Brake Bleeding Help Needed!

[smellthat?]

Buddy came over today to do his Spring wrenching on his scooter - he has the speed bleeders. Man that was easy! I had ordered my set Saturday and got the email this afternoon they are in the mail. Quick install and bam easy bleeding will be in my future. :lol:

 

[Constant Mesh]

Simple, inexpensive method for changing brake fluid.

https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/brake_inspection/photo_01.html

 

[smellthat?]

You are missing the whole point and buying needless addons for your scoot! Shame on you - inexpensive methods are not welcome here. Otherwise I wouldn't have just ordered a Pazzo lever when my current lever works just fine.

 

[RadioHowie]

Simple, inexpensive method for changing brake fluid.

https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/brake_inspection/photo_01.html

Isn't that how anyone (who doesn't have SpeedBleeders or a MityVac) bleed brakes?

I don't bother with a fancy-schmancy fluid "reservoir".....I use an old mayonnaise jar.

 

[smellthat?]

Received and installed the speed bleeders today and did the bleed again. Man, much faster and easier. Now I am sure there is no air in thar :lol:

 

[carlson_mn]

Well, if you had posted about this in the MN Owners thread I woulda came up with my medical suction unit and done all your brakes and clutch in about 20 minutes while you watched! :clapping:

I maybe would have even noticed the lever too.... good thing Marc was there though.

 

[Greb]

Okay, received my speed bleeders today in the mail. Installed and bled all my lines in less than 30 minutes. These things rock! :yahoo:

 

[SkooterG]

Question for those of you who have installed the Speedbleeders - what's the easiest/no-mess way to do it? IOW, when you remove the old bleeder, does all the fluid come flowing out? How about leaving the master cylider cap on? Does that reduce the flow/mess? Or should I remove as much fluid as I can from the Master Cylinder and lines first?

 

[FJReady]

somebody hurry and answer Skooters question. I was wondering the same thing. I'm guessing that leaving the M/C covers on will help as Skooter portends- if air can't get in- then fluid would have a hard time draining out of an open caliper. But some experienced responses are welcome. thx

 

[Aasland]

SPeedbleeders work great. Mityvac does too, if you have the 90 degree rubber adapters for the nipples. I've never had any luck with the mityvac with the hose right on the nipple ... sucks in too much air.

 

[SkooterG]

SPeedbleeders work great. Mityvac does too, if you have the 90 degree rubber adapters for the nipples. I've never had any luck with the mityvac with the hose right on the nipple ... sucks in too much air.

What's the 90 degree adapter and where to I get one? I am not familiar with that. I've used Mityvac for years. Not perfect, but works. Figured I would give speedbleeders a try.

 

[Burnspot]

Question for those of you who have installed the Speedbleeders - what's the easiest/no-mess way to do it? IOW, when you remove the old bleeder, does all the fluid come flowing out? How about leaving the master cylider cap on? Does that reduce the flow/mess? Or should I remove as much fluid as I can from the Master Cylinder and lines first?

I just swapped out the old bleeders for Speedbleeders last week. I didn't do anything special with the master cylinder...I just heaped lots of rags around the calipers and went at it. I had the Speedbleeders staged and ready to pop in...unscrewed the old bleeder...fluid starts coming out (really just a dribble...I'd like to think vaccuum pressure was at work since the reservoirs were still sealed up) and quickly screwed the Speedbleeder in place and tightened it up. Did all of the brakes and then popped the reservoir covers and bled everything. I found that the fluid levels in each reservoir had not dropped that much during the change out. It was a bit messy, but I had enough rags stuffed around each caliper to keep fluid off everything except the immediate vicinity of each bleeder.

There's probably a more elegant way to do it, but short of draining the entire system, I don't see how.

I have a Speedbleeder for the clutch also, but I'm going to wait until I need to pull the side fairing off before doing that one.

 

[bramfrank]

I wasn't kidding when I said to order the hose and bag they sell - no mayonaise jar. Zero spillage.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Question for those of you who have installed the Speedbleeders - what's the easiest/no-mess way to do it? IOW, when you remove the old bleeder, does all the fluid come flowing out? How about leaving the master cylider cap on? Does that reduce the flow/mess? Or should I remove as much fluid as I can from the Master Cylinder and lines first?

Skoot...Get some of those blue shop towels, your SpeedBleeder, your tubing, and a container to empty the fluid into.

