BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

David. wrote: Been having a problem with the front brakes binding on a 2012 TC with 23,000 miles on the clock. The bike isn't ridden in the winter & the calipers/pistons are cleaned & exercised every year or when the tyres are changed around 5,500 miles. If necessary, AJ's have offered to replace the pistons & seals for an hours labour (circa £100), plus two repair kits at £77.27 each. Have managed to free off the pistons, will see how the brakes perform over the weekend & take it from there.

Are these isolated issues or more common than reported on here?

Hi David, it'll probably be dried up dust seals, next time you have them off clean the piston with brake & clutch cleaner and give it a coating of red rubber grease, it should prevent any further binding.

David. wrote: If necessary, AJ's have offered to replace the pistons & seals for an hours labour (circa £100 ):beee:

Am I out of touch with technician rates? £100/hr.?

Took the calipers off again today, exercised the pistons & applied a little red rubber grease. All pistons can be pushed back by hand without removing the fluid reservoir cap.

Can't see what else can be done to improve the situation.

David. wrote: Took the calipers off again today, exercised the pistons & applied a little red rubber grease. All pistons can be pushed back by hand without removing the fluid reservoir cap.

Can't see what else can be done to improve the situation.

Are they still binding?

simbo wrote:Are they still binding?

Yes, I'm still not happy with the brakes binding. Once again, today I removed the pads, cleaned & exercised the pistons. With the pistons extended out beyond their normal operating limit, all but one of eight can be pushed back by hand. In two weeks time, the bike is booked in to Cooper Sunderland for them to diagnose the problem with a view to a potential warranty claim. (Seized callipers due to corrosion are not covered). As I cannot see any external corrosion, I'm hopeful that BMW will pay for any fix, less my £100 excess.

I'll update with any further progress as it happens.

I wonder if the problem exists in the resovoir and not the calliper.


It will be interesting to see what BMW have to say.

David. wrote: Yes, I'm still not happy with the brakes binding. Once again, today I removed the pads, cleaned & exercised the pistons. With the pistons extended out beyond their normal operating limit, all but one of eight can be pushed back by hand. In two weeks time, the bike is booked in to Cooper Sunderland for them to diagnose the problem with a view to a potential warranty claim. (Seized callipers due to corrosion are not covered). As I cannot see any external corrosion, I'm hopeful that BMW will pay for any fix, less my £100 excess.

I'll update with any further progress as it happens.

Any updates yet David? 

simbo wrote:Any updates yet David?

The bike is booked in on Tuesday next week.

David. wrote: The bike is booked in on Tuesday next week.

Is there a chance the disc(s) are warped. Spinnng the wheel and watching the pad to disc gap will give a very rough idea, better still would be a dial gauge.

Beagle wrote:Is there a chance the disc(s) are warped.

Don't think so, been out today and the binding is now worse than when I set off.

Will see what Tuesday brings.

David. wrote: Don't think so, been out today and the binding is now worse than when I set off.

Will see what Tuesday brings.

I once sprayed some wd40 on the pistons of my bicycles hydraulic calipers to keep them free and I found out after that it makes the seals swell and the pistons stick. I had to have them overhauled.

David. wrote:Been out today and the binding is now worse than when I set off.

With the binding of the brakes having become so bad, decided to call BMW Emergency Services. A technician turned up and upon visual inspection, he agreed that a calliper piston was sticking. Because of this and the fact that I was not happy to ride the bike, recovery was arranged yesterday. Another reason for recovery is that in the T&C's of the Insured Warranty, "it may be invalidated if you continue to ride your motorcycle when a fault becomes apparent".

The bike is now at Cooper BMW Sunderland awaiting fault diagnosis and to determine whether or not any remedial work is covered under the Insured Warranty.

Latest update, the BMW technician phoned. Although he cannot see a reason for the pistons sticking within the callipers, a new pair of callipers has been authorised to be fitted under the Insured Warranty. The cost to me is an excess of £100. The callipers will be fitted tomorrow, if ok, happy days, if not further work will be required, standby.

Hopefully that sorts it.


I wonder what the list price of two new calliperss would be?!! I also wonder if they'll change the pads at the same time?

Sullivj wrote:I wonder what the list price of two new calliperss would be?!! I also wonder if they'll change the pads at the same time?

The callipers are around £360 each. The pads will not be changed at the same time. The technician has agreed that the existing pads are perfectly serviceable and when you think about it, they are "bedded in" to the discs. I bought two pairs of new pads last year thinking I would fit them. When compared to the existing, they didn't have a lot more pads thickness, therefore didn't fit them at the time. At £50 for a pair of pads, I'll continue to get best use out of the ones on the bike at present.

Another bonus is, I'll effectively get a free front brake fluid change, (due every two years) and done less than a year ago.