Man, I am chompin' at the bit to get back riding. All I have left is to bleed my front brake line. I replaced it with a longer line and I have a suction kit I "rented" from Auto Zone. The only problem is a page is missing on bleeding.

So, I made sure the MC was level, removed the cover and attached the suction kit to the bleeder valve on the front caliper. I opened it with a 1/4 turn and started the suction slowly. I have been at it for 20 minutes and still bubbles. I have to keep refilling the reservoir so that it does not get empty.

Is there something I am doing wrong? I have never bled brakes on a motorcycle before and I want to learn to do as much as possible so I do not have to pay to have someone else wrench on it.


thanks,

 

Front brakes are easier than the back cause it's pretty much a straight up and down bleed.
I first try gravity then try bleeding by squeezing the brake lever and cracking open the petcock and don't release the lever till you shut the petcock so it doesn't suck air.
The last resort is the bleeder to suck it all out. Your on the right track but since you are still getting allot of bubbles you might want to try to just gravity bleed it for a bit the go back to the manual bleed. I use clear aquarium tube to connect to the petcock that seals good You can't have a loose tube on the fitting.
Sometimes just tapping the lever helps get air out too.
I have a bleeder kit from sears that costed $65.00 and works good.
If I work the lever too much it bubbles and I leave the cover off for a little while to allow the air bubbles to rise.
It takes time sometime.
They also make speed bleeders that helps in manually bleeding.

 

After you attach the Hose to your bleeder valve, pump up the suction unit to create a vacuum BEFORE you open the valve. Now loosen the bleeder valve until the vacuum bleeds down almst to zero before you close the valve again. Should just take a couple of times to get all the air out - unless you have a minute leak up by the actuator. If you have a leak, no amount of bleeding will work. If you did not use new washers on all connections for the brake line you replaced, there's a reasonable chance you could have an air leak.

 

On power bleeders you will sometimes get air in the hose connection by the fitting. These air bubbles do not indicate air in the system. How does the lever feel?

 

Often rather than air being in the system, the bubbles are from air leaking past the threads of the bleeder when it's loosened. This air shouldn't remain in the system if you continue the sucking as you snug down the bleeder. Nevertheless after I remove the vacuum I do one more by loosening then tightening the bleeder while pressing the brake.

edit, DCLXVI beat me to it! :-)

 

There are tips on brake bleeding in the DIY section.

 

Well said, I used brand new washers and listened for any possible leaks and there are none. The lever did get a little stiffer, and by that no where near what it was before I changed lines.
I will be back at it after work today, and by God I will be riding tonight......

 

Just as a side note, I have used Speed Bleeders on several bikes. They are well worth the money.
http://www.speedbleeder.com/
Dennis Kirk carries ones by Russell and Goodridge also.

 

Make your own power-bleeder...



I'm sure you can find them at the supermarket near the meat marinades or the dollar store.

 

All of the previous replies are spot on the right track. I've had problem times with the front brake like you. I did everything the way it said but I still keep having air in the lines.

What finally got me going was several things together. One I tapped on the line all the way up and down with a light weight piece of wood, to vibrate the bubbles to the top. I also turned the front wheel to the left and let it sit over night. This tilts the Master Cylinder more up.

Then the next day I made sure I had enough fluid in the Master and went for a short ride even with a weak spongy front brake (be carefull doing this). When I got back I noticed my handle was stronger. So I opened the master and sure enough some fluid had gone down into the line and I had to put some more in the master. Just the vibration of riding the bike down the road and back got the last little air out of the line.

Again use this method only as a last resort and don't get into traffic with no front brake. But it did work for me. BTW Harbor Freight sells a great pneumatic bleeder for bout $29 bucks that I have since bought.