| Author | Message | ||
     Robi |
K. thanks. I will take a shot at it. Reuel: when you say "pump," are you referring to something like this that EZ posted? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem. taf?itemnumber=38053 When I use the pump/watch level method, will I still be doing the "slowly pump the break" method also? Or is this just to get air out (that I will be avoided by using the break pump)? | ||
| Monzaracer |
Unless I had some super expensive custom car I would never use dot 5 silicone fluid. its squishy and have never felt safe on a bike using it. As for me I use this:http://www.brakebleeder.com/product.php?pid=1 but this is more for diy guyshttp://www.brakebleeder.com/product.php?pid=37 Bought my first phoenix injector problably 15 yrsago and new one about 5 yrs ago. Reverse bleeding is the only way to flush a system. I can bench bleed a master cylinder in 5 minutes and barely have to touch them on car. Just depends on what you like and have cash for. As for fluids use the same dot number called for by each unit but observe boiling points for better stuff and try not to mix brands ,have had some minor issues with that little problem. | ||
| Robi |
Those are a little too rich for my blood and uses. I think I'll try the gravity, tube, jar, method with eye on reservoir, fill before air, and buy a new tool if I need it. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"Reverse bleeding is the only way to flush a system. "Lets not make rocket science out of this. Gravity bleed is fine. Tools are great, but not necessary for this. Harley has been using silicone dot 5 for years and when everything else in the garage is dot 5, it just makes it easier to convert the Blast.  Robi, once you get the fluid moving, gravity will do the rest. The less 'pumping' the better. | ||
| Robi |
cool. thx. as always, I'll be back if I have problems. | ||
| Reuel |
I slowly pump my brake handle. DOT5 does not absorb moisture nearly as much as DOT4. This means that if you do not regularly change your fluid, condensation can cause corrosion more quickly than DOT4. There are situations that warrant DOT5 on a Blast, but I know my riding style doesn't come close. Google DOT5 brake fluid, and you can find all kinds of good information as well as some rather skewed opinions. | ||
| Monzaracer |
AS I said, silicone gives less feedback/feels squishy. Just helped a guy re bleed his bike system after installing Dot 5 silicone, not liking feel and going back too dot 4. one thing is the system needs to be completely free of old fluid(ie dry)in my experience or Dot 5 Silicone can and will in some instances make sludge,(been there seen it in 4 show cars and buddies $6000 Aerospace race brake system).The race car had been giving problems as it sat a lot in his garage, low mounted master cylinder and his better half would open heated/ac garage door and set lounge out in front of garage to sun her self, anyway brake system kept getting moisture contamination, he turned AC off and it went away, so local shop sold him dot 5, year later it had sludge in it, called company dot 5 fluid made and THEY informed us they(silicone /non silicone) dont like each other.We at least was able to get rebuild parts to clean and rebuild calipers/master cylinder, ran brake-clean and compressed air through lines to clean it out and wound up replacing flex lines too as he got good deal on stainless. Guy never liked feel after we completely blew out all of old fluid we could, silicone is a bitch on long systems to get air out of, hence he bought a phoenix injector him self. As for absorbing moisture if you flush brakes either with gravity, pressure bleeder or simple pump and bleed, your never gonna see any issues. Only good thing I have EVER seen from silicone brake fluid(I am a mechanic) is that it wont trash paint like regular fluid. But use what ever ya want. I still have 2 sealed cans of Performance Friction high performance brake fluid from my days of working at Autozone, been saving for my Monza but may flush bike fluid with one. I had an 85 Shadow and the guy puled brakes off and looked at them (never been off since I bought it in 95 and it sat out side after engine broke) he used brake fluid moisture tester on it and asked if I had serviced brakes recently (as I had thought of working on bike,instead bought my Blast and sold Shadow)as he said it had better reading than his freshly redone car brakes on moisture tester. Just need more storage room at work for tools(since car has became roling tool storage) as I miss riding my Blast all the time, as I did last year for DD because of gas prices. | ||
| Reuel |
Yup! My research showed that going to or from DOT5 requires a completely dry system. Mixing does cause problems. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Hmmm.....So, what your saying is, if I got this right, but maybe I'm reading it wrong, is that you don't like DOT 5 fluid?!!!  Mixing Dot 5 and DOT 4 (or 3 etc.) does cause major problems. Its not a secret and never has been. Like many repairs/mods, if its not done right, you'll screw things up! | ||
| Reuel |
