Hey folks,

I'm a new member here, long-time reader. I'll give some info as to the events that led to where I'm at today in hopes it makes things a bit clearer. I have a 2005 ultra classic, brakes were just put in new about a year ago.

1. Unfortunately here I have no place to protect my bike from the elements, so it was subject to the jersey winter ice/snow/rain.
2. I took 'er out for a ride last week when I smelled a funny smell almost like burning fluid.
3. I started to pull over but as I went to pull in the front brake lever, it was as stiff as a board and barely responsive. Think of it like a car without power steerin fluid.
4. I got home, opened up the master cylinder cover and found cloudy liquid in there - so I figured exposure to the elements and all that allowed more moisture in there than it should have and turned the fluid bad.
5. I pulled all of the fluid out from the bleeder on both calipers and tried to start over.

At this point I noticed no pressure was building up at all. My brother came over thinking I was crazy to help me out with it and he was surprised to see I wasn't that nuts - there was no pressure - just all play on the lever. The pads don't move. Now, it's my thought that maybe those pistons are stuck in there and that's why fluid comes out of the bleeder when I test, but I have no pressure because they can't move. Does that sound about right? Has anyone else had a similar issue like this? I've been watching youtube and reading for the past week and I'm just arrivin at this point now.

I hope I gave enough info and it makes sense. Would appreciate any help because it's killin me havin 'er sit in the driveway all disabled.

Thanks,

njhd

 

Sounds like an air pocket somewhere and it is not bled good. Not saying it is, just sounds like it.

 

Thanks for the response man. My brother pumped the lever as i cracked the bleeder, closed it, and repeated a few times on each caliper. The one thing I didn't do was crack the banjo bolt on the MC.

 

Do crack that banjo fitting at the master cylinder. That's the place to start the bleeding when you've run the system dry.

 

Try pumping the lever hard for about 10 minutes straight. You'll be surprised!

 

When I changed bars I changes lines too. I caught hell trying to get mine to pump up. The wife was getting tired of pumping. I thought I had it and finally did the banjo then went back to the caliper then it worked. I Think that was the hardest part of getting the bars done was getting the brakes to bleed properly.

 

Thanks fellas. I'm supposin I'll go crack the banjo (open/close real quick to let air out or?), then re-bleed by pullin the fluid out of each caliper's bleeder and top off the mc reservoir? Do i really need to go buy a mityvac?

 

Get a piece of hose to fit the bleeder. Put the hose on the bleeder and put the other end into a jar of brake fluid. Open bleeder and take master cylinder cover off. (Also good idea to put something over your tank to protect the paint) Let it bleed (gravity bleed) You can also slowly pumping the lever. Make sure the MC stays filled with fresh fluid. After some pumping you should see the pads moving. If not, the pistons in the caliper are probably seized and needs replaced or rebuilt. Usually cheaper to replace.

 

If the fluid was cloudy that's a sign of water. Water expands when it freezes. If your bike sat out in this harsh winter weather, the water in there could have expanded and messed up the seals in the master cylinder. If you aren't getting pressure, I'd check there first. If the pistons in the caliper are froze up and your master cylinder was good it would be hard as a rock with no movement of the pads. Master cylinder is a cheap easy rebuild. I rebuilt mine while at Daytona bike week with basic hand tools. Don't get brake fluid on any painted surfaces, it will ruin the finish quick! Hope you get her on the road soon.

 

As you described your issue, I would just disassemble, inspect, and rebuild everything. You never said what condition your fluid was in before, but given your location and we here saw on tv how bad your winter was on the east coast this year and most years just start with a clean slate and do it all. I believe you guys have salted roads there and that **** F's everything up.