I'm swaping out my bars as part of winter mods. Going to swap out front brake lines for braided. I have heard that its a pain in the a$$ to bleed the front brakes. I did the search here for tools and really didn't come up with much. Speedbleeder, a HF cheap bleeder ect. any tools or ideas that will help would be appricated.

 

Speed bleeders are cool if you don't have a buddy around. They have a little check valve in them. You crack them loose like you normally would to bleed but then you can just squeeze the lever and also gently let the lever go without having to close the port over and over. When your done tighten her down and your done! Instant one man job.

 

Simple,i just installed yaffe monkey bars a week ago.I also installed new steel braided line from front reservoir to abs module.If you don't leave the lines off and do the brake lines last.Heres what i did>Installed the line runs under tank back to ABS module to front reservoir.New banjo copper washers and seal it up.Remove reservoir cover,pack rags around ABS module and crack the line at the module keep the rservoir full and let the other end gravity bleed.Top off the reservoir close it up and squeeze the brake slowly several times.Should be done at that point as you never opened the lines to the calipers and there should be no air in the system.At worse case you may need to squeze the lever a couple times and crack the bleeder.

 

WOOPS.........I think the proceedure ain't that simple with abs......I was speaking of a straight bleed. I sure don't want to screw you up with bad info when were talking abs brakes.

Please Do your research and speak to someone other than me cause you have ABS. I swear I read that there was a different proceedure because of the module. Were talking Brakes here so I want you to be safe.

 

I don't have abs on my bike. I think I'm going to go with the speedbleeders.

 

Bleeding the brakes on these bikes is the same as bleeding brakes on any other vehicle except for the ABS module, which you don't have. With ABS, you'd need to be careful not to get any air into the module or you may have to have the dealer connect your bike to what's called a Digital Technician to cycle the module to help get the air out of the system.

I've put Speed Bleeders on my current bike and one bike before this one. To me, they are the easiest way to bleed brakes, especially if you're doing it yourself. I've tried a number of vacuum bleeders and never got them to work very well. With Speed Bleeders, you'll lose a little fluid when you initially install them, but after that it's easy As someone else said, open them about a quarter turn, attach a hose and a collection container for the old fluid, and pump until the old fluid is flushed out.

If you order the Speed Bleeders directly from the manufacturer, you might want to consider getting the ones made of stainless steel as they should last a little longer and consider getting their drain bag to collect the old fluid. It can be emptied and used several times.

Ensure you keep the reservoir full and don't get any fluid on any paint or it will damage the paint.

Also, don't forget to flush the rear brakes also.

My manual says to flush the brakes twice a year. Keep in mind this maintenance is a time based service not a mileage based one. Even if you only ride a few miles a year, it should still be done.

Good luck.

 

Speed Bleeders are not recommended when the brake lines are first installed. You will wear yourself out trying to build the pressure needed when lines are completely dry. Do a routine bleed after installing brake lines and then....install Speed Bleeder for future maintenance.

 

I have a Mity-vac Vaccum bleeder . Very easy one man job.

 

I have a moeller marine oil extractor, I jerry rigged a hose that fits perfectly on the bleeder screw, I just changed the brake fluid in my van they say you should change it every 2 - 3 years. Just pump it up and watch the bubbles come out. You just have to smear some grease around the threads of the bleeder so it doesn't suck air through them. whichever way you do it you might have to pump the lever and crack the banjo bolt, sometimes a bubble hangs out up there.

 

Just did mine yesterday. At first I thought I could just put the brake fluid in the resevoir and pump the lever to get the fluid into the line. Well, that doesn't work. I didn't have a vaccuum or anything, but I did have 10 feet of 3/8 tubing that I was going to cut and use on the bleeder valve when I bled them. I cut it in half, put a peice on each valve, opened the valve on one side, sucked on the end of the hose and wouldn't ya know it, it worked. Did the other side, no problem. At that point I bled them the old fashioned way. I had a little air in one side and none in the other. I am sure this might not be the prefered method, but it damn sure worked for me, And the hose was 5 feet long so there was no danger of me sucking up the brake fluid and no posibilty of any moisture from my breath getting in the fluid. I got the hose at Lowes for 3 bucks. Easy enough.