Well, I've never tasted it, so maybe I would like it, but I'm not going that route. I don't like the idea of swapping out the fluid as I've already had the experience of swapping out the caliper and getting the air bubbles out of the front brake lines is a real PITA!!! Oh, are you asking me or Monzaracer? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Monzaracer! And yes the front brake line, for as simple as it is, is the worst brake system I've ever come across for getting the air out. After tons of practice at it, I wasnt too worried anymore about swapping fluid. You'll notice however, I'm not too keen on telling others to do it (that is, fool with the front brake line at all)! Silicone tastes better!!! | ||
| Monzaracer |
This is why a reverse bleeding kit helps so much. Mine is over $300, but they have cheaper ones AND if your careful you can reverse flush every vehicle you own. I have since been selling brake flushes for Ford Taurus cars, not sure why but certain years seem to pick up air and moisture sooooo bad that you will think you have a bad master cylinder. Since getting my Phoenix Injector Ican bleed one of these or most any car with an X brake system in minutes, literally. I had one of guys at work start having brake issues on his softtail, we reverse bled it in about a minute and tada, all done and rides perfect now, his experience wasnt good with gravity bleeding, it hadnt gotten all the bad fluid out obviously but oh well, everyone has their own ways for doing things. Yeah I have never liked silicone brake fluid, we had to use it in one car at Lincoln Tech many years ago and its affinity for air is frustrating in so many ways, now if I had another Phoenix injector I could probably have better luck, but never drive a car with silicone dot 5 fluid if it had ABS , now that is D@MN scary. Oh and IF you can find it there are makers of non silicone dot 5 brake fluid, but its expensive and hard to find, and besides Dot 4 is used by most every NASCAR/Indy car team around so it has to be pretty good, and those cars demand the best! | ||
| Boatwrenchv8 |
My local harley dealer says the front brake caliper rebuild kit is no longer available. Is this true? Does anyone know where I could find a rebuild kit? I don't want to buy a new complete caliper if I can avoid it! | ||
| Ezblast |
Not true - Blasts are still being made. Try Chicago HD/Buell. EZ | ||
| Boatwrenchv8 |
Will contact them and post update, probably Wednesday. Thank you. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
part# H0020.T Caliper piston and seal set. $11.90 | ||
| Jlnance |
I need to bleed my brakes. Anyone know what size tubing fits over the nipples? | ||
| Rusty7983 |
does this sound right, the guy i bought this blast from said it sat. it now has no rear brakes. no apparent leaks, tank full. does it just need to be bled? or do i need a rebuild? | ||
| Ezblast |
Try bleeding, if no results, rebuild or replace. EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Concur. Easy bleed, dont go wild with the brake pedal. A couple easy pumps to get things going, the leave the bleeder open and it should gravity bleed by itself-dont let the reservoir run dry. Rear brake is practically useless on the Blast anyway*, so dont worry too much about it. Also, with use it will probably get better. *Like most sportbikes, hard braking loads up the front and using the rear brake will cause the rear wheel to lock up easily. Its only worthless in the sense that its not going to stop your bike in any hurry. The front brake needs to work though! | ||
| Ezblast |
With the right pads, a fork brace, SS braided lines, and fresh DOT4 - you can do stoppies - and one finger braking is a breeze - lol - it can get that good! EZ | ||
| Ezblast |
Whats a rear brake? EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
LOL! Its something they check on any kind of vehicle inspection, but like an appendix, its not really needed! | ||
| Ezblast |
Good analogy! | ||
| Rusty7983 |
i bought an 03. it has no rear brakes. the guy i got it from said it just needed to be pumped back up. i looked for leaks and fluid is good. do i just bleed and go? what else should i check? | ||
| Rusty7983 |
sorry about the double post! | ||
| Rusty7983 |
this is my 2nd legal street ride. my first is a dual purpose that i've worked on for years, still not done. i rode dirt bikes, and only used the rear brake. i did training/ took test, but never mastered the front brake. so i will either kill myself or wear the plastic off the side of the bike. i will fix brake and do oil change in am and ride. | ||
| Rusty7983 |
what is the purpose of a fork brace? how does it work? where do you put it? | ||
| Swampy |
A fork brace ties the two fork sliders together so they will work together. Without one the only thing tying the two sliders together is the axle itself. The axle can/will flex. This can allow the the sliders to move independently from one another up and down which can cause the wheel to not stay parallel causeing a floating or searching feeling when in a corner. So the short answer is it helps to make the steering more precise. | ||
| Rusty7983 |
ok, friday i tried bleeding the rear brake. i gravity bled, did have some air. checked it no pedal. bled it again (did about 3 times) but still have no pedal, so what else do i check? the fluid is still full. |
