kev1961

in reference to the sticking front brake on your thundercat,I recently purchased a 2001 model and found out three weeks later the bottom two pistons on one of the front calipers were seized solid (making it difficult to even turn the wheel) I phoned yamaha for some prices on both the pistons and the seals £330 + vat for the pistons (eight pistons.seals included) or £102 + vat for just the seals. I managed to get all the pistons out ok,apart from the seized ones which were not really servicable after removal,unwillig to pay the price for genuine ones I scoured ebay for pattern parts ( ebay code-140678427285 for four pistons and all seals for £69.95) (or 220918636002 for the seals for one caiper £19.95) I have used the piston kit which arrived very quickly and works perfect (I hope it is ok to quote pattern parts as I am new to this site,but if the main dealers didnt charge as much I would use them) just one tip I found the old seals a pig to get out,I tried cocktail sticks,small screwdrivers,a tiny ofset pair of long nose pliers with no joy due to lack of space big hands but eventually used the needle from a hyperdermic syringe (wifes a nurse) bent it into a "c" shape and with the aid of a pair of long nose pliers had all the seals out in seconds with no damage to the calipers (a bent pin would also work ok) I had a problem bleeding the brakes at first,but I think it was due to the fact that all the pistons had been pushed fully back in to the calipers,I bled each side a couple of times then making sure both bleed nipples were closed kept pumping the brake (the fluid did go down still) eventually I started to get something regarding a brake,both sides were bled once more and every thing was spot on. hope this is of some help cheers kev