Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Front Brake resovoir leaking

i placed a new chrome cover on the front brake reservoir and for some reason i can't get it to stop leaking. Its just a very slow leak. I took it apart again checked the bladder and the plastic cover and all seems well, is this common? Something i can do about it?

Is it posible that the new cover is not as thick ??
Wouldn't take much ... If so. see about making a shim
or something along that line maybe ?
Just a thought .

Stupid question...did you add a little too much brake fluid when you swapped them out? I did that and it leaked for a couple of days.

I had this problem and it turned out that the gasket, mating surface and lid had to be absolutely clean and dry when reinstalling.

thanks for the input i will look, i did not add any other oil just changed the cap out. I did clean off the bladder and plate, but i like the thought that this cap may not be as thick i will have to look at that a bit more, maybe some kind of liquid gasket that would hold up to the oil,??

I thought someone said long ago that it will leak if it's tightened down too much. Squishes or pinches the gasket.

i thought of that to, i did make it tight but i don't think crush tight, i took it apart tonight, wiped it all down dry etc and put it back together we will see later.

well update, i figured it out, when you take those suckers off and put them back you have to clean the bladder and the plastic cap really well, like not a spec of anything on them or they will leak, i cleaned it up supper good blew it out with a compressor and no more leak and only snugged tight.

Chrome eh.Couple harley friends I noticed the paint on theres peeling,I wounder does that brake fluid expand in the heat of direct sun light.

Mine leaked on the road trip... but only in Colorado. Go figure.

My reservoir is not leaking, but I changed the rear brake pads yesterday. Very simple operation, but it was hellish bleeding the lines. Finally when to the hardware store and bought a $3 marinate syringe and a 43 cent length of tubing. Worked like a charm. Genius? No! McGiver? Yes!

Why did you need to bleed the brake after changing pads?

It was over due on both pads and fluid. I usually replace the brake fluid once a year, but the bike has been garaged at my brothers while my new garage and driveway were being constructed.