Rebuilding your rear brake system is straight forward, if you have the proper rebuild kits ready to go. I started on the rear brake caliper after the mudfest that was the 2024 Black Buffalo National Enduro. I found out the hard way that the master cylinder also needed to be rebuilt. Hopefully my journey through rebuilding my brembo rear brake system helps you take on the task as well.
The task of rebuilding my rear brake caliper came due the metal-on-metal brake pads I had from all the water and mud at the Arkansas National Enduro. As I was looking at the caliper, I noticed the ceramic in the piston was broken. Since I’ve been trying to take better care of all my bikes, I decided it was time to learn to rebuild the rear brake caliper.
It wasn’t until after replacing the seals and piston in the caliper that I found the entire brake system wouldn’t bleed up. At first, I thought it was a me thing. That I was trying to build up pressure in the brake ‘wrong’ after clearing out the entire system. Upon removing the piston from the rear brake master cylinder, I found that the seals had small chunks taken out of them. My guess is that dirt or mud got in there during the Black Buffalo, giving the debris a chance to cause damage beyond normal wear and tear.
Once the brembo rear brake master cylinder rebuild kit came in, I took the cylinder apart, cleaned it really good, and replaced all the moving parts. I even went as far as buying a Pittsburgh Brake Bleeder and Vacuum Pump Kit from Harbor Freight, instead of trying to back bleed with a syringe. Once the entire system was put back on the bike, it bleed up just fine. I wish I had checked the master cylinder to begin with, but sometimes we have to learn in the moment.
Before the Black Buffalo Enduro, I added brand new brembo brake pads. That was a quick and expensive way to blow through some brake pads. For this brake rebuild, I decided to try the Neutron Sintered Metal Brake Pads. I’ve read decent things online and the price is very good. We’ll see how it goes.
Sometimes I feel like a goofball as I learn more about my dirt bike and how to work on the different systems it utilizes. Yes, sometimes I make mistakes, but I also succeed more times than I have to redo things. A good quote comes to mind here actually. “Make a mistake? Release the guilt, remember the lesson.”
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