07 Ultra CVO SE Clutch bleed nipple valve
All the YouTube videos and tutorials I can find (very few) show a normal size nipple under the chrome cover, however mine has the rear exhaust pipe coming in front of it so it has an external bleed nipple that seems to be really small in comparison, does anyone know what size this is so I can get the proper wrench and not strip it out using some other form of wrench? Apparently previous owner didnt ever swap out the fluid recently or ever, and I would like to swap out fluid.
Any help would be appreciated.
Gerry
That little external bleed sucker appears to be a 1/4 inch ringkey and or socket. I had a 12 point ringkey and a 1/4 Hex socket (not 12 point)
I soaked the little sucker in WD40 and wrapped it in wet WD40 tissue paper for a day before trying to loosen it !
It was a bit of a "heart in the mouth" episode to then crack it open. Immediately cleaned off the threads on the removed nipple with brake cleaner solvent and then coated it with copper antisieze grease before reinstallation.
I had horrible mental pictures of it shearing off, and needing easy-outs etc etc ,but thankfully not. It is now back in with Lanolin INOX spray on the outside threads as well, prevention being better than cure.
I emptied the master cylinder on the handlebars using a syringe and cleaned it out with lint free rags (it was well filthy I was surprised !). Almost a brown sludge like buildup
Filled with fresh DOT 5.1 and bled thru clean new fluid only with a vacuum pump from the nipple. Watched thru the clear hose until the fluid was running clean.
Flushed front and rear calipers as well at the same time, again using new DOT 5.1 (NOT Silicone DOT 5). Used a 500ml bottle over all three bleeds. The brakes' fluids were much cleaner but i had purged them a coupla years back.
I had done a bit of google research beforehand on that external 1/4 nipple and found not a lot. The later hydraulic clutch bikes the nipple is "hidden" and it looks a bit more drama to do.







