So a very interesting occurrence happened to me on the bike today. As you may know I installed more comfortable handlebars on the Breakout two weeks ago necessitating the installation of a longer brake line. Well I got the line installed last week and fought for a few hours to get the front brakes bled. They were a bit soft as it would stop the bike OK but they would pull back all the way to the grip.

Since I have ABS that normally means you have to take it to a Harley dealer to hook it up to the Digital Technician to finish bleeding the brakes. You have to cycle the ABS module to ensure all the air is out of the system. I had an appt for this coming Tues. to get that done and activate the cruise control.

Well today I was leaving the Hobby shop, I sat on the bike and started it up. I had my fingers on the brake lever and then it vibrated 5-6 times and then got firmer. It was no longer mushy. The lever had the correct length of pull as it did when I first bought the bike. On the way to the Harley shop the brakes were great. No codes, no fail lights. So when I got to the shop they activated my cruise control (Thanks Junior!) and got mega compliments on my wiring and bar install! Junior said that it probably bled itself during the initial self test it does every time you start the bike.

It has been a GREAT day!

 

I have not been able to bleed the front brake on my 2018 Fat Boy since changing handlebars. I have bled many abs bikes in the past, most important thing is not to turn the bike on before you finish bleeding the brake, that way you leave the abs valve closed. For some reason I can not bleed the brake of this new Fat Boy. Going to have to take it to the shop...

 

By bleeding are you guys talking about working the lever and cracking the bleeder valve?

I'm thinking about doing a flush on mine but I'll use vacuum at the bleeder while keeping the reservoir full.
From my experience there is never a problem when you do it this way, you leave the brake lever alone and allow vacuum to pull the fresh fluid through the system.
Vacuum bleeders are pretty cheap.

 

I've pulled half a bottle of dot 4 through the lines with my mity vac without any luck. At this point I've left it alone because I've since started the bike meaning to get a proper bleed now I'll have to take it to the dealer so that they can open the abs valve to properly bleed the system. Just curious why I couldn't get the system bled initially.

 

If you have a bike with abs it isn’t that easy.

 

I used a Miti-Vac and it still fought me. I just got as good as I could get it and still be able to ride it. Interesting enough after it sat for a few days some more air must have trickled up the line and the lever got a tad firmer.

 

I've flushed my ABS bike three times now, no-problem...

I use a vacuum bleeder, and don't turn the key on until it is all done.... never an issue....

Granted, the small amount of fluid in the ABS module doesn't get switched out each time, because I don't use the tech tool to activate the ABS during the flush. But I change it enough (every two years) that the trapped fluid will eventually be released into the rest of the system, diluted with good fluid, and ultimately replaced...