Steve Blackdog 686 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Hi all I have been having a bit of trouble bleeding my rear brake after cleaning up the caliper and changing the fluid. I bought a generic one way valve bleeder, but it is pretty crap and will be making a return trip to Amazon. I have been pumping the pedal, but even after I think I have bled out all of the air, the brake is still very spongy. Is there a decent make vacuum bleeding kit (manual rather than fed by compressor)? All the kits on Amazon, which retail in the £20 area, seem to be cheap and cheerful. I can’t find any “quality” alternatives. Any suggestions/ recommendations? Are the generic Chinese kits any good? Link to post
wingrider.steve 914 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 I use a Mityvac vacuum bleeding kit, had it for a few years now and it is a well made piece of kit. 3 Link to post
Steve Blackdog 686 Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 1 hour ago, wingrider.steve said: I use a Mityvac vacuum bleeding kit, had it for a few years now and it is a well made piece of kit. Yes, that does look much better than the cheap kits. Link to post
kayz1 2,928 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Mityvac for me as well>> Link to post
davebike 943 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 I have used and have a Mityvac itok but I now use a partly home made system powered by an ex NHS vaccume pump or a pressure reducing regulator from the workshop compressed air so suck or blow I would look carefull at a calliper that been worked on the remains 'spungy' as a test remove clamp piston is it now harder ?? Most if not all the I blead the brakes but it not hard we see are mechanical faults not hydrolic and very few are failed to bleed ! Link to post
Steve Blackdog 686 Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 On 17/01/2022 at 07:18, davebike said: I have used and have a Mityvac itok but I now use a partly home made system powered by an ex NHS vaccume pump or a pressure reducing regulator from the workshop compressed air so suck or blow I would look carefull at a calliper that been worked on the remains 'spungy' as a test remove clamp piston is it now harder ?? Most if not all the I blead the brakes but it not hard we see are mechanical faults not hydrolic and very few are failed to bleed ! What mechanical faults should I be looking for? Link to post
davebike 943 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 9 hours ago, Steve Blackdog said: What mechanical faults should I be looking for? Sticky pistons and on sliding callipers like the NC worn or rusty sliding pins or what they go into Classic is use on non rubber safe grease on the smaller pin rubber it gointo swells resulting on reluctance to slide and aspungy brake also same pin where rubber goes though calliper body alloy body corrodes and pushes the rubber to grip the pin Years of experence tells me look for corrosion and spif parts first I only bleed if system been appart or job came in with brand new fluid and signs of work being done sliding calipers not sliding or components worn is way more common use of coppersilp on sliding parts where steel runs on alloy can ware out the alloy extreamly quickley Link to post
t5er 74 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Please be aware that the procedure for bleeding the back brake involves bleeding the centre piston of the front caliper first,assuming you have linked brakes. I hope this is your case as bleeding the system has always been straightforward when I have attempted it. ride safe Link to post
Grumpy old man 4,659 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 57 minutes ago, t5er said: Please be aware that the procedure for bleeding the back brake involves bleeding the centre piston of the front caliper first,assuming you have linked brakes. I hope this is your case as bleeding the system has always been straightforward when I have attempted it. ride safe Good point I think Steve has the 700 with linked brakes. Link to post
Steve Blackdog 686 Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 Yes, I have linked brakes. I bled the front centre nipple first then the rear. No sign of air bubbles. I also stripped, cleaned and greased the caliper using silicone grease on the rubber bits and copper grease where indicated in the Service Manual. I think I need to take it for a test ride and see if I am imagining things! 1 Link to post
Grumpy old man 4,659 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Steve Blackdog said: I think I need to take it for a test ride and see if I am imagining things Please keep us informed. Link to post
t5er 74 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 When stripping the calliper can I ask did you drain all the fluid out of the system? as I have never done this. The potential problem regarding bleeding may be in the ABS unit . This is uncharted territory for me as I have always topped up the master cylinder as required to prevent air getting into the system (I have never been sure whether the fluid in the ABS unit gets changed).To work on a calliper I have a brake line clamp to stop fluid loss and air getting in. Hopefully one of our members can be more helpful. Please be very careful on your test ride. Link to post
davebike 943 Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Problems bleeding abs is as far as my workshop experence goes only Europian bike and most notably BMW ! probibly bleed thousands of jap bikes ABS and Linked and never had any real issues exept once ST1300 ANS and Linked issue turned out to be the third master cyhlinder (on left hand fork leg acseen two cuvated by drag of calliper ) and it was that leaking air in giving me issues ! Workes really well when not faulty! Seen two now both had been standing unused for over a year 1 Link to post
Andy m 23,263 Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I have a plastic jug shaped thing that connects to a compressor, definitely the best solution but hand pumps, one way valves and even jam jars work, just slower. Three ideas for problem systems: 1. Put a strap on the pedal/lever to hold it with the brakes on. Cycle the ignition and hope the ABS self tests. The "Stirring" can move bubbles. 2.As above but leave overnight, bubbles will rise to the top. 3. Remove the calliper or ABS unit with pipes connected and raise as high as you can. Try bleeding again in that position. I've never had problems with an unmodified bike. I know HD need to cycle the ABS via the diagnostics on some of theirs though. There were/are a couple of Landrovers that were bad. Worst I ever met was a howitzer, but that was the usual gold plated, late, over budget, botched rubbish those things usually are. We ended up filling each pipe, one at a time with a syringe, then getting a pressure fill system from Landrover. The MOD stored them for ten years, then filled DOT4 systems with hydraulic fluid, then replaced every component except the actual cannon. Andy Link to post
Steve Blackdog 686 Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 Thanks for your comments everyone. I took the bike up the road (just a few hundred yards). The rear brake is working ok, but I am still having to press it down quite a way to get max braking. it is quite safe (and recently passed its MOT), but I am convinced there is much more travel in the pedal that there used to be. To answer one question, I did drain down the system when I took off the caliper, but the service manual seems to recommend that. Link to post
AutoBoy 2 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 I had mega problems with my VFR 800 a few years ago with bleeding problems, finally sorted it with this; Goodridge Speed Bleeder The Goodridge 'Speed Bleeder' is the perfect solution for eliminating the tedious, time consuming and repetitive job of bleeding brake systems, by simply replacing the existing bleed nipples.Their unique design incorporates a o… Brand: Goodridge Buy Goodridge Speed Bleeder - Demon Tweeks https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/goodridge-speed-bleeder-243452/ 2 Link to post
Steve Blackdog 686 Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 3 hours ago, AutoBoy said: I had mega problems with my VFR 800 a few years ago with bleeding problems, finally sorted it with this; Goodridge Speed Bleeder The Goodridge 'Speed Bleeder' is the perfect solution for eliminating the tedious, time consuming and repetitive job of bleeding brake systems, by simply replacing the existing bleed nipples.Their unique design incorporates a o… Brand: Goodridge Buy Goodridge Speed Bleeder - Demon Tweeks https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/goodridge-speed-bleeder-243452/ That looks perfect. On the NC700X there are three nipples, so about £30 and jobs a good’n. If Honda use standard threads, presumably you can move them from bike to bike. Link to post
AutoBoy 2 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 As you can see the item has a type of rubber thread covering, which stops the air creeping down the tread, inside it has a sprung loaded one way ball valve. Link to post
kayz1 2,928 Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 We had those in the early 70's..Halford's for one sold them.Never very good if i remember. Can't beat the real thing. Mityvac. Lyn. 2 Link to post
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