Brake caliper cleaning for a newbie

[r3v]

The brakes on the front and rear started to squeek when i applied the brakes. How do i remove the pads and how do i clean them?

[styx]

Remove the pins and wire frame and the pads should pull out. I suggest you remove the calipers to give them a good clean too. Use an aerosol brake cleaner and be careful not to extend the caliper pistons out too far. Clean everything including the back of the pads. Re install pads with a small amount of copper grease on the back surface. If the pistons have extended, push them back in slowly. When you have refitted everything don't forget to apply your brakes a few times to reseat the pads BEFORE you go riding again.

[Chuck B]

I've found brake cleaners to be a bit on the harsh side. Stop by your local Automotive Paint Supplier and pick up a gallon of their house brand "wax and grease remover". This stuff works great and is safe to use everywhere. Particularily bare aluminum and plastics. Buying this you'll throw out all the doz or so "specialty" cleaners you have around the garage.

[styx]

I've given my 3 calipers a good going over since I bought the bike last year. My clean up was only due to the amount of crap on the calipers. Apart from that they worked fine. Brake cleaner may be harsh, but is the only stuff that got my calipers clean. Baked on brake dust is a bitch to remove. Also apparently Aprilia do not use brake piston seals, so you dont need to worry about drying them out etc.
Brake cleaner worked fine on my calipers and I suffered no after effects.

[Chuck B]

I was referring to my silky baby smooth hands......and lets not forget the smell! Very Yuky stuff that brake cleaner!

[y2kmille]

I buy brake cleaner by the case, I love it. It can be hard on those baby soft hands of yours but remember, women like men with "man hands"!

Some brake cleaners will dissolve paint and soften powdercoat so be carefull when using it. I like the CRC with the black top, the epa is all over companies about this protecting the enviroment bs so CRC has since changed their formula to a low VOC and it now has a red top. Get it while you can at your local NAPA auto parts.

[r3v]

Thanks for the tips!
I'll pull out the pin that is holding the pads in and clean the pads and calipers out with bake cleaners and grease the back of the pads before putting them back on. Is it necessary to take the calipers off to clean them? I am not exactly that hands on of a person. Will i run into issues? Especially the rear brakes!

[hank]

I never heard of using any type of lubrication before - cooper grease is what was recommended above.

Angry Bob is the resident brake expert so you may want to PM him for specifics.

[r3v]

I never heard of using any type of lubrication before - cooper grease is what was recommended above.

Angry Bob is the resident brake expert so you may want to PM him for specifics.

Oops my bad...i meant copper grease