping it downwards with a clean textile. Y'all want to remove actress grime from the rotors. It's best if you don't skip this pace.
Put the New Brake Pads In
Take the new brake pads and place them in the caliper. Make certain they're placed the same way as the old pads were. If you're using gloves, make sure they're new so you don't go any grease or oil on them. Oil can damage your brake pads.
In one case the new pads are in place, supplant the brake pad pin at the tiptop of the caliper.
Set up the Caliper onto the Rotor
The side by side step is to identify the calipers on the rotors. This is why nosotros haven't used the main caliper bolts all the same. Once you've placed the caliper on the rotor, accept the caliper bolts and fit them snugly in their sockets. Remember, nosotros've placed the restriction pad pins. At present you lot need to fit that in snugly likewise.
Ensure that you torque all these fasteners. Each bike model'south parts have unique torque settings, so consult your manual to notice the right settings for your torque wrench.
At present, cheque your brake fluid level by pumping the brake lever. If yous need to drain backlog oil, now would exist a good time to do information technology. Lastly, put your prophylactic retaining clip back in on the brake pad pin.
Test Your New Restriction Pads
Later on replacing your brake pads, bed in your brakes by making multiple stops at higher speeds. This will assist the brake rotor to perform at its all-time because information technology now has the new restriction pad textile on information technology. This reduces brake vibrations and squeals when you slow down or stop.
Disc restriction systems need to go through a break-in menstruation (a process called 'bedding-in') before they can function optimally.
Recollect that your new pads will take fourth dimension to adjust to the restriction rotors and may even take a few hundred miles before they exercise.
What Yous Need to Know Before Changing Your Brake Pads
Create a Dedicated Workspace
Create a space where you place all the basics and bolts from the calipers and the brake pads. That mode y'all know exactly where you've kept the parts and won't gamble losing them.
If y'all have space, nosotros recommend that you create ii workstations. I to collect and work with the wheel parts and another to set upwards your new brake pads. This volition let you admission each part with ease and avoid confusion.
Purchase the Correct Brake Pads
Once yous know that your brake pads need changing, remember to buy restriction pads that are meant for your model. Each wheel comes with unique restriction pads. If you have a Harley Davidson Softail, then purchase brake pads that are meant for that model.
FAQ
Why Should I Replace My Restriction Pads?
Damaged brake pads are a condom risk to your bike and yourself. They will eventually article of clothing out. If you lot don't change them you may gamble damaging the discs on your bicycle which can price a fortune to repair.
Apart from regular check-ups at the mechanic, replacing your brake pads yourself takes a few minutes and saves you a lot of money.
What if I Don't Change My Restriction Pads?
You lot'd be surprised past how many people don't accept care of their brake pads. Not taking care of your brake pads naturally causes them to wear out faster. If you don't check them regularly, the material volition clothing out, leaving but the metal pad. This drastically reduces your bike's braking power. It's a mistake you tin can't afford to brand – particularly on a motorcycle where safety is paramount.
Before replacing your brake pads, understand that poorly looked after restriction pads corrode faster. This can cause the caliper and even the caliper pistons to stop working properly.
In brusque, not maintaining your brake pads is a disaster waiting to happen.
How Will I Know When to Change Them?
A dead giveaway that your brake pads need replacement is when they go worn and ineffective. If you call up your brake pads are worn out, take a ruler and mensurate the width of the brake pads. If they are two millimeters or less, that ways they demand to exist changed – although poor braking performance will be noticed earlier.
Virtually brake pads accept an indicator groove that'due south installed on the surface. The indicator helps people with nothing mechanical cognition understand when the grooves on their restriction pads wearable out.
If you regularly check your pads, you'll notice how the grooves wear down and disappear with time. Subsequently a while, you'll need to change the brake pads.
Determination
Your wheel, similar every other machine, needs to be taken intendance of. Brake pads are 1 of the most important parts that demand checking now and and so. After all, you don't desire to endanger your life by riding with worn-out brake pads.
Now that you know how, go ahead and replace those old brake pads yourself.
Source: https://harley-insider.com/maintenance/how-to-change-front-brake-pads-on-harley-davidson-softail/
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