Breaks, brakes, frenos

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enforcer
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Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 7:29 pm
My Bike: 03 HD FLHT 01 Yamaha XVS650

Breaks, brakes, frenos

Post by enforcer »

Might be time for the old girl to make someone else happy

But before it does, it's time to make her as safe as I can. I suppose this write-up could apply to several models, but I'm doing it because I'm going to be doing it by weeks end. I suppose this should be a no brainer, but here goes.

Brake hose replacement and bleeding

So you've stumbled upon your bike and the hose/hoses are cracked and bleeding. (No pun intended)

What do you do?

First, if you're unlucky like me, it's a BMW and the dealer not only wants to rape you, but wants to pass you around to his friends. What do you do? You have a few choices.

Pay what the dealer wants for new hoses. (Screw that)
Have them made by a local shop. (Better, but this baby has 171K and I'm not paying as much as I paid for the bike for new hoses)
Make them yourself (getting better, but after all is said and done, it's only about half of what it cost to get them made, especially if you need a lot of fittings, thanks a lot ABS)
My old standby, eBay (Bingo)

Got a used setup in good nick for $30. Bargain. And don't only buy the one that's leaking, that's a recipe for disaster.

So, once I receive said replacement, I'll cover or remove any painted surfaces, strip the old ones of, being careful to catch what's left in the system, and install the new ones.

Use new crush washers on all the banjos. They're cheap and that ensure a good seal. Next, bolt up the replacements. Now, it's definitely good practice to note this is a dual caliper, ABS setup. Because of the ABS, I couldn't go to a dual banjo and a single line to each caliper like I preferred. Instead, I'm stuck with a single line, that through the ABS modulator and a T fitting, feeds both calipers equally (at least that that theory).

Now, just like a car, you want to bleed the caliper furthest from the MC first. This ensures there's no air in between the line/T fitting/banjo/etc when you go to bleed the closer caliper. Then just bleed away. I use a vacuum bleeder, maintaining steady vacuum and a topped up MC along the way. Of course, you can always do the tried and true, but even when you do that make sure the MC doesn't empty along the way. I find a one man bleeder kit is handy when using this method as you don't have have to continuously close the bleeder as you go.

Once you're done, as long as the brakes feel good and stiff, you're good to go. Check for leaks along the entire system and pray you don't have to rebuild a caliper. (The only kit I can find for my Brembos is $100)

If you run into a hiccup, and the brakes feel squishy, you have two options.

Option 1

Bleed at the banjo. Just crack the banjo open while squeezing the lever slowly, then close once you've squeezed it all the way. Technique is key. If done right, it's a quick albeit messy way to ensure stiff brakes.

Option 2
Search this site for Designer's method. Shouldn't be hard to find.

Still squishy? Check again for leaks, you probably have some you can't see.
Current rides: 03 HD FLHT & 01 Yamaha XVS650(BIP)
Former: 87 Suzuki VS700, 94 BMW K1100LT & 91 Honda CB250

I don't want to own them all, just ride them all.
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User avatar
enforcer
Joined a 650cc Club
Posts: 1138
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2016 7:29 pm
My Bike: 03 HD FLHT 01 Yamaha XVS650

Re: Breaks, brakes, frenos

Post by enforcer »

98VS1400 wrote:Do you have that funky powered brake system on your BMW? How did you go about bleeding the ABS?
No, but it is ABS. Bleeding the ABS is the same as a regular brake system. It just goes through the modulator first.
Current rides: 03 HD FLHT & 01 Yamaha XVS650(BIP)
Former: 87 Suzuki VS700, 94 BMW K1100LT & 91 Honda CB250

I don't want to own them all, just ride them all.
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