[AFNurse]

Ok, so, most of you have figured out that my rear wheel is now off the bike.....won't be working on it until monday....the shop manual talks about loosening the 2 pins for the brake pads, but don't pull them out. The guy at the HD shop told me to go ahead and pull them out...not a problem.....so, what do YOU guys think?? Also, was looking closely at those "pins"....what in the HE!! are those things??!! not phillips, not torques bit, and didn't fit metric or standard....... what size are they and WHAT are they?? only thing I thought of (and I don't know if they even exits) would be a torques socket where the teeth are on the bolt head??!! Also, any other tricks of the trade for replacing the brakes (front and back, tho front are NOT off the bike, only the rear)...... Have service manual, have glanced at it, but looking for any tricks that make things easier!!! Thanks!
Nurse

Chuck or Goose, if you want to come up monday/tuesday and play feel free!!!

[chucktx]

mine are torx....and i didnt remove mine all the way..if you do pull it all the way it makes it a bit harder to align the pads, but not difficult... the only thing those pins do is hold the pads in alignment....through the 2 holes in the upper side of the pad. if i had time i would be there in a minute.....but alas....work is tellilng me to stay here....when the pins are pulled back, the pads drop out. when the last pad drops, stop pulling the pins and reverse the steps to put the pads back in. then just slide the disc between the pads when reinstalling the wheel......piece of cake!!!
question, new or patch??

[AFNurse]

decided to do it right....new......and going with Lyndall Z+ pads.......shop told me to drop the old pads, pull the pins, put the wheel back on with the caliper in place, THEN put the pads on...giving me more clearance during the assembly.....course, they told me to make sure the pistons were pushed back also......

[chucktx]

yes, that will work........always more than one way to skin a cat!!! to push the cyls back in, use the old pads and use a screwdriver or prybar of some type to spread the pads apart. slightly loosen the bleeder screw and have a rag over it to catch the excess.....i used a big flat blade and sort of twisted it like removing a screw...to spread the pads.

[Harley Rider]

You can also use a C-clamp to squeeze the caliper out all the way.If you havn't put the wheel on yet.

[AFNurse]

Well, had a small issue with changing the brakes.....I needed a 12 point, 1/4 inch socket.....had one.....then discovered that the the walls were too thick....so would not fit due to clearances of the caliper..... SO, went ahead and put the wheel back on the bike with the old pads. tightened up the belt....best I can figure, about 3/16 inch slack in the center of the lower belt span, with the bike upright and off the ground (as manual suggested..... not sure how much longer my belt is going to last (thousands of mles.....)....don't have much more tightening left based on the method that the bike uses. Was actually pretty easy reassembling. THanks guys!

Oh, neighbor had a thin wall 12 point 1/4 inch socket to loan me, SO, in the next few days or so, will try to do all 3 brakes without pulling callipers off the bike.

[AFNurse]

Brakes are now DONE......rear is a HUGE PIA....front are piece of cake!!! think I may need to bleed them a bit.....they stop me ok, but almost feel just a bit "soft".....not sure yet. they DO stop me tho, so that is A-! priority. Thanks for the encouragement from everyone here!!! Got to go.....see how things run!!!

[Seahag]

I bought a set of 12pt 1/4" drive sockets from Craftsman the first time I had to do brakes...The socket fit perfectly.

I think I'd rather have my back brake a bit soft than overly firm....the damn thing will start skidding easily enough anyway. I use my front brake for at least 80% of my braking.

Here is a great photo journal of how to service your HD brakes from Lyndall racing brakes.

http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm

[AmphibSailor]

Great Link....Thanks!

[ironbyron]

I did the same thing. If you remove the pins the pads are spring loaded and will fall out, so you have to pry the pads apart as far as possible. The trick to get the pads back in is...I used a small cresent wrench that was slightly thicker than the disc. Press the pads back in against the springs as square as you can until the pins engage the pads holes. The trick is too keep the pads straight and tight against the caliper pistons so that when you press them against the springs you can engage the pins into the pads without kicking the pads out of kilter.