vacuum gauge

[johnsondesigns2004]

I recently purchased a stainless braided front brake line for my A17, just got around to putting it on last night. after flushing the line and fully bleeding the brakes i took 'er out for a spin to see how much better these new SS lines really are in comparison to stock rubbers. got 'er up to speed grabed a hand full of brake and barely slowed down!. i was headed for a busy street right out of my works parking lot, I was ready to bail before i was willing to hit the street. luckilly i got the bike stopped before harm came to myself or the bike. obviouly i had done something wrong. i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled again just for fun. went out for test run again, got 'er up to speed, grabed a handfull of brake and barely slowed down! WTF? i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled again just for fun. cleaned the heck out of all the front braked components with laquer thinner and an air-hose (this worked bitchen on race cars). again went for a test ride.. same shit different run. what is the story with these brake lines? is it just my luck or are these things a major pile of shit? when i say "hand full of brake" i mean the lever is bottomed out on the rubber brip at the bar. NO JOKE! I am used to a very hard lever when i grab the brakes, i usually only use my index and middle fingers to activate the front brakes. i could easily do stopies on my a17 with stock rubber brake lines only using 2-3 fingers. i dont like the way this line feels. is there someithing i am not knowing? do i need to modily something? is there a special way to bleed the front brakes? i have worked on nascar sanctioned race cars for more than 12 years, i know how to bleed a set of brakes on a car/truck/race car so i dont feel that i am doing it impropperly. if i cannot get this issue resolved before the bay area techfest, somone bring me a good condition stock rubber line, a new bottle of brake fluid and change and bleed my brake line, you can have the stainless steel braided line.. (if i dont get resiolved before then). A17 Circus Bear

[nakedwaterskier]

1)Take brake line off and blow through it. Any restriction=defective 2)Were brakes working decently before you swapped? 3)Nothing wrong with SS lines unless installed wrong or defective from factory. 4)Did you bleed properly? squeeze, open valve, close valve, let up JPG Red04...my rubber lines work fine

[Bogdan Swider]

> > went out for test run again, got 'er up to speed, grabed a handfull > of brake and barely slowed down! WTF?

Goodness, Circus Bear. Have you not heard of first testing the brakes in the garage by spinning the wheel ? Or if - for some reason - that's against your religion, how about grabbing a handful at low speed. And you did this twice !?

> > is there someithing i am not knowing? do i need to modily something? > is there a special way to bleed the front brakes? i have worked on > nascar sanctioned race cars for more than 12 years, i know how to > bleed a set of brakes on a car/truck/race car so i dont feel that i > am doing it impropperly.

Boy what you describe sure sounds like air in the system. Did you spill some brake fluid on the pads ? Bogdan

[klr650]

johnsondesigns2004 wrote:

> > I recently purchased a stainless braided front brake line for my A17, > just got around to putting it on last night. after flushing the line

My stainless lines are very firm. Between those and the progressive springs - they are the best bang for the buck upgrade I've done. Since I had the lines off I went ahead and tore apart the caliper and cleaned it as well, and installed speedbleeders. It took me forever to bleed but once I got all the air out they work great. Is the lever firm or does it pull back to the bar? If it's firm, and there are no leaks then maybe something contaminated the pad or rotor? Jim (who's 98 KLR is for sale - email me for details)

[Rich Rakich]

When I put mine on, I did the same thing for an hour by myself with similar results. I finally got my brother in law to help me out with the bleeding of the line and after another half hour of pumping the brake lever, opening and closing the bleeder valve through the whole thing, I finally got *very* firm brakes on the front. There is a lot of room in that new line that needs to be filled up and air that needs to be removed. - Rich

