I just installed a Russell stainless front brake line and new brake pads today.  I'm still working on the bleeding (seems to take forever -- I've spent hours on it already).  I am a very experienced mechanic and have bled many hydraulic systems.  I have previously flushed the fluid in both front and rear and had no issues.

I installed the line with new crush washers and followed the Russell directions (install top end first, then pump until fluid is coming out the line before installing the bottom fitting).  Then I began bleeding the system.  I have flushed about 8 ozs. of DOT4 through the front system.   I even unbolted the caliper and line retaining clamps and held the caliper even with the master cylinder (with an old pad in between the brake pads).  It helped some, but I still have no more than 1/4" of lever.

I have ridden it some, trying to bed in the pads.  It has poor braking -- there's still air in there somewhere.

Two questions:

1)  Would a Mity-Vac help me to get this thing bled?   I'm leaving on a 2,000 mile trip Saturday and I need this fixed!  The local Autozone has one I can buy tomorrow if someone thinks it will do the trick.

2)  Those of you who have put on stainless lines, did you re-use both the stock retaining clamps or leave them off?  I don't want to strain the line by making it bend repeatedly in one place as the fork compresses.  But maybe that's no big deal.

A Mityvac is well worth the cost. Took me less than an hour to completely install dual lines and bleed the 2 six pot calipers.

Hi there,
I did the Mityvac thing too. A MUST HAVE for bleeding these brakes after I replaced the stock brake rubber lines with Russell stainless lines.
Definitely worth the $40 I paid for mine at Sears.
You'll be glad you did!
Best wishes,
Todd

i have SS lines . and i bled them fine , and i had never done it before,  they are goodritch , i think thats how it spelt , theyre really good .
there sharp as you like ,

Goodridge.....my line of choice 

Quote from: dgyver on May 10, 2007, 08:13:20 PM
Goodridge.....my line of choice 

I was close on spelling!!!, got them fron the factory, therres sum uk dealer, 30 pounds ,for front and rear so, like 60 bucks, but u cant go cheap on brakes ... total no no , but yea, they increased braking tenfold , and came with all the banjo bolts and everything , bargin!

Thanks for the responses.  My dad had one more suggestion not mentioned here.  It was to bleed the master cylinder.  I removed the line and held a finger tightly over the outlet while pumping a few times (forcing fluid instead of air back into the cylinder).  I then reattached the line and bled normally.

I do have substantially more lever height now.  I live out of the city limits and don't like to ride small roads after dark (too many animals about).  So tomorrow morning I'll try it out.  If that doesn't work like it should I'm off for a Mity-Vac.

How about the second question?  Should I use all the stock restraining clips on the new line?

Im Pretty Sure I Just Used The Stock Ones..

If your line is longer and you have a arch that rises higher than your master, you will get air trapped in the line that can be difficult the bleed out. Pull the line down so the entire line is below the master.

I hope your problem is solved but, if not, hope this helps.

As far as the restraining clips, I used the stock ones and haven't had a problem (then again, I only did this a few weeks back).  All I did differently was wrap some electrical tape around the line where it passed through the clip behind the headlight - otherwise the rubber sleeve would just slip down the line since the SS line is thinner than stock.

I think your father made a good point.  As I was bleeding my line (thanks again for everyone's suggestions ) I noticed a line of bubbles coming up from the valve in the bottom of the master cylinder.  I assume I was inadvertently bleeding my master cylinder while trying to bleed the line and caliper.  At any rate, it works great now.

Good luck!

When I installed my HEL lines I had issues with bleeding the front brake too. What I eventually found was that if I opened the front bleed valve too much, I pretty much got constant bubbles. If I opened it just barely, enough that it provided some resistance to the pumping but I could still squeeze fluid out, then I got no bubbles.

No idea if that's right or not though, so if doing so means I could still have air in there someone tell me

I used the stock restraining clips when I installed my Russell SS lines.  Since then the clear plastic outer jacket on the SS line has cracked in one place.  IMO the line isn't bent that much, but maybe from the forks compressing it has caused the lines to flex more there and therefore stress the jacket.  After asking about it, it is my understanding that this shouldn't be a problem, it just looks stupid. The jacket is meant to protect from rubbing either on the paint on the bike or on the SS line.

I got a Mity-Vac today and after a STILL very long time, I now have brakes.  I think part of the problem was that I had the brake lever on "2".  It seemed to work better after I moved it to 1.  I wish I had only done the line, not line and pas at once.  I keep wondering if part of the problem was that the pads were not yet "shaped" to the rotors.

Anyway, it's done and I'm off tomorrow on the trip.  Thanks for the help.