No Brake.

[thunderfoot1978]

I just hooked up the new braided brake lines and now I have no front brake. I've double checked all the connections for tight/leaks. I've also bled the lines just in case that comes up. Good flow of fluid from all the bleed valves with no bubbles. Any thoughts?

edit: no rear brake either at all. pedal goes straight to the bottom

[Kreylyn]

I just hooked up the new braided brake lines and now I have no front brake. I've double checked all the connections for tight/leaks. I've also bled the lines just in case that comes up. Good flow of fluid from all the bleed valves with no bubbles. Any thoughts?

edit: no rear brake either at all. pedal goes straight to the bottom

Air is still trapped somewhere. I'd try tying down the pedal/lever so it's always engaged and let it sit for a few hours. This will help let air trapped int he masters get out.

Then bleed them again.

Krey

[steves]

For the rear brake, make sure you are bleeding both halves of the caliper.

[rockat]

For me, it took quite a bit of bleeding/filling before the pressure built back up on my lines.

@Krey- Thunder will want to keep the cover and rubber bladder off of the MC for your procedure, correct?

[Kreylyn]

For me, it took quite a bit of bleeding/filling before the pressure built back up on my lines.

@Krey- Thunder will want to keep the cover and rubber bladder off of the MC for your procedure, correct?

Shouldn't make a differnce. It's using gravity on the fluid to push air out and allow bubbles to rise. By keeping the lever pressed it basically is opening the system to the fluid in the master. so.. air rises and bubles out, fluid drains into it's place.

There is no change in "space" so cover on or off should not matter on that.

Krey

[rockat]

Shouldn't make a differnce. It's using gravity on the fluid to push air out and allow bubbles to rise. By keeping the lever pressed it basically is opening the system to the fluid in the master. so.. air rises and bubles out, fluid drains into it's place.

There is no change in "space" so cover on or off should not matter on that.

Krey

Got it. Thanks.

[loneraider]

When I changed the lines on my bike ,I reversed bled the system, it worked really well &I got all the air out.

[thunderfoot1978]

Thanks guys for all the help. I pranked with the front brake till the wee hours of the morning and it seemed like there was still small bubbles, not unlike a the size of soda bubbles in a glass coming back up into the reservoir. Took hours but I got the front brake grabbing at least more than it was. It's still not grabbing and holding like it did before I swapped the lines. I'm gonna try Krey's idea of just tying down the levers and let it sit for a few hours. I'll try to come back and update later let you know how it's going

For the rear brake, make sure you are bleeding both halves of the caliper.

Thanks. I downloaded the manual and followed it to bleed them. I would have never known that without you guys having the manual up on here for us to download.

[hardlydangerous]

You need to bleed the master cylinder once drained.
thats why you should replace the upper line banjoe bolt with one with a bleeder valve on it.
Thats also why SS bikes have a bleeder on the master cylinder.

on our bikes cover all the painted areas and plastics with towels, pump up the lever then crack loose the upper brake line bolt at the master cylinder. tighten it up then pump the lever a few times slowly again and repeat.

[thunderfoot1978]

Ok I tried Krey's idea from around the time of my last post till about an hour ago. The front brake is grabbing and holding great. Back brake still goes completely down to the stops. I've bled both sides of the rear caliper. I cannot figure out for the life of me why it's not working.

[steves]

You might have air trapped somewhere, probably in the back of the caliper. What you might need to do, is get a large syringe and some tubing and push fluid up from the bleed screw to push the air out.

[thunderfoot1978]

You might have air trapped somewhere, probably in the back of the caliper. What you might need to do, is get a large syringe and some tubing and push fluid up from the bleed screw to push the air out.

Ok, let me ask this. If I just keep adding fluid to the reservoir, and just alternate bleeding the sides of the caliper and just keep going till it finally holds will that do it? I realize it's gonna waste a lot of fluid but I don't even know where to start to find a syringe.

[hardlydangerous]

YOU NEED TO BLEED THE MASTER CYLINDER

also use a hose and container to recycle the brake fluid. filter it thru a coffee filter.
if you dont bleed the master cylinder you will go thru an entire bottle of fluid and never have GREAT brake pressure.

see my last post.

leaving the lever compressed overnight does not allow air to escape back into the master cylinder res. Think about that people.... if air can get thru the system how is it building and keeping pressure. air will work its way up overnight regardless.

[Kreylyn]

leaving the lever compressed overnight does not allow air to escape back into the master cylinder res. Think about that people.... if air can get thru the system how is it building and keeping pressure. air will work its way up overnight regardless.

Your wrong.

Krey

[steves]

In a closed loop system, I don't understand how the air would migrate through the lines. With the lever tied back the system is open and the air (being lighter than the brake fluid) should naturally tend to migrate up and out. Unless of course the air bubble is in a place that it's below a point it could naturally flow from (like stuck in the back half of a caliper above a bleed screw).

A radial master cylinder applies force in a different direction than a direct port master cylinder, thus the need for a bleed screw on radial systems at the lever/MC.

As for the use of a syringe....
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Jensen-Global-Manual-Taper-Syringe/dp/B004QBVEV8/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1368112580&sr=1-1&keywords=30cc+syringe+taper"]Jensen Global Manual Taper Tip Syringe 30cc 20/Pack - Amazon.com[/ame]

Tool sale, farmers market, medical supply. You just want something that holds a decent amount of fluid, and some tubing that fits snugly around both the tip of the syringe, and the bleed screw on the caliper.

Another thing you can do, is when you have things apart, pour a little fresh brake fluid in the halves of the caliper before assembling them.