I replaced my stock handlebars with beach nars this weekend. I also replaced all of the cables with stainless steel ones. Upon completion we tried to bleed the brakes and had no luck. There is no feel of pressure at the lever. I then hooked a hose up to the master cylinder and bled it into a bowl. Seemed to work fine. I hooked up the new hose and tried bleeding it at the end of the hose. Very weak flow. We determined it was the hose. I picked up another hose and we tried it again. Still no luck. We replaced the master cylinder (buddy had an extra lying around). Still no luck. Any ideas? What am I missing?

 

try this, attach the brake line to the master cylinder like it`s suppost to be and torque the upper and lower brake line banjo bolts to 20ftlbs. then with the bike on the side stand, turn the bars to the left untill the mastercylinder is straight up and down meaning that if you took the cap off, the fluid would be level and would not spill out. Then pull the brake lever untill the bubbles stop coming out. this could take a while but it does work and is less messy than bleeding them at the bleeder screw but is definatly slower.

 

I had that problem after I put my bars on......tried bleeding them the normal way several times.....tried a suringe..shot fluid on my garage ceiling..did this for days and nothing. Bought a speed bleeder and still nothing. I ended up putting some plumbers tape...teflon on the threads of the speed bleeder and BAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! done in minutesBeen good for a year now.

 

I don't suggest teflon tape. The washers that come with the line are great. If you are still have ing a problem...one, make sure your hose is not clogged. Two, torque to spec. Three, verfiy fluid type. Four, use a mightyvac. If this doesnot do it, bump the lever a time or two. This should clear a passge if anything is blocked....please right back....I have run into this many times before..

 

With my new brake line and all..new HD valve, and then the speed bleeder the problem seemed to be with the threading not being sealed and air getting in through there.......the tape made it work...maybe the tape is not the best thing to use....maybe try the liquid????

 

Check and make sure you are using the proper fluid. I put the new stuff (purple) in my old sportster and it wouldn't bleed at all. A friend told me that the old stuff (clear looking) won't work in newer bikes, either. I haven't screwed up on the StreetGlide, so I wouldn't know. Sean, the problem with teflon tape is that it can break loose and clog up the little orifices in the brake system. The liquid stuff is better, because if there is excess, it will simply disolve into the fluid.

 

Well a friend showed up with a gun like gizmo with a gauge attached, turned out to be a mighty vac. Problem was he didn't have the proper hoses. We called another buddy, he said he had one and brought it over.....minus hoses. lol. It's been par for the course this weekend. I went to Walmart to pickup some aquarium clear hose, which I was told would work.....it didn't. I went to Harley once again perhaps thinking the crush gaskets were bad. They sold me another set. These were different. They had a rubber coating on them, just like my originals. On the way home I went by Autozone and spent $30 on a mightyvac. Got home replaced the crush gaskets, topped off the master cylinder and began to pump it. It took about 4-5 trys to get the line coming through nice and clear. I kept having to top off the reservoir. I tried it again and began to feel some tension on the lever. I buttoned it up. Tried the front brake and it worked. Took the bike around the block. Those new beach bars are nice! I also insstalled this weekend new taillights, an easy clutch, couple of chrome parts, headlight and driving light visors, harley bar and shield pedals, older style floorboards, and the new Samson Cholo exhaust with the fishtails. These tips are 39" long. They look incredible and sound great. It was a busy weekend and I owe my neighbor a ton of thanks for helping me out. Now we still have to install the chrome lowers, and Arlen Ness 2" lowering kit, but that will have to wait for another day. Thanks for your help guys! Pictures will be up soon!

 

Just thought I would add my .02 in here in case it can help someone else. I am new to Harley's (in ownership), and recently bought an 05 883 custom. Everything worked on it but it had some cheap mini bullet front turn signals on it that were falling apart. I couldn't find the replacements so I went for Chris Products LED OEM style ones. When I went to put them on, the allen screw that holds the signal to the right side (master cylinder) would not turn loose. I tried everything and after I finally broke off a left hand drill bit, I realized I had to replace the master cylinder. No big deal as the brakes were working fine. Just swap it and bleed good to go... no way. I could not get it to bleed. I tried gravity like in an older car - open the bleeder and let it sit for a day watching the fluid level- tried the pump/bleed/pump - nothing, and I'm sure I was in the thousands of pumps range. rebuilt the master. Even tried a mighty vac. I could get fluid to come through but no lever pressure. I went through about 1 1/2 pints of the DOT 5 fluid and still obviously had a air bubble somewhere but it would not push through. After fooling with it for a week trying stuff and letting it sit then trying again, I decided to get the reverse bleeder kit on ebay......SWEET - in about 5 minutes I had a great front brake again. I just reverse filled it slowly so I didn't do the "ceiling shot". I saw the air bubble come through. Filled up the reservoir, removed the old stuff and refilled. Great brake. On the 883 it is marked 1/2 - 2 which I believe means it has a 1/2" bore which is obviously too small to move much fluid. I hate jerking around with stuff so I will always use this method on bike brakes in the future. I think probably the 9/16", 11/16" and whatever the 96-16 bore is that are used on bigger bikes probably move enough volume to eventually bleed through. In my experience anyway, the 1/2" bore just doesn't move enough volume so you can screw around with it for a month of Sundays or just get the reverse bleeder (either pump or syringe- the kit comes with both) and get it done in minutes with out the migraine.

 

There are two Stickies at the top of this Section to help with bleeding brakes! In my long experience there are no secrets, just persistence.....

 

Now that you have them bled try zip tying the lever back against the grip and let it sit for 12- 24 hrs. Not super tight but firm , this will give you a firmer lever normally.