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Mushy brakes (bike)


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Originally Posted by v65rider View Post

Then it sounds like the reverse bleed is about the only thing you have left.

You can also turn the bars so that they master cylinder is at it's highest point, and put a small block between the grip and the lever so the lever doesn't go all the way to the grip and then wrap a bungie around the grip and lever.

If you leave it like this overnight sometimes the trapped bubble will travel back up to the master cylinder.

I know this sounds strange but it does work I have done it.

Your right, it does sound weird.

But it is just sitting anyway...

brb

Ok, lever tied half way back.

I have some goatskin leggings and can do a funky dance... :banana:

Hey, if it works!

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I call bullshit! If that were to work then you are proving that your m/c is shot. Reason being that your piston creates an air tight seal in the bore of the m/c thus pushing the fluid down the line and if it allows air or fluid to get past it you have no fluid movement. Equalling no brakes or mushy brakes. So no you can not leave the lever compressed to let air out it's not going to work of your m/c is functioning properly.

Would it prove a bad M/C if it seems to work? :confused:

Keep in mind this bike has 28 years of un-known history.

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Yes b/c it should not let anything back at all. Pull your piston out and look at it. It should be a plastic piston with rubber flanges going around it to creat a seal and not letting air or fluid by. Yours might vary some but that's the general piston in a m/c. Either that or O ring sealed pistons.

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If your lever is tied back that pushes the fluid down to the brake caliper if you were to tie it in that position and let it stay what would keep a air bubble from traveling up to the highest point? The highest it can go is to the mastercylinder if you want to you can crack the lid on the mc in the morning but I wouldn't leave the mc open over night since brake fluid is hydroscopic.

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There is a trick to bleeding brakes. It's a closed pressure system, and when pressurized, that air immediately disperses evenly throughout the entire fluid system. Boom, gone. It's still in there, but it's microscopically all over the place throughout the fluid. The point is.... That can help or hurt. If you are trying to get a big bubble out, you don't want to pull the brake lever before bleeding. The other method, is to go ahead and pump the brake lever, and make that air go all throughout the fluid, and drain or flush it all out of the entire system.

You can let the system settle over night, and the air bubbles will rise to the top of the system and be trapped as big bubbles again in various places. Some will be up at the top of the lines, and might come out ok when the master cylinder moves it's piston. But air trapped in the front brake caliper, will sometimes be tough to remove. That's another story.

Weak rubber brake lines or damaged o-rings on pistons or leaking connections, will also give a very mushy feeling of no brake lever.

Edited by ReconRat
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Patience is a virtue it would seem.

I tried it again and got the lever to passable, kinda.

Weezle and I got rained out on trying the vacuum bleeder.

Still want to do it but I have enough brake to ride on, for now.

Rain sux, but a day and a half of it sux even more! :cry:

Guess the new pads are taking up some of the slack.

Anyway, it does stop in a reasonable distance.

So I can be on the road till the next rain festival, tomorrow...

Thanks for all the tips guys, much appreciated.

Bike brakes are not the same as car brakes in reality, just in theory.

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Glad to hear!

Yes, I may need the info in the future (this winter when I tear down the Interceptor.)

The solution was to not expect perfection from a 30 year old motorcycle.

I had it bled down but it still felt mushy to me. I thought with new pads it should have been rock solid.

Lance told me otherwise. He explained how the master cylinder wears on bikes and that I had an acceptable amount of tension at the lever.

It does stop way better!

A MC rebuild is the only way to get it to have more tension at the lever, that and braided steel lines etc, etc.

What I learned was the easiest way to bleed the brake is use 3 foot of cheap clear plastic tube from Home Depot and a large can of patience to to the job.

I also learned that brake fluid hates plastic and anything with paint on it! (Like the tank) Soapy water in large quantities will help with that.

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