How much loose/free should be front wheel with disc brake when I rotate by hand?

[yami]

Hi my friends;

Today I realized my only 400km driven, 1 year old TaoTao 50cc front wheel is not that free and when I rotate by hand it barely turns one round and stops.

Just like feeling that brake pads are somewhat touching disk.

I drove it without using front brake and it somewhat get hot.

What should I do? How can I increase space between pads and disc then they do not touch disc??

Thanx

[lykos23]

Did you lose the spacer between the wheel and the fork? My wheel was just like that when I misplaced my spacer without realizing it. It ran fine, braked fine, but there was scraping against the brakes and I couldn't move the tire by hand full circle, it would get caught on the brakes every turn.

If you've got your spacer then I suppose we shall wait for some more expertly advice.

[qwertydude]

Sounds like a seized caliper. You can try removing it and cleaning the piston and bore with scotch brite. If that doesn't work a new caliper is a rather inexpensive replacement for a part so critical to your safety, in fact unless you really know what you're doing, you're much better off just buying a new caliper.

[yami]

thnx qwertydude, I will try to clean then :)

[qwertydude]

To fix a seized caliper you have to take the whole thing apart including removing the pistons from the bore. If you're not careful and nick the seals your brakes are finished.

Before attempting this I highly recommend buying the new assembly first in case you mess up your originals or if they're beyond repair.

[yami]

thank you, that is a great idea. I cannot live without scooter a day or two.

[oldkid]

Also, there are 2 stud bolts that hold the brake together and the movable side of the brake slides on them. If the brake pads seems to stay against the rotor too tight, sometimes these bolts need cleaning with sand paper and polish... I would make sure it's not the bolts first before.

[prodigit]

maybe rust. Just squeeze the brake a few times hard (not too hard though), to get the pads aligned again.
Lifting up the front wheel (put on center stand), the disc should not be moving left to right as you rotate the wheel. If the disc is steady, the pads probably are dragging. could be a thing between the pads and the disc, could be a bit of rust, could be that the caliper doesn't fully close, many possibilities.