Calipers Rebuilt

Thanks to ALL who walked me through my first caliper rebuild. It went very well and things are doing much better! You guys rock!

My brakes are still spongy but I already have lots of advice on bleeding and bleeding and bleeding, so I'm going to try again tonight with my wife's help. I have high hopes that I'll be able to firm the brakes up by bleeding them.

A couple lingering questions from the rebuild.

I did not replace the pads. They were in great shape and according to the PO had been used less than a season. From the looks of them I'd say he was right. I have my wife's old pads from last summer to use as a comparison. By comparison, mine look pretty good, still plenty think, not grooved, not chipped or cracked on the edges.

However, the pad spring was bent and I did my best to return it to its original shape. But for all my research on brake calipers, I can't find a good explanation of the purpose of the pad spring. I'm guessing that it keeps the pad from rattling, but if there's some other function that it performs, I'd like to know.

Also, the pad pins were a bitch to get out, and were pretty gummed up. I cleaned them off with brake cleaner, and Dawn Power Resolve (which she lent me from the kitchen -- did a bang up job).

I'm wondering if the brakes dragging had as much to do with the filthy pad pins as anything else. And, should I plan on replacing the pins when I replace my pads next? How can I tell if the pad pins / pad spring are working properly? I don't know how much play in the pads is desirable, and whether it being resistant to movement is a good thing or a sign of binding on the pad pins.

Once again thanks in advance for the help.

Regards,
Rat

1984 VF500C V30 Red "Katie" (hers)
1984 VF500C V30 Black "Raven" (mine)

Decreased clutch function when warm

Took Raven out for a spin and noticed that the clutch gets very grabby when everything is warmed up. Clutch action is smooth, and seems to have a wide band of "friction zone" when the bike is cold. It seemed like the friction zone shrank when the bike warmed up.

I never notice any spongy-ness in the clutch line, like you would in a hydraulic brake line . But I'm wondering if crappy clutch control could just also be water vapor in the hydraulic line. It would probably feel different in a clutch than it would on a brake.

I could barely get the damned thing back home, it'd kill it to release the clutch in first gear from standing still, no matter how slowly and gently I did it.

I'd welcome any thoughts or suggestions (except "buy a new bike"). As always your help is appreciated.

Regards,
Ted

1984 VF500C V30 Red "Katie" (hers)
1984 VF500C V30 Black "Raven" (mine)

Brake Fluid

"If it's darker than lite beer, Change the fluid"

I think this qualifies. Mine looked like Guinness.