Getting ready to ride again

[giltalon]

Hi,
i was googling for service info about my '78 XS650 and found this site. It's great to know that so many others are as much into this bike as I am. I bought my bike in 1980, and fell in love with it. It was my first and only motorcycle, and even though I had access to my brothers two Harley's , I always preferred my "650 Special". I was a avid rider for five years, taking my bike to college and work year round, then I got busy between my job and being a jazz pianist and my bike ended up in the garage. Thirty years later , my bike is still here,and I'm feeling the urge to ride again ,and share the experience with my 12 year old son. My bike still looks beautiful , but I know that I have a lot of work ahead to make her roadworthy . My first project is to find out why my front brakes have locked up. I notice that my brake fluid reservoir is empty, so I guess I'll need to check into that first,so that I can move the bike around easier. I'd appreciate any advice to help me with this. 
Anyway, it's great to be here , and I hope to learn a lot and make a lot of friends.

[headcase]

Had the same thing happen here last spring. Turned out to be corrosion from moisture in the front caliper that stuck the piston. It was an easy fix because most of the pits weren't in critical areas, and everything else was still in usable condition. Managed to polish the piston with scotchbrite and the few pits that mattered were filled with epoxy and smoothed. A cheapo fix, but it's worked beautifully ever since.

[giltalon]

Thanks ,
I'm going to check out some videos servicing front brake calipers, ( I'm new at this, but I have a little basic auto mechanical knowledge . I already removed the front caliper so that I could move the bike ? My manual says that I need to remove the pistons with compressed air ,But I don't own a compressor . Any suggestions or video recommendations welcome .

[headcase]

If it's not too locked up, it should come out pretty easily. I honestly can't remember how I got mine to work loose, but it wasn't that far gone because it had only sat a few days when it stuck. If it's too crusty, probably easier to replace it with a good used unit.