I tried bleeding the heck out of the front brakes (more than a cup's worth through the bleeder valves), but the lever is still soft and goes all the way to the grip before starting to grab hard. Should my next step be to rebuild the master cylinder? I was never able to build much pressure on the brakes. This soft lever issue has been on-going for nigh on 10 years after a shop installed the chrome bits on the bike (it's the chrome Harley MC), but we were always told "it's fine, that's normal." Now with me owning the bike, I don't want that softness when I'm used to having really firm fronts possible from my previous bikes.

 

Research this site; caliper pistons are gunked up! blow the calipers apart, clean everything and assemble with H-D calipers rebuild kit, problem solved

 

Since this happened after adding chrome MC makes me wonder if they used the correct one. They make two sizes, one for single caliper and one for dual. Provided it is the correct MC, if I recall correctly it is 11/16 for dual, there could be a tear in the rubber on the piston. They are not hard to rebuild, the worst part is getting the dust boot pressed back into the MC. I use a C-clamp and socket for this, 9/16 deep, if I remember right. The last time I bought a rebuild kit from HD it was about $45 for my 89.

 

This is a common problem on my 03. I rebuilt the master cylinder and it did not help. My pads were wearing uneven so replacing the pads with new would help for a while. The dealer rebuilt my master cylinder and stretched the spring and it did not help. They then wanted me to purchase a new cylinder which I did not. Then someone on this forum posted the attached link. The pistons in both front calipers were gunked up and would not move as sporty302 advised. I followed the instructions and have to go thru this process every 4K miles or so. I was told if I upgrade to Brembo the problem will go away.http://www.lyndallbrakes.com/service-tech/

 

Something many people overlook on our bikes is the fluid needs changed at least every 2 years, preferably every year. The old fluid retains moisture which casues all sorts of problems with all the seals. A good flush and replacement of the fluid with DOT 4 will prevent a lot of problems in the first place.

If your lever is soft then you either still have air or something is expanding, possibly the brake hoses. If a seal is bad and letting fluid past you will see a leak. If the master cylinder bore is out of round, pitted or grooved it could draw air in on the return stroke. A chromed up master cylinder could have uneven chrome in the bore which will not allow it to work properly. A proper chrome job would seal off the bore and reservoir, but you never know who does these. The easiest way to bleed front brakes is gravity bleeding with NO pressing of the lever. Just turn the bars to left lock, remove cap, loosen right caliper bleeder, put a hose on it to a container and let it run, topping off the master cylinder as it goes. Make sure the fluid is running steadily, with no air coming out, for 4 or 5 seconds then close bleeder. Do the other side the same way. Then top off cylinder, put on cap and work the lever and it should be solid, if no other problems are happening.

 

When I first bled the system, the fluid was yellow, while my new bottle of DOT5 was purple, so I was a little concerned that someone might have been mixing fluids, or otherwise using the wrong one. After a full flush-worth of fluid did nothing, I went to the parts counter looking for the caliper rebuild kits. Every part guy there convinced me I should do the master cylinder rebuild first.

So I buy the master cylinder kit- that did nothing. I went back and bought the caliper seal kits, watched my Golden Knights run up the score on UConn, then did the caliper work.

The brakes work perfectly now.

That will teach me to doubt the crowd-source wisdom of this forum lol.

 

Changing brake fluid that often is subjective. Brake fluid goes bad because of moisture infiltration. I live in Phoenix; a very dry climate. Honestly, I have never changed brake fluid in anything I own. I have a 97 F150, with 180k on it, original fluid and it looks and preforms like day 1.. But I do understand that the wetter the climate, the more often it needs changes.


OP - pull the calipers off the forks one at a time. Stick a Philips screwdriver in between the pads (on one side) to hold back 1 cup, or puck. Pump the lever to extend the puck that is not being held back.

Now 1 puck is fully extended. Blast the extended puck with brake clean (all the way around... Take a flathead screwdriver, spread the pads back to original position, then stick the Philips on the other puck and repeat by pumping the brake handle till extended blast clean... Repeat on other side.

Cover the fender with a sheet or re-wax if any brake clean happens to get on it.

I do this about every-other oil change, or whenever the squishy handle starts to annoy me.