I'm putting a hydrolic brake switch on my XR250 as part of a dual sport install. The instructions tell me I have to bleed the brakes after the install, and they also say that if I don't feel qualified let a pro do it :eek: Is it rocket science? Any tips or tricks you can let me in on?
Is brake bleeding hard?
- Thread starter jfurniss
- Start date
dklink2000
Damn Yankees
- Feb 18, 2002
- 764
- 0
Do yourself a huge favor and get yourself a vacum bleeder. It makes bleeding the brakes very easy. It will be one of the best 40 bucks you ever spend.
Don't even bother with the vacuum bleeder (even though it works GREAT) and buy a set of Russell Speed bleeders for about $8. With the Speed Bleeders it's a 2 minute job that anyone can do easily. MX South www.mxsouth.com or any of the big distributors can get them for you.
bluerider125
~SPONSOR~
- Feb 23, 2002
- 598
- 0
i know this isn't my thread, but my hydraulic disc brake on the front of my TT-R125L is not as responsive as i want it to be. the lever has to be pulled in pretty far (aboot 1/2-way) to grab hard. will bleeding help this? or is it pads. thanks.
- Jul 31, 2000
- 2,082
- 0
my preferred method of brake bleeding is to open the bleeder valve, place my finger over the end and pump the brake pedal, the fluid is forced out around your finger but no air can get back into the system, works well and doesn't cost a thing :)
bluerider.... . .bleeding will probably solve your problem as long as you have good brake pads on it... . . . . you can do it the regular way, like smb said, or you can use a syringe like i do.... . (i would never use anything but the syringe... it is so easy . . . but ok.. the regular way should work fine, but i have had situations when i accidentally got all kinds of air into the cable, and bleeding the regular way just wasn't working)
There is a MUCH easie way to bleed the brakes, and its free and easy. Get yourself a wrench and socket that fit on the bleeder nut on the caliper and make sure the brake fluid reservoir is full. Then, repeat this step: Push (and hold) the brake, and open the bleeder nut for just under 1 second (fluid WILL come out, but don't worry about it), close it and release the brake. Repeating this about 5 times should tighten up your brakes tremendously, repeat more times if needed. When you are finished, also make sure your fluid reservoir is full again, you will have to top it off. Why this works is because when you bleed the system, what you are doing is pushing out the air bubbles. Since air can be compressed, and fluid cannot, when you push down the brake pedal, and air bubbles rush toward the caliper. By then opening the caliper bleeder nut for just a second, you let out the unwanted air. Trust me, this process works great, give it a try.
B
biglou
Make sure there is air space left in the res for the fluid to expand, otherwise, your brake can slowly apply and even lock up as the fluid heats up and expands. Especially if you use the front brake a lot. There should be a sight glass on the res with a "Min" and "Max" line on it to show the range that the fluid level should be at.