Open your SpeedBleeder and set it on the floor next to you. Fold a towel and have an extra one on hand just in case.

Remove the old bleeder and put your finger over the hole. A very small amount of fluid will come out. With your free hand, use the towel to dab up any fluid that runs. Once you do that, pick up the SpeedBleeder and put it in the hole and tighten it up. Use the towel again and wipe up any stray fluid. The amount you lose and have to clean up will be very minimal.

Then, open your reservoir and bleed your brakes. There will be very little air in there and it will come out quickly. Dispose of your old fluid like you always do. I usually just pour it back in the bottle I just opened since and open bottle of brake fluid is useless.

That answer your question or you need more? If so, just call me. Those things are easy as shit.

 

[Aasland]

SPeedbleeders work great. Mityvac does too, if you have the 90 degree rubber adapters for the nipples. I've never had any luck with the mityvac with the hose right on the nipple ... sucks in too much air.

What's the 90 degree adapter and where to I get one? I am not familiar with that. I've used Mityvac for years. Not perfect, but works. Figured I would give speedbleeders a try.

I found it in the box that came with my MityVac.

https://www.lincolnindustrial.com/asp/distributors/access/distributors/9_MV8500.jpg

In that picture, it's the two little black things in the middle.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Question for those of you who have installed the Speedbleeders - what's the easiest/no-mess way to do it? IOW, when you remove the old bleeder, does all the fluid come flowing out? How about leaving the master cylider cap on? Does that reduce the flow/mess? Or should I remove as much fluid as I can from the Master Cylinder and lines first?

.unscrewed the old bleeder...fluid starts coming out (really just a dribble...I'd like to think vaccuum pressure was at work since the reservoirs were still sealed up) .....

FYI - The reservoirs are vented by grooves, if you look under the caps, and air moves in and out based on the movement of the rubber diaphrams under each cap. When you remove the bleeder, the fluid drops, diaphram moves, air goes in to compensate. Very little mind you, but certainly no vacuum.

 

[biknflyfisher]

These speed bleeders sound like the shizzle.

What size does an FJR require? (I have a 2007A).

All FJR years the same bleeder size?

biknflyfisher

 

[SkooterG]

Installed them yesterday with a minimum of mess and fuss. They worked great. Glad I got them.

A couple things:

On my 04, the front right caliper stock bleeder had a rubber o-ring on it. None on the speedbleeder replacement. I'm sure it will be fine, but thought that interesting.

When bleeding the rear caliper with the speedbleeder on, I never did get it to the point where the small air bubbles stopped coming out. And I did a LOT of flushing/bleeding. I am guessing air was making it's way through the threads? Brakes feel and work fine. I bled all calipers, did ionbeam's abs hydraulic pump testing procedure to circulate the old fluid out of the abs pump, and then rebled them all again. While my front lever still has just a bit of 'sponginess' to it, it' is firmer than before the bleed. Interestingly, and 07 AE dropped by right after I finished and the front brake lever on that bike was firmer than mine.

The tube they sell is the shizzle! Better than any other I have used. It's like surgical tubing - extremely flexible and forms and excellent seal on the nipple. And ditto for their 'bag'. That $3 I spent for that bag may be the best $3 I have ever spent on an FJR. No more worrying about spilling some container. And it holds a lot. Most definitely buy the hose and bag combo!

 

[RadioHowie]

Most definitely buy the hose and bag combo!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Voice of experience!

 

[EMetz1300]

I have primarily used a Mitivac for everything for more than 20 years without fail. The FJR however presents a challenge with its linked brakes and massive ABS network. Once air gets in, it appears to be VERY difficult to get the lever back to new, firm feel. I think mine was dropped on the right side and the brake system opened up for some reason.

So as of today, I have used the mitivac I dont know how many times now on the FJR. I tried the manual old school method with my wife helping out, and I finally bought speedbleeders. The speedbleeders arent any better than using the mitivac and my lever is still not yet firm enough to believe there is no air trapped somewhere.

So IMO, the speedbleeders are not worth the money because they dont really make anything easier for me personally. In fact I twice squirted fluid up in the air our of the resevior when "bleeding" the system using the speedbleeders. You have to go super slow or have the cap on when bleeding with the speedbleeders. No thanks.

And regarding air being pulled through the threads using the mityvac, add thread sealant (notice speedbleeders come with it already applied) to the OEM bleeders. Problem solved.