My Bloody Brakes won't Bleed!

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turkeysandwich

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Okay so i am not overly mechanical, that being said i recently replaced my master cylinder and caliper on my 83 Heritage Special. the caliper came with new shoes as well i had my friend (a graduate of MMI) take a look at it...said i installed it all right and bled the brake for literally hours let it sit and bled it again for hours. i am not seeing any air bubbles and have bled through half a large bottle of fluid and i am not getting any pressure on the brake. I watched at least 30 youtube videos read my haynes manual and every tutorial online i have found. Am i missing a trick or am i stupid? Could the break lines need replacing too i mean they are over 30 years old...

in case you are curious i used this master cylinder http://www.mikesxs.net/product/08-0255.html and this caliper http://www.mikesxs.net/product/08-5001.html.
 
I first bleed mine at the MC, by leaving the line off and holding a finger over the hole. Then I hook up the line and bleed at the caliper. It can take some patience. Another method is to squeeze the lever, and using black tape or zip ties, keep it held in. Then just leave it overnight. Air will filter it's way up thru the system and out. My son just did this with his bike and it worked fine.
 
The zip tie and leave overnight trick suggested worked for me on a '75 I did some work on a couple weeks ago. I've also had to remove the master cylinder from the bars and hold below the level of the caliper and bleed from that position, the air likes to rise.
 
the wheel cylinder can fill with air- it happened on mine. eventually i had to use 3 hands and a clamp to squeeze the wheel cylinder and "burp" the air out of the system.
 
turkeysandwich said:
Okay so i am not overly mechanical, that being said i recently replaced my master cylinder and caliper on my 83 Heritage Special. the caliper came with new shoes as well i had my friend (a graduate of MMI) take a look at it...said i installed it all right and bled the brake for literally hours let it sit and bled it again for hours. i am not seeing any air bubbles and have bled through half a large bottle of fluid and i am not getting any pressure on the brake. I watched at least 30 youtube videos read my haynes manual and every tutorial online i have found. Am i missing a trick or am i stupid? Could the break lines need replacing too i mean they are over 30 years old...

in case you are curious i used this master cylinder http://www.mikesxs.net/product/08-0255.html and this caliper http://www.mikesxs.net/product/08-5001.html.
Click to expand...

If you want an easy way to bleed brakes, just remove all the air while the brake line is on the bench. Form a U shape, with both ends of the brake line at the top. Use a syringe to inject brake fluid into one end, and when it comes out the other end, the line is full.

Again use the syringe to prefill the caliper.

While holding both ends of the full brake line level, connect one end to the caliper. Raise the line up and connect to the M/C. Fill the M/C.

The whole system is now full of fluid, so the actual bleeding takes about 5 minutes or less.

Yes, replace those old lines, they are a safety hazard.
 
+1 Old lines can swell and shed rubber on the inside and block fluid passage, replace 'em.
 
+1 Old lines can swell and shed rubber on the inside and block fluid passage, replace 'em.
Disconnect the banjo bolt at the caliper, brake fluid should run or at least fast drip out of the line at a steady pace. If it doesn't you have an issue.
 
Ok so i have decided to upgrade my brake lines and see what that does for me. i have an 83 heritage special and i am not sure on the model number that is and hel has like 6 different ones to choose but none are specific to that model can anyone help me figure out which one to get i hope its the 60 buck one but i dont know, there arent any specs on length. Unless i am missing them? http://www.helperformance.us/motorcycle/yamaha/xs650/
 
Basically any XS650 77 and up uses the same line. (longer on the specials with roto tiller handle bars) I'll be kind and guess you don't have those anymore.

The 49 dollar special is probably what you want if you have a single disk. Check the length you need before putting down the cash.
 
Sooooooooo...if you are saying that the stock bars are the ones that are like on a roto tiller i still have those. I will call tomorrow and find out the length and i may just order a custom one for 59 bucks does anyone know the angle of the banjo fitting?
 
turkeysandwich said:
Okay so i am not overly mechanical, that being said i recently replaced my master cylinder and caliper on my 83 Heritage Special. the caliper came with new shoes as well i had my friend (a graduate of MMI) take a look at it...said i installed it all right and bled the brake for literally hours let it sit and bled it again for hours. i am not seeing any air bubbles and have bled through half a large bottle of fluid and i am not getting any pressure on the brake. I watched at least 30 youtube videos read my haynes manual and every tutorial online i have found. Am i missing a trick or am i stupid? Could the break lines need replacing too i mean they are over 30 years old...

in case you are curious i used this master cylinder http://www.mikesxs.net/product/08-0255.html and this caliper http://www.mikesxs.net/product/08-5001.html.
Click to expand...
..................... hi you could losen the pressure side of the brake handle ...i.e. pipe use an open end spanner on it and just losen it slightly build up pressure and open the fitting slightly ,,it should work ,i,ve done it that way before regards oldbiker
 
At the local Farmers' Market Supply Co-op, obtain a large syringe of about 20 - 30ml capacity. Fit a piece of aquarium air hose on the end, attach the other end to your bleed nipple. Crack the nipple open and suck the fluid out.
Repeat as necessary.
Job done. Five minutes. Never fails.
Beats the snot out of fancy vacuum bleeders that cost many bucks - this is all that does and costs peanuts.
 
turkeysandwich said:
Sooooooooo...if you are saying that the stock bars are the ones that are like on a roto tiller i still have those. I will call tomorrow and find out the length and i may just order a custom one for 59 bucks does anyone know the angle of the banjo fitting?
Click to expand...

Hi turk,
so toss those un-ergonomic uglybars and get a bar that'd fit a human being instead of a chimpanzee.
FWIW, too long a brake line may look a bit funny but it'll work just fine.
Too short is a bastard.
 
A friend of mine pumps fresh fluid in at the bleed nipple. The fluid pushes the air out of the MC. I will try that method on my project XS 650 and post results.
 
One easy way to know what line to buy is measure the length of the line you have.
I have several measuring tapes. One has a narrow blade, easy to bend to follow the brake line.
Or remove it from the bike. Makes it even easier.
On Mike's site they say the upper brake line with low bars is 17 inches long, with high bars is 20 inches long.
The lower is 20 inches long.
This lengths work well on my bikes.
I have Mike's lines on both my 75 and 81. I have a dual disc system on both.
Leo
 
IMG_1789.JPG Good info from this older thread. I just got the master cylinder re build kit to pump fluid, now inneeed to bleed. Thank you. My 80 special is defiantly in need of a shorter line now that I have tracker bars. Lol :)
 
I think you're going to find that your old line needs replacement not only because of the length but also because it's gone soft due to age. No matter how much you bleed the brakes, the lever will still probably feel like rubber, lol. Banggood has nice silly cheap replacements for $7 or $8 .....

https://www.banggood.com/search/brake-line-motorcycle.html
 
Guss, that master cylinder is at an unusually steep angle. Are you sure that it is not running dry while you are bleeding it? Fluid has to cover the whole bottom of the reservoir and more.

Scott
 
Where did that master cylinder come from? It just may not work on your bars and bike with that steep angle. It really looks like it would be a challenge to get the reservoir horizontal to do the bleeding.

Scott
 

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