Hi all,

I have a 1977 sportster that started to leak a little brake fluid around the caliper piston. Was finding fluid on the rotor. I went ahead and replaced the brake pads and took the caliper apart (thinking all I had was a seal leak). The piston was all pock marked so I ordered a replacement piston from J&P cycles. It won't fit into the bore of the caliper (its just a hair to tight a fit). So now I am thinking that I may have to bite the bullet and buy a complete caliper assembly for big bux. That is...unless you guys have any suggestions. I will check swap meet coming up this fall, as well as ebay, but you never know what you are getting from those places. Let me know what you think.

Thanks...Jim

 

theres probably a better answer than this but ARE YOU SURE it wont fit?maybe a little fluid to help it??? curious if your caliper wall was pitted at all?if youre ABSOLUTELY sure it wont fit..no way no how you posibly could buy a cheap little honer and hone it....i would probably take it to someone else before i did that because you never know ...just to doublecheck ...for a second opinion.-------i know it should be simple and i am not trying to be a jerk...i have walked away from "simple" things such as starting a bolt in a hard place to get and let someone else do it...sometimes theyve done it with ease.hope that makes sense.--------ive recently bought 2 front calipers,front brake handle/master cyl and a fr brake cable for under 30 bucks total including shipping.------i havent taken them apart or used them yet but i am ASSUMING all is well.-------ive always wondered how new(evos or even newer) calipers would fit on ironheads but have no idea.--good luck.

 

Hey thanks for your response. Yep I had tried lubricating with fluid and tapping in with a rubber mallet. The piston looks identical to the old one. The old one was pitted but the cylinder walls look smooth. I am going to try to measure the old with the new (if I can get accurate because the old one is in bad shape) to see how far its really off. And then I think I am going to try to hone the cylinder. Thanks.

 

you might want to call jp just to make sure they sent the right one...you never know.also if its the right one i am sure you cant be the only one with this problem so they might have a good tip.worth a shot.

 

Nothing against J&P, but some of the imported parts they sell are not exactly bolt on. I bought one of their headlight mounts for my XLS and the holes for the gen & oil light were way off to the point where the plate that sits under the lights was a 1/4" off from the holes in the part.
Be careful if you hone or sand it because too much clearance will cause fluid to blow past the piston.