Front wheel 'sticking' on a 1976 Mk III Commando

I would strip and clean the brake caliper. Being not that far from you, I can vouch for the vast quantities of salt dumped on our roads - so often needlessly. The brake caliper will always need a clean before the MoT. Trust me on that! My bike is manky - I have been using it this week, salt notwithstanding. Gordon.

Make sure that the disc is clear of the fork leg. There is not normaly much clearance there. My disc is within about 0.015" of the slider. (But the wheel is in the centre of the forks)

The clearance comes from the seals springing back , and if the pistons are dirty or stiff its not enough. I would take the pads out and carefully ,using the brake lever get the pistons to extend out a little more, then clean them with a strip of cloth moistened with meths or brake fluid.If that does not work they will need a strip down and new seals.

Have experienced the same a number of times when bike is left unused for very long periods , especially over winter months. You've almost certainly got a seized brake caliper piston. Strip the caliper , check and clean the bores very carefully , clean pistons and if any of the plating has flaked off replacethem , fit new seals. The handlebar master cylinder should also ideally be stripped , cleaned and fitted with all new internal parts. Brake service kits easily available from Norton spares stockists.

If you have troubleunscrewing theround caliper access plug which needs a hefty peg spanner - they can be seized tight - cookthe whole caliper in a very hotoven forat least ten minutes , let it cool , then you shouldfind the plug will unscrew - thealloy caliper metal and steel plug expandby different amounts breaking the seizure.

Agreed and rebuild with stainless pistons assuming the bores are ok. They never seize in my experience. Look at this site for rebuild help....http://www.oldbritts.com/caliper_rebuild.html

When I was having problems putting the piston back into the caliper, I hit on the idea of using my drill stand. I mounted the caliper carefully in the vice and opened the chuck fully (or you could put a valve in the chuck) and gently pressed the piston with the chuck into the caliper first time, no hassle. Don't try this with the drill switched on! This technique also work for Yamahas I discovered.

I had the same sort of problem with my Commando back in the day (1977). I managed to get the slave caliper apart, only to find that the pistons were rusty, causing them to stick. I cleaned everything carefully, and ordered a pair of stainless steel pistons. That and new seals cured the problem permanently. The Old Britts site in America mentioned earlier in this discussion is a very expensive site to buy spares from. I noticed that the pistons from Old Britts are $29.50 U.S. each and are from Andy Molnar. On Molnar's web site they are 13 quid each, so I know where I'd buy them!

I noticed that the pistons from Old Britts are $29.50 U.S. each and are from Andy Molnar. On Molnar's web site they are 13 quid each, so I know where I'd buy them!

Me too, I wasn't suggesting he buy from there just use the tutorial.