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Cleaning and Flushing your Brake Systems —- The FZR series motorcycles are an aging line of bikes, and with a little TLC these bikes will be on the road for many years to come and will be safe to ride.
An overlooked component that is vital to motorcycle safety is your brakes. Brake pads are not the only thing that needs to be replaced to maintain your brake system. Brake fluid is subject to the same degradation as everything else. Brake fluid absorbs moisture rapidly when exposed to the atmosphere which can lead to corrosion inside the brake system.
I have personally seen corrosion make my rear brake caliper junk. Although corrosion is not the only problem with old brake fluid, it needs to be flushed I would say at least every few years. Flushing removes contaminates that can block the tiny orifices in the master cylinders. With a blockage in the master cylinder you can apply the brakes and they may grab and not release. When the brakes get hot from the friction the fluid in the lines gets hot and applies the brakes harder until they lock up and/or warp the rotors etc. Brake lines are also a great item to watch or just replace. Make sure there are no cracks in the hoses and that they are not pinched or twisted.
This is a general procedure to clean your bake calipers by taking them apart and flushing the lines and master cylinders. This write up will help you remove and disassemble your calipers to clean them to minimize possibility of the calipers sticking and/or leaking. It is simple and cost little money.
All you need is regular tools like screwdrivers, air compressor, blow gun, pliers, wrenches, plenty of clean new brake fluid (a quart of Type DOT 4), soap and water and tooth brushes, Q-tips, scotch brite pads, and anything else to make the job easier.
This procedure is a general procedure and should work form most makes and models.
It will focus on how to disassemble the brake system to clean it. This is not required every year or anything, it is more of a just to see what condition it is in and clean everything really well.
Disks: I do not know which disks from which years will fit what bikes. I believe the disks from any year and model (FZR 400 or 600) will fit any year front wheel. Some disks are dished at the center rotor carrier and some are straight. Straight ones can be used in place of dished ones with little modification.
Calipers: The brake calipers in the pictures below are four piston ones. These calipers will only fit later model front forks. If you have two piston calipers on your bike these will not fit. The early 89 models FZR 600 originally had two piston type and later years had four piston type. 88-89 FZR 400s in the USA all originally had two piston ones and 1990s had four piston ones. The brake calipers are the same between the 400 and 600, as long as they have the same number of pistons.
Front Brake Anatomy
This is what 2 piston front brake caliper looks like next to a fork that needs 4 piston calipers.
