Front brakes not releasing?

[raspygold]

Hey guys,

I have a quick question for you guys so that I might be able to tell if I have to take my bike to a shop and pay someone to look at it or not.

I have recently bought a 1990 Suzuki GSX250F Across with only 16,000km on the clock. It is an air cooled inline 4.
I got a puncture in my front tire early on and had it repaired at a bike shop and every since they fixed the tire there's been an annoying noise coming from the front end of my bike when I'm riding. It almost sounds like a bit of a whirring and soft grinding sort of noise. I at first thought it was the fan, but the fan doesn't sound like that normally, which has led me to believe that possibly my front brakes might not be fully releasing and the break pad might be against the disc while riding.

The odd thing is that the sound seems to only really annoying over about 6k revs and under that it usually just stops, almost like something just clicks off.

But the really odd thing about it that the bike isn't performing at all as well as I had expected it to. Apparently factory new the bike (because the engine is similar to the GSXR of that year) should top out at about 185km/h.
However I am struggling to get up to 130km/h at the moment (long straight is needed) and I can't break over that mark atm. I guess that's another reason why I thought it might be something to do with the front brake. The bike seems to engine break very sharply as well and speed drops very dramatically when I ease off the throttle. My friend reckons the bike might just be getting tired, but I don't see why it would be after such an easy life thus far (very low kms) and regular servicing.

I might be completely off with my guess about the front break but all I can think of at the moment that might cause the noise and my bike to be quite slow really =\. Do you think that this problem might have been caused when the front wheel was refitted to the bike when the puncture was repaired?

I'm not very knowledgeable about bike mechanics (as you can tell) but I was hoping someone might have some ideas, else I'll just have to pay the shop to have a look at it I guess.

[Subike]

sounds to me like your front wheel was not lined up properly .
The noise you are hearing could be the disc rubbing against the caliper.
There should be an even gap between the disc and the caliper on both sides of the disc.
If rubbing, it would act as a brake, plus the piston furterest from the disc could go past the seal and be locked against the disc compounding the problem.
Just something to look at,

[howdamnhard]

If it has a centre stand, put it up on it ,take the weight off the front wheel and check if it turns freely.While your at it grip the wheel at the top and bottom and check if it has any play.

[FJRider]

Front wheel bearings gone...axle spacer(s) missing or put on in the wrong order (the apprentice often gets fitting wheel jobs)
I'd bet the latter...

[kiwi cowboy]

if you ride it a few k's then feel how hot the disc is youll no if its binding [should be warmish but not hot hot

[raspygold]

Thanks for the quick replies.
@ howdamnhard The bike doesn't have a centrestand, pity really.

From the sounds of it might be something that wasn't done quite right by the bike shop, should I call them up and ask them about it. If it is a problem, would I be expected to fork out more cash to get it fixed or should they just do it for free if they caused the issue.

I'll have a look into all of your suggestions tomorrow. Thanks again =)

[howdamnhard]

Ye take it back to the bike shop and ask them to check it out.Shouldn't cost you anymore.

[raspygold]

if you ride it a few k's then feel how hot the disc is youll no if its binding [should be warmish but not hot hot

Just took the bike for a ride, only about 3km, got back, and the disc was very hot. My mate reckons it might be sticky. Is it worth getting the shop to look at it?

[flyingbrick]

yes. Unless you got mad skills.

[kiwi cowboy]

Just took the bike for a ride, only about 3km, got back, and the disc was very hot. My mate reckons it might be sticky. Is it worth getting the shop to look at it?

do as howdamhard says is your best bet

[Squiggles]

Sometimes it can even be the axle, and loosening it, rotating it, then retightening can fix it... happened to a mates vfr400 (hollow axle) a couple of months back.

[FROSTY]

either ya got sticky brake pistons or the spacers were put it the wrong way round.

[molex]

May i ask you a simple question?

What feel when you push your bike? (not ride)(hand push)!

Is it very heavy or not?

If yes please rebuild your brake! because your brake very dirty or rust on it so it can't release itself ( brake disk overheat )

[raspygold]

Okay, I know what the noise was now, nothing so serious.

Just a slightly warped disc so it is making a small noise but apparently nothing to worry about really. Its not heavy to push at all, thank goodness but it was making an odd noise, which, as I suspected, was just the break pad making contact with the disc as the wheel rotates.

However the spark plugs are still collecting carbon, do you think its worth adjusting the carburator needles to try and correct it? Apparently that should improve performance a bit and remove any sort of flat spots in the excelleration too.

The guy at the shop said they could do a tune up (pretty much set everything back to manufacturors settings) replace the spark plugs and air filter element for about $500, but he said he's not sure if I'll see much increase in performance so I'm not sure its worth my $500 for it.

Do you think removing the baffles from the exhaust or replacing the exhaust with an aftermarket one with the baffles removed might be an idea? I've heard it can improve performance & sound but I'm not sure if its worth the hassle / money.

Any thoughts?

[molex]

I think you can do it yourself (everything back to manufactory settings)!!!

Here to go for manual download up to year 1994 :

http://www.manualz.info/Manuals_pdf/SUZUKI/GSX-250F_service_manual.pdf

Good luck man

[hayd3n]

Okay, I know what the noise was now, nothing so serious.

Just a slightly warped disc so it is making a small noise but apparently nothing to worry about really. Its not heavy to push at all, thank goodness but it was making an odd noise, which, as I suspected, was just the break pad making contact with the disc as the wheel rotates.

However the spark plugs are still collecting carbon, do you think its worth adjusting the carburator needles to try and correct it? Apparently that should improve performance a bit and remove any sort of flat spots in the excelleration too.

The guy at the shop said they could do a tune up (pretty much set everything back to manufacturors settings) replace the spark plugs and air filter element for about $500, but he said he's not sure if I'll see much increase in performance so I'm not sure its worth my $500 for it.

Do you think removing the baffles from the exhaust or replacing the exhaust with an aftermarket one with the baffles removed might be an idea? I've heard it can improve performance & sound but I'm not sure if its worth the hassle / money.

Any thoughts?
get the carbys cleaned and balanced ,and buy your own filter easy to
do buy new plugs/ oil/filter change do it your self !!!
might cost you a couple of hundred .
you can get air filter cleaned ive had them cleaned down here for 5 bucks before , that will save you 50 bucks or more!!!
shop around for a exhaust might find your self a bargin ,
but if i was you id give it a bit of well needed tlc and see if you notice
an improvement in performance ..
aslo replace you disk as youll need them one day 75 % of your brakes are in the front.