I've had my Rancher a month and was told by a friend of mine who runs the Honda dealership I bought it from that he uses "Bel-Ray Waterproof Grease" to lubricate the front rubber brake seals. As an experiment I took the left from brake apart, cleaned it up, and applied Bel-Ray to it's seal. I followed the directions in my service manual but noticed something peculiar. The inside brake plates that the seals ride against would get pretty warm, but now there is a marked diffrence where the seal that I just regreased with Bel-Ray is getting hotter that the right brake with the factory grease, without ever useing the front brakes. The thing got so hot it will nearly burn my fingers.

Have you ever noticed how warm the inside brake plates get?

Is warm or hot normal? This is without using the brakes at all.

How much grease do you use to coat the 3 lips that make up the seal?

What kind of grease do you use?

Thanks for your help. You guys have a great and informative forum going here!

 

I re-read the manual and it says for use NLGI #3 grease. What is NLGI? It also says to use .5-.6 oz. I'm begining to think that the Bel-Ray grease which is suitable for wheel bearings is to thick for this use.

Any more ideas or tips are greatly appreciated!

 

After taking the front left brakes apart 3 times and trying different greases and talking with the local Honda dealer's tech I took the quad to Poole Ranch in Athens, TX this weekend and never had a problem. From a few high speed runs (high speed for a Rancher anyways) to long steady trails and plenty of mud and water I never had a problem.

If anyone has a ? about Recon or Rancher front brakes I know I can probably answer it now.