Brake Bleeding Question

[Purple Guy]

I changed my rear brake pads yesterday, had caliper off the bike to get piston retracted back in so I had a brake line off. Reinstalled everything and bled the rear brakes.
I can't seem to get a good firm brake pedal, very spongy and with a hard stop (not emergency stop) my floorboard keeps dropping.

My question, even though I didn't touch the front brakes and there being 2 reservoirs do I need to bleed all the lines anyway?

Any guidance is appreciated!

 

[jtoro1]

I changed my rear brake pads yesterday, had caliper off the bike to get piston retracted back in so I had a brake line off. Reinstalled everything and bled the rear brakes.
I can't seem to get a good firm brake pedal, very spongy and with a hard stop (not emergency stop) my floorboard keeps dropping.

My question, even though I didn't touch the front brakes and there being 2 reservoirs do I need to bleed all the lines anyway?

Any guidance is appreciated!

You should have left the brake line on now you're going to have to bleed the brakes and you might need the buds

 

[Purple Guy]

Thanks guys!

 

[KX5062]

From experience, use Pentisone fluid. Very few micro bubbles as delivered. Degas the fluid prior to bleeding. Bleed all three corners AND the ABS.

Prior to bleeding, use the vacuum tool to remove all the old fluid from the rezzy. Fill the rezzy with new degassed fluid.

Bleed ABS until clean new fluid shows. Bleed left front then right front. Do them until new fluid appears.

Finally do the rear.

Do the above with vacuum.

Then do a final bleed of 5 brake pedal pumps minimum per ABS and each wheel.

While doing this ensure the rezzy never runs dry.

No BUDS should be needed.

Our 14 had the worst looking brake fluid after 18 months. It is a 24 month flush and refill item. Once done, our pedal lost that oem spongy feel and the brakes now are nice.

All the best with it.

Do not skimp, it will only come back to haunt you later.

What he said is excellent advice. :thumbup:

However, for me, I don't really worry about degassing the new fluid. Probably better to do it, but, IMO, not truly necessary.

Also, what I like to do is to carefully remove the old fluid from the master cylinder with a syringe or similar device. Taking care not to remove too much fluid and expose the intake port at the bottom of the reservoir. Then I add new fresh fluid and again using the syringe, draw out the old/mixed fluid and repeat until the fluid in the reservoir looks relatively clean/clear. Then I perform the bleed, and do it until the fluid comes out clean.

Like PMK said, I did my 2014 at the 2 year mark and the old fluid came out as black as used motor oil.

 

[pitzerwm]

Thanks Paul, where is the ABS unit that also needs bleeding?

 

[spyderCodes]

As I understand it you do not need BUDDS , but you should turn the Spyder ON, disengage the parking brake then turn the Spyder off.
The Beeping will cease.
If you turn the Spyder ON at any time during the process you could trigger a Brake Fault that might need BUDDS to clear.
I've never done this myself but have read with interest most of the threads concerning it.

 

[Purple Guy]

As I understand it you do not need BUDDS , but you should turn the Spyder ON, disengage the parking brake then turn the Spyder off.
The Beeping will cease.
If you turn the Spyder ON at any time during the process you could trigger a Brake Fault that might need BUDDS to clear.
I've never done this myself but have read with interest most of the threads concerning it.

Another good tip, thanks

 

[M109Dreamer]

Degassing fluid...For the longest time I never bothered on any vehicle I owned. Years ago, I had either the bicycle or the KTM give me fits getting the lever firm for the front brake. (most likely it was the Brembo on the KTM).

Around that time, 2004 / 2005, we had started bleeding rear shocks on the race bike using a vacuum technique.

I adopted this degas technique for brakes over 10 years ago and each time someone sees me put the brake fluid in the jar and pull the vacuum on it they freak out seeing how much air is trapped as microbubbles in the fluid.

Degassing takes about 2 minutes and saves a lot more time than that during the bleed process.

Do you by chance have a pic of your setup?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[pegasus1300]

Degassing fluid...For the longest time I never bothered on any vehicle I owned. Years ago, I had either the bicycle or the KTM give me fits getting the lever firm for the front brake. (most likely it was the Brembo on the KTM).

Around that time, 2004 / 2005, we had started bleeding rear shocks on the race bike using a vacuum technique.

I adopted this degas technique for brakes over 10 years ago and each time someone sees me put the brake fluid in the jar and pull the vacuum on it they freak out seeing how much air is trapped as microbubbles in the fluid.

Degassing takes about 2 minutes and saves a lot more time than that during the bleed process.

Are you using the larger bottle on the Mity Vac to pull your vacuum

 

[KX5062]

Another advantage of the Pentosin fluid is, it is considered to have the lowest moisture absorption rate of any commercially available fluid. Another highly recommended brake fluid is Castrol LMA DOT4. (But not as highly regarded as the Pentosin)

 

[pitzerwm]

Paul,

Will 8oz be enough or do I need 16oz? In BUDS there is a bleed brakes option, I didn't pay attention to it, but wonder if that will work if you have BUDS.

Maybe JThorne will know.

 

[Highwayman2013]

Pentisone is sold at Pep Boys.