Front brake dead

[hj2095]

Hello, quick question. I’ve had my VS 800 in the garage for two years and now starting to work on it to get it back into shape to ride. I noticed that the front brake has no hydraulic pressure, and I suspect that the fluid is gone. Any suggestions on what I should do first, or is there a tutorial on how to reinstall hydraulic fluid and re-bleed this? I don’t know that that’s the problem, but when I squeeze the front brake, nothing happens, no action at the calipers, no pressure at all. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks

[rocksandhammers]

So a couple of things: first there should be a link pinned at the top of the forum for the service manual, worth having for all sorts of reasons and will walk you step by step through removing and examining the brakes.

Second, look in the fluid reservoir on the bars. If there's no/low fluid that's certainly a problem. If there is fluid with it sitting for so long it's entirely possible you have some air in the system. Try wrapping a rubber band or a zip tie around the brake lever and holding it against the bars for a day or two. It will let the air bleed out and you may get some responsiveness back.

If that doesn't work you'll need to start checking seals and components in the master/slave cylinders. It's possible something rubber corroded over time and doesn't have a proper seal. Master cylinder rebuild kits are pretty cheap and you'll have replacements for all the usual suspects.

It's also possible the brake line has corroded. I think the manual recommends replacing brake/clutch hoses every 4 years or so so if they're older than that it will be worth replacing.

Regardless of the culprit, you'll want to change out the brake fluid. Again, manual calls for changing the fluid every other year as moisture can build up and ruin the viscosity. Since you say it's sat for several years it's time to change it even if it's full.

If all that doesn't fix it then you may have a problem with the caliper, but that's probably less likely than the other things I've mentioned.

Hopefully that helps and keep us updated. If I missed anything I'm sure someone here will add it before too long.

[hj2095]

As well as what type of fluid goes in there. Thank you

[hj2095]

Hey, thanks a lot. That’s a wealth of information and I will look into it.

[navigator]

Cover your paint with plastic, brake fluid eats paint.
get the reservoir level, and remove the top cover.
use a meat baster and suck out any old fluid.
clean the interior.
fill to 1/4" from the top with DOT 4 brake fluid. replace cover.
bleed the caliper per the manual.

Do the same on the clutch side.