Motorcycle Repair: 1973 honda cb350G disc brake, wiringdiagrams, indicator panel

Question
hi
thanks for your answer about my other bike.  now I have my CB350G to get going.  I think the brake is stuck or frozen or something as the front wheel is very hard to spin.  I took the caliper apart but cant get the pad out to check the piston.  any suggestions?  also i have two orange wires with bare copper ends hanging out of the back of the headlight.  lastly, the rectifier has a small cylindrical part attached to the back with a 5" blue wire with a single clip.  i cant figure out what the wire would connect to and i wonder if the rectifier is correct.  it looks different than the rectifiers on other 350s i've looked at.  
i look forward to hearing from you.
thanks
laurel


Answer
Laurel, as long as the mastercylinder is working, the easiest way to get the piston/pad out is to use the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to pump it out of the caliper. Being that you have disconnected it, you may have lost that option, as these things are rather difficult to bleed again.

If you can hook the line up and get some fluid pressure, do that and push the piston back out, slowly. The caliper seal is wedging against the piston due to corrosion buildup in the seal groove. If you have access to air pressure and a small nozzle, you can use air pressure to push it out, but it is hard to control. Put a piece of metal or thin wood across the caliper with the outboard pad out, so you can cushion the piston removal. GO SLOWLY with small bursts of air.. use eye protection, wear old clothes and gloves. Can get messy in some instances.

Orange wires are generally left side turn signal/indicator wires. Better open up the headlight and see what's happening in there. Unless it has fallen out of the back of the indicator panel. Found this handy link recently, if you don't have a wiring diagram handy...
http://oldmanhonda.com/MC/WiringDiagrams/MCwiring.php

Shouldn't be any blue wires coming off of the rectifier. Sounds like someone has been messing around in there or added a non-Honda part or tried to tap off the rectifier for an accessory.

Bill Silver
www.vintagehonda.com