Anti-Rattle Spring Gone Awry

It was time for a new tire; I was beginning to hate the worn Michelin Commander 2, especially since one of them dumped me on a wet hill. The wheel bearings felt a little “notchy”, and the brake pads were worn, so “routine” maintenance was in order for the rear of the Superglide. But “routine” turned out to be not-so-routine. When I was putting in the new brake pads, they wouldn’t run parallel, something was holding the inner one. A large flat screw-driver between the pads will usually push them enough to put in the pins…but, no…one of the pins wouldn’t go, so I used a little force. BAD MOVE. It felt like the pin threads in the caliper started to strip. A damaged Anti-Rattle Spring turned out to be the cause of my dilemma, and now I had to deal with stripped threads.

So I ran a tap through the outer caliper and saved the threads. The inner part of the caliper was still a problem. The ends of the pins “snap” into place. There appeared to be a small snap ring, under a small bushing, that looked to be cocked. (pic). The pin would now snap in, but the bushing would come out on the pin, upon removal. The bushing was bent, so I straightened it, best I could, and cleaned it up with a small file. Cleaned up the pin with light sandpaper, and cleaned some burrs in the hole. A tiny amount of red thread locker was added on the outside of the bushing upon re-assembly.

The caliper came together, the wheel bearings were installed and the new Metzler Cruisetec tire went on. Belt was adjusted and the bike was ready for a test ride, and after several hundred miles, everything feels good. She handles well, and stops well. Feels like a new bike with 144,000 miles on the clock.

Pin With Bushing And Snap Ring

Bushing And Snap Ring Supposed To Be In Caliper, Not On Pin

We Got Brakes!

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Motorcycles and Photography

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