Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech bleeding front brake

I had to change the angle of the front break cable at the handle bars, so I loosened up the bolt that goes into the master cylinder and moved the cable angle slightly past the tab. (because I have new risers and bars now).

The front brake became spoonge, so I pumped it a few times and craked open the bleeder vale and shot out some air and fluid. It still seems a little spoonge to me (i think). What is the proper way if any to do that?

Also what type of brake fluid do we need to use?

Thanks,
Joker

As you did except that as soon as you squeeze the lever all the way in, close the valve before you let the lever back out. Then open the valve and do it again the same way. keep an eye on the resivour and add fluid when it gets too low so it doesn't suck more air in as you're bleeding. Once no more air is coming out as you bleed it, tighten the valve and fill the res to the line and you're done.

Gravity bleeding can sometimes give very good results.Take a mason jar and add an inch or so of brake fluid in the bottom.Connect a short rubber line from the end of the bleeder into the jar past the top level of the fluid.You can tape the line to the top lip of the jar to keep it in the jar. The rubber line needs to fit fairly tight on the bleeder tip.Level the reservoir(by turning the handle bars and/or rotating the reservoir housing)and remove the top reservoir cover so you can see when to add additional fluid.Crack open the bleeder(do not squeeze the brake handle)and watch as the fluid level drops in the reservoir.Just before the fluid gets to the botton of the reservoir,close the bleeder and add more fluid. Do this two or three times.Replace the cap and try your brake handle.Sometimes this method works very well.It is the only way to get all of the air out of the hydraulic throwout bearing on my Jeep.Just remember to cover with plastic,all of the painted parts of your motorcycle when working with brake fluid, as it is a VERY good paint remover!!! Al

Lou,

Get yourself some speedbleeders from Brent for future bleeding. Trust me, you will love them...

To get your brakes back, a combination of the above advice should work.

Believe it or not, if you make sure the reservoir is full to the correct level, the air will eventually work out of the system on it's own....
When changed my bars and front brake line, I bled the brake till I had almost used 1/2 a bottle of new fluid and it was still spongy. But it worked. A few miles and a few applications and it was back to normal.

Another tip that seems to work with our bikes: If you have some brake pressure when squeezing the lever, but it feels a little spongy, zip tie the brake lever to the grip and leave it on overnight. In the morning cut the zip tie and you should have firmer pressure and a shorter pull when squeezing the front brake lever.

My front brake has always felt a bit soft. I brought it back to the dealer after a few miles and the mechanic agreed that it was soft or spongy. He said that it was normal for our bikes. He bled the brake anyway but it still had the same soft feel. I eventualy got used to it. It was just the feel the brake worked fine.

what type/ kind of fluid are we suppose to use for our bikes?
thanks,
joker

what vegas said. it's easy and works great. i did it on my ltd 1000 and the brakes are so tight they're dangerous.

cat

some brake bleeding w/ a jar web site.

I tihnk it says DOT3 on the resevoir cover, but my cover isn't on anymore so I can't be sure:)