need a little help. i removed my front tire and brought it to harley to have a new one put on .upon putting it back on the bike the front brakes are spongie or soft. have to pump them up to stop.any ideas on what i did wrong and how to fix it thanks.

 

I've been trying to post a solution, but it won't go through (forum problems).&nbsp\\; I heard that large messages fail when posting.&nbsp\\; PM me an email address and I will send you my reply.

 

you may have air in the system and it needs to be bled. If your pads were low and you never added fluid as the the piston had to travel more to apply the brakes, you may have somehow got air in there, did anyone accidently hit the brake lever when there was no wheel on it?

 

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..I just experienced the same problem on my 2001 RK. The book calls for dot 5 fluid which I used to no avail. I replaced the master cylinder and flushed and used dot 4 fluid and all is well now. Your other option may be to have the system flushed with a power bleeder to get any trapped air out. Good luck!

 

This is very bad what you did, the seals are not compatible with dot 4 &5 fluids. One could conceivably switch from one fluid to another but everything has to be new and not cross contaminated. You said you put in a new M/C which is fine, but you didnt change the seal in the caliper, or how about the brake light switch seal. I would be very concerned.

 

Check this forum.&nbsp\\; It worked perfectly for me - https://www.hdforums.com/m_1965292/tm.htm

 

Although its on a forum it is nothing but other peoples opinion, not science or fact. Ive been a cert mechanic for 30 yrs. I never heard that nor would I suggest doing that. 2 things you dont **** with or skimp on unless one knows what they are doing especially on someone elses vehicle is steering and brakes. That my friends can be a deadly mistake

 

bagman, I agree, it's not good to mess with the brakes unless you know what you are doing.&nbsp\\; My brakes were so bad that one piston on each side of my front brakes was not moving at all.&nbsp\\; I cleaned the pistons with good brake cleaner and a soft toothbrush, and it worked perfectly.&nbsp\\; Take bagman's advice... it can be a deadly mistake.&nbsp\\; I will, however, say that it did fix my problem 100%.