Some Questions about KZ 650 Brakes

Is there any place to get a rebuild kit for the front master cylinder for my '78 KZ650 B2?
Where can I take the front rotor to be turned? Can it be done on the same machine as a car rotor?
How can I make the rear drum brake quit sqeaking when applied? Will it help to chamfer the leading edges of the shoes?

I've seen a rebuild kit for the master cyl on ebay and plan on picking up one later on. Lost the link at present though. Seemed to be reasonably priced.

Not real sure on the disc turning but pretty sure you can, am looking foward for a for sure answer.

My rear brake has drove me crazy over years so much so I rarely use it which will come back to bite me in a panic stop someday I'm sure. Have sanded it well several times and this stopped it but only for a few days.

Would love to hear a way to fix it myself along with the front disc brake other than replacing it with a stock set of pads. (Went back to my stockers after the ebcs and ferodos did'nt work out).

Ebay disc turning (never used em)
tinyurl.com/y3a8qk


As far as the squeeking goes....
KZRon says to pony up the $$$ for oem pads from the dealer.
I've tried everything else. Cutting, sanding, beveling edges to no avail.

The only thing that works is break late and hard!

I think KZRon might be right.


I don't have any info on MC rebuild kits.

Curing disk squeal --
kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...ew/catid,5/id,83681/


Rotor turning --
kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...ew/catid,5/id,85062/


Rear drum squeal -- recommend disassembly and good cleaning. Replace worn shoes not within service limits. Okay to sandpaper scuff old shoes. Lightly grease area where cam spreads shoes and where shoe ends rotate on pivot posts. Avoid any grease on shoes or drum. Chamfer is not necessary. Remember the dust seal behind the lever between it and the wear indicator. Before removing lever, mark its position on the cam spline to prevent guesswork on reassembly.

Question please -- is your KZ650B2 equipped with a trapezoidal front master cylinder or the barrel style front master cylinder with twist-off cap? Believe both styles were used on 1978 models, and guessing yours is the trapezoidal, but am uncertain. The trapezoid style was for me easier to disassemble. The barrel style was a pain due to difficulty in removing the rusty deeply embedded circlip. I used very fine wet-sand paper on a wood dowel to sucessfully clean up the bore before reassembly.


Here's a thread on master cylinder rebuild you may find helpful.

kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...9/view,flat/catid,5/

TLH101 wrote:

Is there any place to get a rebuild kit for the front master cylinder for my '78 KZ650 B2?

tinyurl.com/ycd6hj

yep, it's the trapazoid looking cylinder. The link kent posted is exactly what I need.
Mine seems to be working fine now, but I think I should rebuild it, and caliper. The fluid was pretty nasty when I flushed it.
Thanks

Hey Gang - Here's my experience getting rid of squeeling aftermarket brakes.

I have tried the anti-squeel goop on the backside of the pads, I've bevelled the edges of the pads even cut two diagonal grooves into the pads. Nothing seemed to work until a veteran Kz bike mechanic buddy of mine took a look at my rotors.

He said to scuff them lightly with a soft wire wheel on a variable drill at low speed to break the glaze. He then said to give both sides of the rotors a very light wipe with WD-40. Wipe both sides of the rotors again with a dry clean cloth then take the bike for a slow spin while gently riding the brakes to burn off any excess WD-40. By the way, the breaking of the glaze alone did not stop the squeeling.

This procedure (while undoubtedly a questionable process to some members that will certainly raise some skeptical eyebrows) has worked fine for me for the past two riding seasons.

Just my 2 cents worth from my personal experience.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada
1977Kz650 Custom - 810 big-bore, Wired George Mikuni 29 smoothbores and lottsa go-fast goodies tucked away inside. Miss January on the 2007 Kzrider.com calendar.

Colin,
Do you remember what brand of pads you have on the bike?

Kent

OKC_Kent wrote:

Colin,
Do you remember what brand of pads you have on the bike?

Kent

Nah Kent- Sorry don't remember the manufacturer. Next week I'll give my friendly local dealer "The Shop" a call and find out what aftermarket brand they sold me and pm you if I get an answer from them.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

I tried lightly scuffing my rotor once also, but I didn't use any WD-40.
The brakes didn't squeek for about 200 miles, but then it started again.
Maybe I'll give that method with WD-40 a shot in the spring.

The idea of putting any lubricant or anything (I think wd-40 is technically a cleaner) on the brakes besides "brake cleaner" is too risky for me.

My discs squealed and I sprayed with off-the-shelf spray brake cleaner and scuffed/scrubbed with a scrubby pad. The squeal went away.

Remember though, that squeal is actually caused by mini-vibration, and could be because of debris on the pads/shoes/surface, or some other cause of them not making a flush contact... like being out of service limit... but that's already been pointed out...

Post edited by: Biquetoast, at: 2006/12/31 10:53