Rear Brake Caliper Binding
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Possible. I just purchased this bike last year and I have no history on it.
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If the right bearing was not all the way in, seated, the wheel and disc would be offset to the left.
You shimmed your caliper to the right to make it clear (center) the disc. Is this correct ? Interesting.
www.manualslib.com
The wheel bearing clearance ( no details) is behind the left wheel bearing.
But this will not effect the right spacer / caliper carrier, distance to the disc. ?
You shimmed your caliper to the right to make it clear (center) the disc. Is this correct ? Interesting.
Suzuki 1996 GSX-R750 Service Manual (Page 228 of 558) | ManualsLib
www.manualslib.com
But this will not effect the right spacer / caliper carrier, distance to the disc. ?
I shimmed the caliper to the left (towards the wheel) to provide some clearance between the inside (left) brake pad and the rotor. Without shimming, the inside brake pad was hard up against the rotor and the rear wheel would not turn. So as I see it, either the caliper mounting bracket is too far to the right, or the rotor is too far to the left (relative to each other). Hopefully that makes sense.
If the right bearing was not all the way in, seated, the wheel and disc would be offset to the left.
You shimmed your caliper to the right to make it clear (center) the disc. Is this correct ? Interesting.
The wheel bearing clearance ( no details) is behind the left wheel bearing.Suzuki 1996 GSX-R750 Service Manual (Page 228 of 558) | ManualsLib
But this will not effect the right spacer / caliper carrier, distance to the disc. ?
This brings up another good point. I am not certain how your bike is, but on my bike, the service manual specifies which side wheel bearing to install first, and then you throw the spacer in, and then seat the second bearing onto the spacer, which is not fully bottomed out.
It is then conceivable that if the previous owner was to install the rear wheel bearings in the incorrect order, it could offset the entire wheel by a small amount. Even if both bearings are "fully seated against the spacer" inside, there is mechanical space left in the wheel so that you can get the perfect clearance without binding the bearings.
If everything else checks out, I would replace your wheel bearings by the book and see what happens. Cheap repair, probably worth doing if it comes down to it.
-Mike
Hi Mike and thanks for your comments and suggestions. Perhaps this is a silly question but I'll ask anyway: if the rear wheel is offset to one side or another, wouldn't the rotor and caliper mounting bracket also be offset by the same amount? What I am getting at is I am looking for something that would offset either the rotor or the caliper mounting bracket, but not both. If that makes sense...
Hmm I think I get what you're saying. I don't think the caliper mount would move as well, that is constrained to the swingarm essentially.
All I am certain of is that the wheel bearing install process isn't symmetrical, and relies upon one bearing being seated fully in the wheel, and the other not being fully seated into the wheel by design. I know for a fact if you installed the wheel bearings in the wrong order or incorrect seating procedure, the whole wheel (along with brake rotor, and sprocket) would be offset along the axle. The wheel axle spacers and caliper mount are pressed up against the swingarm inside on both sides, and they will always be seated there, even if you did the bearing install wrong.
All to say, the more I think about the way these parts are assembled, the more likely I think it is that you have incorrectly installed wheel bearings or a reversed mounted brake rotor.
If you installed the bearings wrong in the rear wheel, you would reassemble the whole wheel and axle and spacers and everything, and you wouldn't be able to notice that you did the bearing seating incorrectly until you got to the caliper install, like you have. The offset error is probably small enough that you can't obviously see the wheel shifted right or left, but enough that it could cause brake caliper clearance issues.
I'd recommend just tearing it all down and replacing the bearings. If it doesn't solve the problem, then at least you got fresh bearings, and there is a bigger problem at play here. If you want nice bearings, OEM, if you're cheap, then AllBalls wheel bearings aren't bad and are available. I'm using them and they seem good.
-Mike
All I am certain of is that the wheel bearing install process isn't symmetrical, and relies upon one bearing being seated fully in the wheel, and the other not being fully seated into the wheel by design. I know for a fact if you installed the wheel bearings in the wrong order or incorrect seating procedure, the whole wheel (along with brake rotor, and sprocket) would be offset along the axle. The wheel axle spacers and caliper mount are pressed up against the swingarm inside on both sides, and they will always be seated there, even if you did the bearing install wrong.
All to say, the more I think about the way these parts are assembled, the more likely I think it is that you have incorrectly installed wheel bearings or a reversed mounted brake rotor.
If you installed the bearings wrong in the rear wheel, you would reassemble the whole wheel and axle and spacers and everything, and you wouldn't be able to notice that you did the bearing seating incorrectly until you got to the caliper install, like you have. The offset error is probably small enough that you can't obviously see the wheel shifted right or left, but enough that it could cause brake caliper clearance issues.
I'd recommend just tearing it all down and replacing the bearings. If it doesn't solve the problem, then at least you got fresh bearings, and there is a bigger problem at play here. If you want nice bearings, OEM, if you're cheap, then AllBalls wheel bearings aren't bad and are available. I'm using them and they seem good.
-Mike
Thanks Mike. Great advice. I'm away from home for a while but I'll look into this some more when I return.
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I see now ! The Wheel bearing Clearance (A) No specification for this.
Clearance is set by the inner spacer. The bearings are pressed hard against this spacer.
Hub Bearing Spacer #2 Here.
www.ronayers.com
If you put the left bearing in first, the wheel and disc rotor will be in the wrong place, Further left.
The front wheel has a Direction Arrow to identify Left and Right.
Right spacer holds front wheel and rotor to caliper.
Left front caliper is positioned by pumping front brake on/off and pumping forks up and down, this centers caliper on the rotor and sliding fork tube in fork seal.
Hold front brake while you tighten left axel pinch bolts.
Clearance is set by the inner spacer. The bearings are pressed hard against this spacer.
Hub Bearing Spacer #2 Here.
1996 Suzuki GSX-R750X Rear Wheel | Ron Ayers
Shop online for OEM Rear Wheel parts that fit your 1996 Suzuki GSX-R750X, search all our OEM Parts or call at 252-758-3084
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The front wheel has a Direction Arrow to identify Left and Right.
Right spacer holds front wheel and rotor to caliper.
Left front caliper is positioned by pumping front brake on/off and pumping forks up and down, this centers caliper on the rotor and sliding fork tube in fork seal.
Hold front brake while you tighten left axel pinch bolts.
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If the rear brake pads were worn down, you would not notice this, when you put the wheel back in.
The left pad would wear down quicker.
The left pad would wear down quicker.
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1 or 2 mm, would be enough. With new pads and the pistons all the way in, the clearance for the disc is 1 mm or less, very tight.
I have had to sand the pads down on a ARC car, in the car park work area. Rubbing the pads on the tarmac.😮😲 hard work.
Yup @craigfer63 figured this out as well.
It's a small gap but critical nonetheless. While you're in there doing the wheel rebuild, might as well check the axle for runout, and clean every single part up while it goes back in. Scrub the parts down, rinse off old grease, get all that chain gunk off there, and especially clean out the bearing seats in the wheel hub real good, and the bearing spacer. Don't want junk sitting on those pieces making them sit funky. Hope this helps.
-Mike
It's a small gap but critical nonetheless. While you're in there doing the wheel rebuild, might as well check the axle for runout, and clean every single part up while it goes back in. Scrub the parts down, rinse off old grease, get all that chain gunk off there, and especially clean out the bearing seats in the wheel hub real good, and the bearing spacer. Don't want junk sitting on those pieces making them sit funky. Hope this helps.
-Mike
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