Brake Issues

 I finally tried my hand at rebuilding calipers, and I must say, it went a
lot better than I expected.  Those, along with the master cylinder, took me
most of the day, but that was mostly me going slow, along with a couple
trips to the parts store for fluid and whatnot.

The only thing left is the SS lines, which should be in in the next couple
days.  Even so, I wanted to complete what I could so I could hit the road
ASAP, and I want to work out any issues before my Laughlin trip.

The only problem I had was bleeding.  I used a vacuum pump, then the lever,
to bleed them, and so far I've only got a small amount of resistance on the
lever and a little bit of movement on the calipers.  The lever still goes
all the way to the grip, even after my wife and I took turns pumping the
crap out of it.

My Royal Star seemed to have some sort of master cylinder automatic bleeder
thingy, but there doesn't seem to be one on the Valkyrie.

I remember someone talking about air being trapped in the calipers that
isn't easy to remove using just the bleeder bolts.  I don't want to wuss out
and haul this thing to the shop.

Any suggestions?

CS

 

Loosen the banjo bolt at the master cylinder and bleed it there.  There is
sometimes a bubble at that joint, which is often the highest point in the line,
that can't be forced down to the bleeder screw under normal conditions.

--
Futility Man

 

Brake fluid will attack paint and plastic, so covering the motorcycle
with plastic or old rags to catch any spilled brake fluid is a must.

Also, loosening the clamp bolts and rotating the master cylinder on
the handlebars and repositioning the handlebars to make the brake
fluid reservoir the absolute highest point in the system will help
out.

When I bleed brake calipers I unbolt them and let them hang straight
down.

I put a piece of steel plate about 5~6mm thick between the pads to
keep them from being forced out when I pump the brake lever.

An old Harley mechanics' tale about tying the brake lever down
overnight to bleed the brakes is BS, it doesn't work because the
piston in the master cylinder blocks both the air bleed hole and the
brake fluid hole.

 

Not  so for DOT 5 brake fluids.

 

This is Krusty. Technology, for him, stopped with his GT750 kettle.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Kawasaki GPz750  Honda CB400F  
Triumph Street Triple Suzuki TS250ERx2  GN250.  
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com