On Thu, 2004-10-14 at 11:10, johnsondesigns2004 wrote: > I recently purchased a stainless braided front brake line for my A17, > just got around to putting it on last night. after flushing the line > and fully bleeding the brakes i took 'er out for a spin to see how > much better these new SS lines really are in comparison to stock > rubbers. got 'er up to speed grabed a hand full of brake and barely > slowed down!. i was headed for a busy street right out of my works > parking lot, I was ready to bail before i was willing to hit the > street. luckilly i got the bike stopped before harm came to myself > or the bike. obviouly i had done something wrong. > > i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked > fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to > make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled > again just for fun. >

[John Kokola]

You've got air in the line: Take a screwdriver handle and tap on the line, up and down, to dislodge any bubbles. Tap on the caliper and the m/c too. Take the m/c off of the handlebar and angle it so that the brake line end points down. Now flick the brake handle open/closed. Bubbles REALLY like to sit at the brake line - m/c junction. You can also bleed by squeezing the lever, but instead of cracking the bleed valve, crack the banjo bolt at the m/c. Use a shop rag of course. Hang the bike upside down in the rafters of your garage for a week (just kidding -- but I've heard of a BMW shop that did that.) Because of the volume of fluid that they move, power bleeders help get that last bubble out. And be careful with lacquer thinner on the brakes, it might be hard on the rubber piston seal. -----Original Message----- From: johnsondesigns2004 Subject: [DSN_klr650] SS Braided Front Brake Line is it just my luck or are these things a major pile of shit?

[ron criswell]

Brakes are muy importante. I went tearing off down the street in my old Hodaka (years ago) after putting on a new rear tire. Went to mash the brake .......... nothing. Ran up into a yard. I forgot to attach the rearbrake rod. Check and double check those brakes before you pull out into the street. Criswell Bogdan Swider wrote:

> > > > went out for test run again, got 'er up to speed, grabed a handfull > > of brake and barely slowed down! WTF? > > Goodness, Circus Bear. Have you not heard of first testing the brakes in the > garage by spinning the wheel ? Or if - for some reason - that's against your > religion, how about grabbing a handful at low speed. And you did this twice > !? > > > > > is there someithing i am not knowing? do i need to modily something? > > is there a special way to bleed the front brakes? i have worked on > > nascar sanctioned race cars for more than 12 years, i know how to > > bleed a set of brakes on a car/truck/race car so i dont feel that i > > am doing it impropperly. > > Boy what you describe sure sounds like air in the system. Did you spill some > brake fluid on the pads ? > > Bogdan > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >

[Eric L. Green]

On Thu, 14 Oct 2004, johnsondesigns2004 wrote:

> I recently purchased a stainless braided front brake line for my A17, > just got around to putting it on last night. after flushing the line > and fully bleeding the brakes i took 'er out for a spin to see how

a) Did you pump the brake back up? If you removed the brake caliper from the wheel you need to pump the brake back up (i.e., bring the brake pads back down to the disk). b) How did you "fully bleed the brakes"? When I did this, I put a one-way check valve ("speed bleeder") down at the bottom, and just kept pumping the top until a steady stream squirted out into the cup for each pump. I could *feel* the resistance of the brake line and speed bleeder at that point. Sounds like you still may have air somewhere in the system, and are compressing it. c) You may have gotten brake fluid on the brake pads. If they're saturated, replace them -- brake pads are cheap. Then clean everything with brake cleaner or denatured alcohol, and try again. d) Try the front brake *before* you start out. If it feels mushy or spongy, DO NOT RIDE THE BIKE. -E

[Ron Crandell]

I let my A16 sit over night after doing what I thought was a thorough job. I didn't have to on my A7, but this one just didn't want to bleed. It took some work to get it done right, and I was like you, I thought I had bleed the darned things ALL THE WAY.. but be patient, and it'll come. Ron in MN --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "johnsondesigns2004" wrote:

