Hey guys,

I essentially have the exact same setup as Kerry's instructions (Thanks! instructions are awesome)
This is what I am going to do when I am bleeding my brakes.... (after i have removed the covering and everything...)

1) break open valve (1/8 turn)
2) press brake handle (while watching the fluid level)
3) close valve
4) release brake handle
5) add fluid
then repeat process

Is there anything I should watch out for? because I will be doing this alone, and many have mentioned that 2 people are better for this... but, I prefer doing these kind of things on my own so I can build confidence...

I guess one of my concern is that once I am about to repeat the process, wont there be some fluid left in the tube? will that retract back into the bleeder valve along with air (noooooo)?

I know that the 'old' will mix with the 'new' and that I will just have to be patient and keep bleeding until its new...

when i do my brakes i do them just like a car.  pump the brakes a few times and hold them like you are using the brakes to stop.  then open the bleeder a few sec. then close the bleeder and pump them up again and repeat.  make sure you dont run out of brake fluid or you get to start over. make sure you close the bleeder before releasing brake lever or you will suck air into the system.

Cool thanks...

Those handheld vacuum pumps make life so much easier. With one of those, you can just pump with one hand and add fluid with the other hand. I found it way easier than the non vacuum brake bleeding kits...

Like joshr08, I also recommend swapping steps 1 and 2. You'll have the end of the tube in a waste bucket/can/something, try to keep that end submerged in the old fluid. I don't know why anyone would recommend 2 people for this or a vacuum pump. Sure, for a car, yes! But it's SO so so painfully easy on a bike, especially one with only one front caliper. Pump out as much of the old fluid as possible first, get the reservoir almost dry before adding any and then you won't have to wait so long for the "clear" stuff.

Hi all,

Here's my two cents.
First, yes, ecpreston, it seems unnecessary to use a brake fluid vacuum pump for a motorcycle, and I'd agree that for simply bleeding the brakes, such a tool in not needed/

But there is a time when such a tool is very useful and even necessary.

When I replaced the original rubber brake lines on my bike and had to start from scratch replacing brake fluid in the lines, my Craftsman vacuum pump was the only way I could get the lines refilled and bled properly. I fussed with the front brake for two hours, pumping fluid manually and getting nowhere, before heading to Sears and buying the right tool. Using the vacuum pump, I was done in five minutes.

I wrote about it here on the board back in 2004:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=8306.0

Joepua, you should have done a search for brake bleeding, bub! There's lots of info here on the site about it.

So yes, while it isn't necessarily needed for a simple brake fluid replacement, since you are adding new fluid as you go and NOT letting the master cylinder get dry, the tool is definitely useful when you are replacing hoses completely.

Otherwise, for what this guy is doing, the simple pump the lever, twist the bleeder open and close, then repeat, method is just fine.

Best wishes,

Trwhouse

FWIW, yeah, a vacuum pump is nice when replacing lines, but gravity is your friend. Reconnect line, crack open bleeder, walk away for a half hour or so. Come back and bleed as normal.    Works for dual caliper setups too.

The only thing I'd like to ad is to not bottom out the lever or pedal as this can cause problems with the seal inside the master cylinder.  For the front brake keep two fingers wrapped around the grip and stop the lever when it touches your fingers.

Get a MityVac brake bleeder, do it with one hand in about 5 minutes and then go indoors and have a beer, instead of pumping and squeezing for an hour with a bit of tubing and a wrench. I got one two years back and wished I had done it years before. I did my GS front and back with fresh fluid in about 15 minutes when I first got it.

Quote from: simoniz on April 23, 2009, 05:06:31 PM
Get a MityVac brake bleeder, do it with one hand in about 5 minutes and then go indoors and have a beer, instead of pumping and squeezing for an hour with a bit of tubing and a wrench. I got one two years back and wished I had done it years before. I did my GS front and back with fresh fluid in about 15 minutes when I first got it.

I don't think it takes me 15 minutes without a vacuum pump --I use a clear tube and an old wiper fluid jug.  Drilled a hole in the cap- tube stays in -sits near the bottom.  I get rid of most of the old fluid right out of the reservoir (why pump more bad crap through the brakes ...?) - fill it up and pump away.

I'll  buy one of those pumps some day tho- am sure they make the job easier.

Has anyone tried those speedbleeders yet?

I just replaced all my brake fluid last week and I did it alone without a pump.  It would have taken 20 minutes if I didn't need to drill-out a stripped rear reservoir screw left for me by the last person who apparently tried to top-off the fluid but gave-up.  I read Kerry's instructions, consulted my Haynes manual, and it went off without a hitch, other than the stripped screw head.  Clear tubing allows you to see what's going on so I would consider clear tubing needed to make it easy.

I learned a nice trick while I was at it, too.

While I was pumping the rest of the old fluid out after I siphoned-out the reservoir, wiped it out nice and clean with a paper towel, and filled it with new fluid, I noticed if I open the bleeder valve just enough to let fluid out, I can release the brake lever slowly and squeeze again without old fluid getting sucked back into the caliper.  After a few cycles of open valve, pump, close valve, release lever, repeat, I was able to keep the bleeder valve open just a hair and keep pumping slowly until the reservoir was almost empty, re-fill it, then keep pumping slowly until only clear fluid appears in the drain tube.  Re-fill again, put the cover back on, done!  The mixing only occurred for 3 or 4 pumps.  It didn't take long for it to become clear that the old fluid was gone and I was pumping out new fluid.

