My recently purchased '05 Deluxe has a very soft front brake, I cannot even let my fingers between handle and grip when applying.
The pads seem to be thick enough,It was recently inspected and given the okay for brakes.the resevoir lid is a chrome Harleyafter-market, I cannot see any fluid around it.
My question is: What should the fluid level be? Does it get checked upright or on jiffy stand? Could the seal possibly be bad and my fluid evaporating? Any help would be appreciated, this handle seems to give way too much compared to other Harleys I've owned.

 

I have a similar problem with my 05 Road King. I've bled the brakes over and over again. I would also be interested in any info.

 

Pm makes great 6 piston calipers and the addition of steel braided lines always helps as well.

 

Rest your bike on the jiffy stand, and turn your handlebars to the left to get the resevior somewhat level. Take off the cover and set it down. The service manual states that the fluid
level should be up to 1/8th of an inch from the top. if it isn't, fill it to this point with DOT5 brake fliud (which was used for the 05 softails). If your fluid level is already there, then you have air in there somewhere, which means whoever installed the new chrome resevoir, did not bleed the brake system correctly. There are many, many threads on bleeding brakes on this forum, so if thats the case, do a search. Bleeding brakes is very time consuming for 1 person as well as rather difficult, but you should be able to handle it. Hope this helps.

 

I use the Mighty vac system for bleeding my brakes.....$28.00 at Auto Zone....hope this helps

 

I'm not too familiar with the late models, but on my Evo there is an adjustment bolt on the lever where it pushes on the piston. There should be minimum play before the piston starts to move (1/8" is good). If the adjustment is good, yes you need to bleed.

 

I second the mighty vac. You probably have air in your system, but it shouldnt be tough to fix. Good luck.