aja

I changed my brake fluid again since my front brakes were pretty squishy (stock everything). While doing so, a ton of air came out. It looked like the foam from a soda, that bad. I am confused as to how it got there, as well as how my brakes still worked with that much air in the system. Anyways, I got them bled and now when squeezing the lever it is still squishy, but not as bad. I know for a fact that there is no air in the lines, so my question is what could cause them be this soft? I can pull the lever all the way to the grip, it does have resistance but not as much as I would like.

I have checked the pistons, calipers, lines, plunger, and reservoir and I don't have any leaks. Next ill be checking the pad and rotor thickness, although they visually look ok. Any suggestions, or is that just how they are on the hawks?

Wicky

leaky nipples, knackered seals?

Fish

Air gettin in the system somewhere. Can you plug off individual calipers to rule one or the other out? Or both? Original or after market braided lines?

Good luck.
Fish.

comedo

Do you have the stock rubber lines? That could be the cause of the squishy feeling. The stock lines swell as brake pressure increases and the lines soften over time. If they're the originals, it's time for a change.

aja

Yes to having the original lines. Bleeders are good, no leaks. Seals are fine also. There is no air getting in, I've already bled then again to make sure. Old lines makes sense. Now I have an excuse to get braided lines

8541Hawk

Were you using a vacuum bleeder when you did it or just the old fashioned way of pumping them up and opening the bleeder?

aja

The first time I did the old fashion way, second time vacuum with the same results.

8541Hawk

With my stock calipers I could never get good results with a vacuum bleeder.
No matter what I did, tons of bubbles.

Even with "standard" bleeding the results were not so good.
I then changed out the bleed nipples with some Speed Bleeders: Speed Bleeder Bleeding Brakes Bleeding Motorcycle Brakes Automotive Bleeder Screw Brake Bleeder
and never looked back.

They made the job quick and easy and the bubbles just disappeared.
I'm still using the same set 10yrs later in my SP2 calipers.

It would be a good time to swap out your brake lines also.

One last thing, if you install speed bleeder, you do need a vacuum bleeder to get the fluid down to the caliper. After that it is a piece of cake.

Tweety

Or you just sacrifice a small amount of the new fluid, and simply push the old one through without adding in air... I have been doing that about as long as you, and never used a vacuum...

Just work most of the old fluid though, just before you draw air in the master, add new fluid and pump until the other end is showing clear fluid... Simple and easy...

rz_racer_69

That's the way I have always done it too. Works well. My original lines are squishy too, I just don't worry about it. Stops fine. I may install a set of stainless lines in the future, but not in a hurry.

RCVTR

You have air in the brake lines. It usually ends up at the top of the brake line, at the banjo.

I take the master cylinder off the bar and set it at an angle, so the banjo is below the master cylinder, then push the slave cylinder pistons into the caliper. This forces the air bubble out of the brake line and into the reservoir. Then you will have air in the hose below the reservoir. Squeeze the hose a few times and it comes bubbling into the reservoir. When you are doing it, think about how you would get a bubble to rise. there is a small port, immediately in front of the bottom of the master piston. You have to force the bubble through that port, to get it out of the brake line.

It works. When the brakes have just about zero spongy feeling, they are bled properly.

Thumper

All the above suggestions for bleeding then use a couple of zip ties and pull the lever to the grip and leave it pulled there over night, usually does the trick

aja

My normal method is as follows:

Hose over bleeder to empty bottle. Open bleeder and let the old fluid drain, while refilling the reservoir with new fluid, until the fluid runs clean from the bleeder. After that I pressure bleed by pumping the lever a few times, hold, open bleeder, close bleeder, release, repeat.

I am 100% sure there is no air anywhere. It's not possible. I'll try removing the reservoir though, thanks rcvtr.

The squishyness wouldnt be so bad if the lever didn't come in contact with the grip. I can stop with 2 fingers on the lever, but usually the lever hits my other 2 fingers on the grip. I don't like that. The brakes don't even engange until about 1/3rd of the lever pull, which is odd to me as they were like this before and after fluid change and bleed, the only difference being the lever gets firm quicker. I have been wanting steel lines but the wife shot me down after ordering a new 30.06, so now I can tell her is a safety purchase

RCVTR

The air bubble that is trapped at the banjo stays right where it is, when you bleed the brakes by opening the bleeder and squeezing the lever. That's why I told you where it is and how to get it out.

aja

I did what you described and didn't get any air out, thanks for the info though, ill be sure to check there in the future when I bleed them.

RCVTR

Ok. So why do you have "squishy brakes"? And why does your brake lever pull all the way to the grip? Until you've answered that question, you still have air in the brake lines.