In fact, I noticed as I was working that the bleeder valve tended to CLOSE while I was doing this, so a few times I had to crack the valve open again a little because the pumping became more difficult as the valve closed as I went along cheating the process.  If you don't like the fact that it's easy to lock-up your rear brake, this is the perfect opportunity to allow a little air into the caliper on purpose once all the old fluid is gone.  I chose not to do it as I developed a light right foot 30 years ago, but many racers do this, and they go a heluva lot faster than I go, so there you go.

I got lucky and drilled-out the bad screw dead center with the right size bit, which is 5/32".  New screws at Home Depot, 82 cents for three, and they're nickel plated!  I replaced all the reservoir screws while I was at it.  The screws for the front are #4, .7mm pitch, 12mm long.  The rear screws are the same but 16mm long.  The stock reservoir screws are junk.  They have no plating so they corrode to the reservoir covers.  I say ditch 'em!

Quote from: Jared on April 23, 2009, 07:02:12 PMHas anyone tried those speedbleeders yet?

I tried the EARLs brand speedbleeders years ago on a track car and didn't like them. I swear they were letting air into the lines (I had to bleed a lot more often because the pedal kept getting mushy), and it was kind of hard to get them in just the right place so they would bleed when you want them to. Then, (and I've never broken a bleed screw because I'm pretty gentle with them) I broke two of them, one fortunately high enough that I could get it out with some locking pliers, the other so low that I couldn't.... it was still sealed so... I sold the car with that still stuck in the caliper. 

Anyway, I don't recommend them. In case that wasn't clear.   

We have one of these in the clubs tool-bank

http://www.getgeared.co.uk/ROTHEWALD_Motorcycle_Brake_Bleeding_Tool

Fantastic bit of kit.

The last two times I had to bleed the front brakes after a caliper rebuild (two different bikes), I had a tough time even with a Mityvac. There was one little bubble stuck in the master cylinder that did not want to come out. I ended up the smallest tipped attachment for the Mityvac and sticking into the hole at the bottom of the reservoir. I had a couple feet of clear tubing filled with brake fluid attached to the bleeder valve. I cracked the bleeder valve and pulled the vacuum from the top to get that last bubble out.

First - yes, pump it up, then squeeze the lever, open the bleeder while squeezing the lever, then close the bleeder before releasing the lever.  Top off the reservoir as it gets low.  That's the way to do regular bleeds, and even a stubby-armed gal like me can do it solo with no issues.


Second - forget vacuum tools and the like.  When you have a dry caliper and/or a dry line, a syringe is your friend.  At the local hardware store, I picked up a plastic syringe with a tapered tip instead of a luer lock, and the tapered tip fits neatly into the bleed nipple.  I've done this a few times now with a dry caliper/line:
-Remove reservoir cap.
-Fill syringe with brake fluid.
-Hold it tip-up and gently press plunger to evacuate any air at the tip.
-Insert into nipple, then press hard to make sure it's seated.
-Open nipple, and press plunger firmly to inject fluid into caliper.  As you bottom out the syringe, close the nipple.
-You'll see air bubbling out of the reservoir.  When the fluid level starts rising, stop, and bleed a couple of times conventionally.

The theory is there - air wants to go up when it's trapped under heavy liquid, and it's easier to work with that than to try to force air out of the bottom.  And the practice is there - it is far easier and far less hassle than any other method I've tried.

Thanks for all the opinions on this... I wanted to post some pics of my setup and stuff that went wrong lol...

Heres the setup for the front brake... it was so much easier because of all the room. My brake fluid was not that dirty so I couldnt really tell if the new fluid was coming out... but it did get a little cleaner and that is when I stopped... I believe I pumped the front around 10 times..

I used an Evian water bottle and clear tube... the tube was small enough to fit in the Evian bottle so that worked out great.

The tip on giving it a few pumps then opening the caliper, then closing the caliper before letting go of the brake worked great. Nothing went wrong during the work on the front brakes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37812548@N06/3477618471/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37812548@N06/3478417984/

Now, the back brakes.. pain in the ass... because of the cramped quarters near the exhaust/tire.

Here was the setup:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37812548@N06/3477612139/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37812548@N06/3478420340/

All was going well, until I started to speed the process up...
----- the damn tube came loose from the caliper and brake fluid exploded from the end. It got all over the tire rim, I have no idea if I will see the paint eaten up in the morning, I tried to wipe it down with water.

I assumed air got into the lines and I just kept on pumping and pumping until I saw no bubbles. I hope no bubbles = no air.

Now, I was more concerned with the back brakes because it was squeaking and I believe there was air in the lines. As I was bleeding it, a white solid substance came out of the line (WTF?) here is a pic:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37812548@N06/3477613395/

Those bubble like things, is actually a white solid substance.. I didn't know what it was so I kept bleeding until it stopped coming out.

Here is the end result:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37812548@N06/3477614603/?rotated=1&cb=1240794228329

I hope this helps some newb , appreciate all the comments and tips.... If I had $$$ I would get a vacuum, this whole process took an hour.

I only needed 1 bottle of DOT4 brake fluid. I am assuming that I should just throw out the opened bottle because it will be bad after a period of time? any comments on this?

The brake bleed actually fixed the squeaking as far as I can tell unless it isn't grabbing onto the pads because of the mishap I had. Dammit. Hope it isn't because the rear brakes are working quite well.