Bleeding Girly brakes

[skoron]

I had to pull my LH front caliper off and am now hooking up the hydraulic brake line and bleeding the brakes.  I started with the RH side first because its farthest from reservoir.  After numerous attempts between LH and RH bleeder I don't see any bubbles.  But, I can't get a hard brake  lever.  I suspect I have air trapped in the cross over tube.  What is the best method to bleed if you have broken into the lines and not just flushing?  

Help point out the obvious.

Thanks, Skoron
'06 Tiger

[Mustang]

mighty vac

worth every penny .....

[skoron]

Well, that is the obvious :)

One of the questions I had was if that hard line going over the fender has to be dropped below the calipers to allow the bubbles to flow out?

Skoron

[Mustang]

air bubbles want to rise

not with a mighty vac

takes longer to get it out of the toolbox than it does to bleed the brakes

2 minutes done both sides and thats if your slow

i've worked on bikes that no amount of pumping the lever will get the air out

mighty vac ,30 bucks , autozone , done  :D

[daveb]

I made my own kit, and it works really well. I bought a fork oil syringe and got some tubing.

[skoron]

Mustang

Do you leave the bleeder open during the whole process with the Mighty Vac or do you still open/close bleeder with each pump?

I was converting my calipers to Speed Bleeders which started the whole problem.  don't ask.

skoron

[Mustang]

You leave the bleeders closed
the hose and cansiter hook to the bleeders (hose fit)
the vaccum pump hooks to the other side of cannister
pump the handle a few times to get a good vacuum reading on the gauge
open the bleeder a little
and then release the lever on the pump
sucks all the air right out  and a little fluid too thats what the catch cannisters for .
close the bleeder
repeat
until you only see fluid

took longer to explain it then to actually do it

[Timbox2]

I too use a mityvac, one thing I would add is that I have found that sometimes you need to seal the bleeders as I was getting air drawn in round the threads, I just use a dab of copaslip or similar, you could maybe use semi permanent threadlock but you may have to take care with that.

PS: This may not be such an issue on the Tiger as the bleeders have a fine thread, on my previous BMW they used a coarse threaded large size bleeder which was a pig to seal.

[jonathan jaecks]

Its really easy to pull bubbles back into the line if you are trying to do it too fast.  The Mighty Vac works very well...try closing the fitting, then open it back up 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time until you get the fluid flowing (under vacuum), this should eliminate pulling air into the line.

I've also installed speed-bleeders so I can address brake issues in the field.  They are very good at getting out every last bit of air in the brake lines.
 
http://www.speedbleeder.com/

[EvilBetty]

Speed bleeders...

http://www.speedbleeder.com/

[lobster]

I bought the mityvac from Autozone.

Bled the brakes for hours tonight.  I am sure I flushed all the old fluid out as the stuff coming out was almost totally clear.

Bled both front calipers like crazy...took em off...held em upside down...even burped the joint at the master cylinder...tried everything I could think of.

Still I can get the lever all the way to the bar!  Can't get a firm lever...

I'm going to tie the lever back all night and see if I can get a good burp out of the MC.  If that doesn't work then I am at a loss.

Next step is braided lines?

I'm open to any suggestions.  Thanks.

[jwray76]

pulling the lever back overnight should fix you up. I changed my lines recently and after I bled the brakes with a vacuum they were still a little soft. Tied the lever back overnight and it was all good the next day.

[Chris Canning]

Elastic band over the lever over night,worked when I encountered my first disc brake in 74 and still does now.

[lobster]

Well, after sitting overnight...

I pulled the MC cap off, then slowly released the lever and pumped it a few times to see if I could get any more bubbles out of it.  I think a few popped out and the lever feels about the best it has ever felt, but still not quite where I would like it.

The levers on my VFR come down and are hard as a rock.

I might try cleaning the calipers out and see if that helps.  I did grease the alignment pins before I put the new brake pads in.

pulling the lever back overnight should fix you up. I changed my lines recently and after I bled the brakes with a vacuum they were still a little soft. Tied the lever back overnight and it was all good the next day.

[ChazzyB]

Make sure the calipers and pistons are clean, then make sure they slide properly on their pins. Having gone over mine, the brakes are the best I've ever had them, both in terms of their effectiveness and the lever feel. The other side of the next winter and it will be back to square one though.

Now, my '99 Speed Triple - lever goes back to the bars but I'm buggered if I can get any more air out!