They will never retract enough to keep dust from collecting on the exposed portion. At most, they only 'retract' .005-.010", and that's just because the pressure has been released and they relax. They aren't spring loaded.

 

I have to clean and reset the pistons on my 03 Road King at least every year. If I don't, the lever gets gets to the point where it will pull nearly to the grip and the pads wear unevenly. They always work fine for a while after I service them, though. I'll eventually replace the calipers with something else; PMs, HD Brembos, Brembos from a Ducati,... Not sure yet, still researching.

 

Get some good pads with a higher friction rating, I changed to DP HH rated pads & the difference is amazing, but without ABS it's a lot easier to lock them up. That's why MOCO doesn't use good pads, somebody would lock them up & sue because they worked "TOO" good. I also have 77K on my 2000 & have never cleaned my pistons, still worked fine. The brembos are a good upgrede, just finished that myself, they seem to stop as well with the stock pads as the 00s did with the good pads, that's 2 options.

 

I agree with prevous post, clean the calipers per Lyndals instructions and replace the pads with Z pads. I did this and it made a huge improvement. They still won't stop like a VTX 1800 ( i had one too!) but its better!

 

Umm guys he doesn't have Brembos on his bike. He has the old Harley brakes.

 

Get a set of PM calipers and Lyndall pads and it will stop so much better. I have PM calipers on my 2002 and every time I ride the wife's sportster with stock calipers I nearly crap myself it takes so long to stop. We can get you all you need to make your bike stop good.

Drew

 

Thanks guys. I dont want to get new calipers or anything like that. Just looking to stop a bit better. May try new pads..

 

I upgraded my older dual piston calipers to the pre-Brembos with Z pads. It stops well.

 

Let us know if they still suck after putting the new pads on. Brake cleaner is cheap; a 10mm 12 pt. socket/wrench is all that's needed to remove the calipers to clean the pistons per the Lyndal method; and, cleaning the pistons will get rid of a lot of the debris that may be preventing the pistons from operating freely in their bores.

Good luck with your project.

Carl

PS: Before I installed the Brembo calipers, etc. on my '04 EG, I did the Lyndal piston cleaning and the improvement was like a "miracle" from the soft front brake lever I previously had.

 

Just rebuilt my buddies (03' RK) front calipers with new rubber piston rings and cleaned out old fluid. I like replacing the brake fluid every 3 years max. Keep the pistons lubed with some good silicone grease (dot 5 brakes) and keep them clean where they protrude from the calipers.