> > I recently purchased a stainless braided front brake line for my

A17,

> just got around to putting it on last night. after flushing the

line

> and fully bleeding the brakes i took 'er out for a spin to see how > much better these new SS lines really are in comparison to stock > rubbers. got 'er up to speed grabed a hand full of brake and

barely

> slowed down!. i was headed for a busy street right out of my works > parking lot, I was ready to bail before i was willing to hit the > street. luckilly i got the bike stopped before harm came to myself > or the bike. obviouly i had done something wrong. > > i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked > fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to > make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled > again just for fun. > > went out for test run again, got 'er up to speed, grabed a handfull > of brake and barely slowed down! WTF? > > i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked > fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to > make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled > again just for fun. cleaned the heck out of all the front braked > components with laquer thinner and an air-hose (this worked bitchen > on race cars). > > again went for a test ride.. same shit different run. what is the > story with these brake lines? is it just my luck or are these

things

> a major pile of shit? > when i say "hand full of brake" i mean the lever is bottomed out on > the rubber brip at the bar. NO JOKE! > > I am used to a very hard lever when i grab the brakes, i usually

only

> use my index and middle fingers to activate the front brakes. i

could

> easily do stopies on my a17 with stock rubber brake lines only

using

> 2-3 fingers. i dont like the way this line feels. > > is there someithing i am not knowing? do i need to modily

something?

> is there a special way to bleed the front brakes? i have worked on > nascar sanctioned race cars for more than 12 years, i know how to > bleed a set of brakes on a car/truck/race car so i dont feel that i > am doing it impropperly. > > if i cannot get this issue resolved before the bay area techfest, > somone bring me a good condition stock rubber line, a new bottle of > brake fluid and change and bleed my brake line, you can have the > stainless steel braided line.. (if i dont get resiolved before

then).

> > A17 Circus Bear

[Arden Kysely]

There's still air in the line, and lots of it from your description. It takes a long time to get all the air out of a new line. I just bled the hydraulic clutch line on my VFR and it took over half an hour until I was satisfied that there were no air bubbles left. And that was an existing line, not a replacement. Patience, Circus Bear. __Arden --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "johnsondesigns2004" wrote:

> > I recently purchased a stainless braided front brake line for my

A17,

> just got around to putting it on last night. after flushing the

line

> and fully bleeding the brakes i took 'er out for a spin to see how > much better these new SS lines really are in comparison to stock > rubbers. got 'er up to speed grabed a hand full of brake and

barely

> slowed down!. i was headed for a busy street right out of my works > parking lot, I was ready to bail before i was willing to hit the > street. luckilly i got the bike stopped before harm came to myself > or the bike. obviouly i had done something wrong. > > i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked > fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to > make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled > again just for fun. > > went out for test run again, got 'er up to speed, grabed a handfull > of brake and barely slowed down! WTF? > > i took the bike back into thye shop re-bled the brakes, checked > fitting, checked the line, check the caliper, checked the pads to > make sure there was no fluid on the pads or the rotor, then re-bled > again just for fun. cleaned the heck out of all the front braked > components with laquer thinner and an air-hose (this worked bitchen > on race cars). > > again went for a test ride.. same shit different run. what is the > story with these brake lines? is it just my luck or are these

things

> a major pile of shit? > when i say "hand full of brake" i mean the lever is bottomed out on > the rubber brip at the bar. NO JOKE! > > I am used to a very hard lever when i grab the brakes, i usually

only

> use my index and middle fingers to activate the front brakes. i

could

> easily do stopies on my a17 with stock rubber brake lines only

using

> 2-3 fingers. i dont like the way this line feels. > > is there someithing i am not knowing? do i need to modily

something?

> is there a special way to bleed the front brakes? i have worked on > nascar sanctioned race cars for more than 12 years, i know how to > bleed a set of brakes on a car/truck/race car so i dont feel that i > am doing it impropperly. > > if i cannot get this issue resolved before the bay area techfest, > somone bring me a good condition stock rubber line, a new bottle of > brake fluid and change and bleed my brake line, you can have the > stainless steel braided line.. (if i dont get resiolved before

then).

> > A17 Circus Bear