So, going to do a brake fluid change on the bike. 2002 Fatboy.
DOT 5 is called out, no problem. Off to 2 Walmart's no DOT 5, off to Menards, no DOT 5, Autozone, No DOT 5. O'rielie's seems to be the only DOT 5 at the basic normal places I have always bought brake fluid. Was the DOT 5 some kind of freak?
Its the oldest bike or vehicle I have and the only one that calls for DOT 5. PITA.

 

DOT5 is silocone based and it won't strip your paint if you spill some. It cost considerably more. There are some other atributes to DOT5 however you can flush the system and use DOT 3-4. If the system has never been flushed since 2002 you might want to flush everything out real good using the fluid of your choice,

 

You can get DOT 5 from Amazon, or any motorcycle online business, HD has it if you want to spend $25 for one bottle.

DO NOT USE DOT 5.1 with DOT 5.

 

DOT 5 is synthetic. I am jsut surprised it is not on all the shelves next to all the other brake fluids. I also found many places online are charging ridiculous costs for it.
I also ran across a couple of DOT 4 that were labeled "synthetic" - Never seen that before either. Off to O'Rielly's I guess. It was $12 for 12 or 16 oz of the magic liquid.

 

I've seen DOT 5 at my local WalMart as well as Autozone. It seems plentiful around here, although I doubt any newer vehicles use it becauise os ABS issues.

FYI - Don't confuse DOT 5 with 5.1.

Paul

 

Yes, two completely different fluids. Tried both of our Walmarts = no luck. I only need one bottle, so it's O'Rielly's. So strange its the only place in town?
It is beginning to look like a one-hit wonder. All my newer bikes and all the vehicles are DOT 4.

 

All brake fluids are "Synthetic" they are just marketing that way due to synthetic being a buzz word for better... That means it is not oil, thus the call out fluid not brake oil or btake lube. Now that is a oxymoron, Brake Oil, like Jumbo Shrimp! The purple DOT5 is silicone. The main thing about is it won't damage paint if it gets spilled on it.

 

Dot 5 is hydrophobic, along with a much higher boiling point than dot 3 or 4. It is also more compressible than 3 or 4 as well. But because dot 5 traps air, it is not for use in ABS systems.

A useless tidbit of information, The higher the dot number, the higher the boiling point.

 

I recently bought a can of DOT 5 at O'Reilly as well. You can always find it on the net.

I've read you don't need to (suggested) flush it every two years like DOT 3 or 4.

John

 

Thanks guys. I guess I never really thought about it very much and did not know all brake fluid is Sythetic. Now I do. Yes, I read that also about not needing change as often. Taht is one maintenance task I do not keep up on quite as well as I should. Not sure why, just don't. Time flies....

Just for info. Rockauto has DOT 5 for $8.08 / 12 oz. I ordered two and also some qts of DW-1 trans oil for the CR-V, which is a much better price than in town. So it made the order worth it.
RA is a great place to buy auto parts from. If you have never used them, give them a check. Too bad they don't sell bike parts.