Motorcycle Repair: Rear Brake pedal and Caliper, pivot shaft, piston surface

Question
I changed the rear brake pads on my 1983 GL1100 Goldwing.  The brakes kept on sticking and then when I would go on down the road they would release.  I got tiered of this and so I took the caliper off and saw that my new pads had worn down really far.  I also notice tool ,marks on the outside of one of the pistons that was causing the brakes to stick.  So I am ordering a new caliper for the back.  But before I took the caliper off I noticed that my Brake Pedal was starting to stay in the down Position.  even now while the Caliper is completly disconected the Brake Pedal will not return to its up position unless I pull it up.  What do I do?

Answer
Nathan, take the brake pedal off the pivot, then clean and grease the pivot shaft and inside the brake pedal shaft hole. The inner return spring should easily bring the pedal back up when the pivot is not corroded.

Older Honda brakes will stick from the corrosion that builds up behind the piston seal in the groove of the caliper body. Generally, you can remove the seal, scrape out all the gunk in the groove and install a new piston seal set. Certainly, any pits or tooling marks or other piston surface imperfections can cause some sticking of the piston in the bore.

There is also a bleed hole in the rear master cylinder that needs to be free of blockages in order for the hydraulic system to relax after application. I would see if the rear master cylinder bore is still okay and install a overhaul kit, as well as check all brake lines for deterioration. After 21 years, everything needs to be freshened up for safe riding in the future.

Your premature brake pad wear is probably due to a combination of cailper and brake pedal problems.

Bill Silver