Broken rear caliper?

virtualgeorge · 03-18-2021, 05:37 PM

My rear brakes had been feeling funny for a while, too soft but didn't have to worry about locking up the back tire. Maybe from pressing the brake so hard I broke my caliper & bent the shaft on the sliding part? I am wondering how this happened, is it common?

andyvh1959 · 03-18-2021, 09:14 PM

Ummm, wow. Can't say I have ever seen a failed rear caliper mount on a Vulcan, or any other bike for that matter. I could maybe understand the cracked caliper mount, but the bent caliper pins takes a lot of force.

I doubt being over-powering on the rear brake could ever do that kind of damage. Any chance the bike was dropped onto that side or struck something? Perhaps something got jammed against the disc and caliper? Those Vulcan rear caliper mounts are easy to find on ebay though. Which makes me wonder if there is a casting problem with the aluminum caliper mount.

virtualgeorge · 03-18-2021, 10:49 PM

The brakes were soft when I got the bike like 5 years ago so I got used to pressing hard. Could have been that way for a while & I never noticed until just recently when I decided to remove the caliper to give it a good cleaning. I was covered in grime so I guess I never noticed the damage.

Hasn't been dropped or hit since I owned it but with the bags I don't think anything could get to the caliper anyways?

I did get one on ebay and replaced all the seals and my brakes are so much better now :)

When the mailman put the part on the mail van the plastic plug came loose and it leaked fluid on the outside of the package and probably other packages. It dissolved the label & tracking number but when I called my mailman he knew that was it and brought it to me. He didn't seem to mind at all LOL.

**ringadingh** · 03-18-2021, 11:52 PM

Thats the first time Ive ever seen anything like that. Brakes are usually pretty foolproof.
But an easy fix overall.

DragonLady58 · 03-19-2021, 05:02 AM

Looks liike someone used either a air ratchet or impact duringthelazt pad change.....seen a few happen on the electraGlides and roadkings (police bikes)...
Comes from the service guy not paying attention to details....wrenching things before things are aligned....only way to bend those studs....

andyvh1959 · 03-20-2021, 07:56 AM

Hadn't considered that, but certainly could be. I experienced something similar on my Ford Fusion when the muffler monkeys at the Quick Lube would rotate the tires, they'd load the lug nut into the socket and just "zzzzzrrrppppp" them tight with an air impact. Not as issue IF you first turn the lug nuts on with your fingers to nearly seated.

They cross threaded them so much that I had to use a three foot breaker bar and impact socket to LOOSEN and turn the lug nuts off, and they squealed the whole time. In fact while turning them CCW, I snapped off four studs. Ended up replacing most of the studs and used a die to chase the threads on the other ones. In my 40+ years of working on my vehicles I never had that happen before.

03-18-2021, 05:37 PM	#1
virtualgeorge Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: AJ, Arizona Posts: 57	Broken rear caliper? My rear brakes had been feeling funny for a while, too soft but didn't have to worry about locking up the back tire. Maybe from pressing the brake so hard I broke my caliper & bent the shaft on the sliding part? I am wondering how this happened, is it common? Login or Register to Remove Ads
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03-18-2021, 09:14 PM	#2
andyvh1959 Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Green Bay WI Posts: 755	Ummm, wow. Can't say I have ever seen a failed rear caliper mount on a Vulcan, or any other bike for that matter. I could maybe understand the cracked caliper mount, but the bent caliper pins takes a lot of force. I doubt being over-powering on the rear brake could ever do that kind of damage. Any chance the bike was dropped onto that side or struck something? Perhaps something got jammed against the disc and caliper? Those Vulcan rear caliper mounts are easy to find on ebay though. Which makes me wonder if there is a casting problem with the aluminum caliper mount. __________________ My $1200 Vulcan, to start from.
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03-18-2021, 11:52 PM	#4
ringadingh Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Newmarket Ontario Canada Posts: 35,387	Thats the first time Ive ever seen anything like that. Brakes are usually pretty foolproof. But an easy fix overall. __________________ 2002 Nomad aka Bountyhunter VBA #27 VROC #18951
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03-19-2021, 05:02 AM	#5
DragonLady58 Sr. Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Somewhere South of Alaska.... Posts: 2,351	Looks liike someone used either a air ratchet or impact duringthelazt pad change.....seen a few happen on the electraGlides and roadkings (police bikes)... Comes from the service guy not paying attention to details....wrenching things before things are aligned....only way to bend those studs.... __________________ --------------------- Don't start no schit, there won't be no schit.... My Sarcasm is directly proportional to the amount of Stupidity involved --------------------- VBA#03239 VROC#37400 VRA --------------------- 2014 Vaquero 2001 Nomad FI 2003 Street Glide (sold) 1500 Meanie, fresh rebuild (sold) 90s BUBF Bobber (sold) 2001 UltraCycle FatPounder (Sold) 1975 HD ElectraGlide (Sold) 1982 Kawasaki Z1 Chopper (Sold) Suck It Up & Ride! Login or Register to Remove Ads
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03-20-2021, 07:56 AM	#6
andyvh1959 Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Green Bay WI Posts: 755	Hadn't considered that, but certainly could be. I experienced something similar on my Ford Fusion when the muffler monkeys at the Quick Lube would rotate the tires, they'd load the lug nut into the socket and just "zzzzzrrrppppp" them tight with an air impact. Not as issue IF you first turn the lug nuts on with your fingers to nearly seated. They cross threaded them so much that I had to use a three foot breaker bar and impact socket to LOOSEN and turn the lug nuts off, and they squealed the whole time. In fact while turning them CCW, I snapped off four studs. Ended up replacing most of the studs and used a die to chase the threads on the other ones. In my 40+ years of working on my vehicles I never had that happen before. __________________ My $1200 Vulcan, to start from.
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03-18-2021, 10:49 PM	#3
virtualgeorge Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: AJ, Arizona Posts: 57	The brakes were soft when I got the bike like 5 years ago so I got used to pressing hard. Could have been that way for a while & I never noticed until just recently when I decided to remove the caliper to give it a good cleaning. I was covered in grime so I guess I never noticed the damage. Hasn't been dropped or hit since I owned it but with the bags I don't think anything could get to the caliper anyways? I did get one on ebay and replaced all the seals and my brakes are so much better now :) When the mailman put the part on the mail van the plastic plug came loose and it leaked fluid on the outside of the package and probably other packages. It dissolved the label & tracking number but when I called my mailman he knew that was it and brought it to me. He didn't seem to mind at all LOL.
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