[peelbrow]

Further to my diatribe about renewing the rear brake-pads I now read that I must screw in the hand-brake piston until it stops. Mine just keeps on screwing and doesn't stop. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Buffalo]

Never had that problem. Are you pushing in on it as you turn it.

 

[peelbrow]

Never had that problem. Are you pushing in on it as you turn it.

Yes, but it made no difference, and as the piston was flush anyway I continued. Another problem was keeping the pads apart while trying to slide the caliper back onto the wheel. I eventually kept a sufficient gap by inserting a wad of paper in between, easily removed when it all went back on. I had to 'assist' the caliper with a rubber mallet and the wheel locked up solid but after i'd pumped the brake a few times it freed off ok. (Le Dude's idea of inserting a packing piece between the pads and then pumping the brake lever would have saved me much effort- but I didn't know about it until the end of the job!)

 

[MJR]

Only the one piston that the e-brake uses needs to be screwed in the other just pushes in. You may have to readjust the e-brake though.

 

[bikerdoc]

When fitting new pads on the rear of the AN650 the piston with the "+" on it, needs to be "screwed" in so that it is flush with the rest of the calliper unit. Once this piston is flush, no need to continue screwing/tightening it, it's done. The other piston needs to be pushed in flush with the calliper using a tool for leverage against the calliper housing and the piston. Removing the rear brake reservoir cover first before attempting either of the two actions/manoeuvres will make the task that much easier to perform. This will allow the callipers with the new pads in-situ slide on the brake rotor/disk easier.
Don't make the mistake though of applying pressure (squeezing) to the left rear brake lever at this point, at least not before getting everything buttoned back up. The other thing is to make sure to take mental note of the orientation of the spring plate located at the top of the brake pads and two Allen keyed retaining pins. Putting this plate in incorrectly (wrong orientation) doesn't allow the brake pads the full range of movement inside the calliper housing, meaning an extra tight fit when attempting to slide them back onto the brake rotor/disk.
Placing something as a wedge between the set of pads while trying to align them back onto the brake rotor/disk is mandatory, since the whole kit-n-caboodle is a very tight fit.

Wonder if there is any advantage to the later AN650 which have the brake calliper assembly forward and sightly "under" of the axle, compared to the earlier models with the assembly after the axle?