Straight from your scariest horror film:



I ordered a six pack of these on Amazon: I added the length of 3/8" OD x 1/4" ID vinyl tubing (Lowes). That size fits snuggly on the syringe and the bleeder screw.

Used it to reverse bleed the front brakes on my 93 FLHS, and it was super easy. Got all the air out of both the brakes first try.

However.... When I took the bike out for a test ride, the front calipers weren't releasing. I limped it back to the house, put it on the lift, and disassembled/cleaned them. I didn't push out the pistons, but cleaned around them. Using a small C-clamp, I pushed the pistons fully into their bores, reassembled, pumped up the brakes. Good lever, no air. Took it out for another test loop, and it worked as good as new. (Oh, and THC, I finally got around to putting in those brake caliper parts you sent me. Thanks!)

I'm just wondering why they decided to stick in the first place? And why pushing the pistons fully into their bores, seemed to correct the problem? Ideas?

 

Must have been a while ago 'cause I've forgotten all about it.
Glad they worked for you.

 

Nice job Hackd!
I've been thinking of this for a long time. Spanners suggested it one day but I never followed through.
I can't answer why your brakes didn't release. ..

 

Glad you got it fixed. I did the same thing a couple of years ago. Picked up the syringe at a local medical supply store that worked perfectly.

 

Thanks! I've had mixed success with the traditional method of bleeding the front dual disc brakes. This is, without a doubt, the best way to do it, so I highly recommend getting a similar setup. Get a smaller syringe for removing excess fluid from the master cylinder. You can even leave it attached and then bleed the traditional way after back bleeding. Just leave some fluid in the tubing. The really great thing is, if you make the tubing long enough (I cut mine a bit over four foot, it's a one person job.

Special thanks to Tom84FSXT who made this suggestion: Post #11 https://www.hdforums.com/forum/evo-c...e-blues-2.html.

I still don't have a clue as to why the calipers 'stuck' this time and wouldn't release. I have had a history with them (past five or so years) 'sticking'. But nothing quite like this instance. Hopefully, they have 'self corrected', and won't cause any more problems...

Thanks! When I bought these on Amazon, I was concerned about the tubing fitting snug. No problems at all. Another addition to my Harley 'specialty' tool box!

 

Nice post! Yes, I would be interested in finding out why the caliper stuck up as well. Glad it was a simple fix.

I played this game last year when I replaced my brake lines, but I broke down and bought a mighty-vac. Never dawned on me to use a syringe and tubing, kind of a "duh" moment for me as I work in the health care field and have access/use this stuff every day. Great tip/idea!

Still not happy with how the rear brake feels. Just waiting for a rainy weekend to take another look. YD

 

Reverse bleeding may have pressurised the system, so the pistons wouldn't retract - that's a guess! What you've done since could have relieved that so all is honky-dory now.

 

^^^This.