My front brakes on my 13 have been margianal ever since i bought the bike. Ive vacuum bled them and back bled them and they still have air and horrible lever. At the little brown jug last weekend i was blowing turns and yesterday i passed a guy, grabbed a handfull of throttle and pulled in the front lever only to not be able to release the throttle and i waded up in a tree. Now im laid up with a severly swollen knee and ankle. Asteriks braces saved my knee too. I read about the rmz banjo swap and a rmz lever will swap too for better feel. Is there anything else i can do? Sintered pads sound like a option too. I spent one night pushing the caliper in the tickling the lever on the master cylinder with the handle bars turned left to get it above the brake line, air just kept coming out, looked like carbonation from a soda sometimes. Im going to try and race the national enduro this weekend if my leg heals but not if my brakes are this shitty. Any ideas of suggestions would be awesome. Thanks guys
Cant get all the air out of my front brakes
- Thread starter andykr87
- Start date
My 13 was pretty bad too. They would fade almost completely out on long descents. I followed the advice here and did a crf banjo and force bled it from the bottom. Then I put a wire tie on the lever keeping it pulled in over night. I tried to keep the master as high as possible. It felt pretty good after that on the next ride, but it must have had some air trapped in it because the next ride I went on a few days later it felt great. Really firm and hardly any fade. I also tapped the caliper assembly while bleeding with a rubber mallet to try to knock any bubbles free.
Hope there is some info in there that can help. Good luck!
Hope there is some info in there that can help. Good luck!
Also, the master cylinder needs to be the highest point when you let it sit overnight. No loop in the brake hose.
Use a syringe without a needle (30ml or something) mount it on a hose, connected to the bleedscrew on caliper. Open it up, open the pump so it flows.
Press 30ml thru the system, a full syringe, and close the bleedscrew. Then bleed normal. Should take you 4-5sec before its full pressure.
Press 30ml thru the system, a full syringe, and close the bleedscrew. Then bleed normal. Should take you 4-5sec before its full pressure.
adddy
New member
2009 ec
i to have been going round in circles bleeding.. with new seals top & bottom & hose,
iv been squeezing, pumping, vacing, pushing,taping,elevating,dangling,rotating & pushing the pistons independently & only see odd occasional bubbles , some tinny or regular size ..but only getting the leaver to be firm... & not hard... eg two fingers will still pull to my knuckles
have been over a month on this dilemma 
..nissin calliper + lever
i to have been going round in circles bleeding.. with new seals top & bottom & hose,
iv been squeezing, pumping, vacing, pushing,taping,elevating,dangling,rotating & pushing the pistons independently & only see odd occasional bubbles , some tinny or regular size ..but only getting the leaver to be firm... & not hard... eg two fingers will still pull to my knuckles
have been over a month on this dilemma ..nissin calliper + lever
barossi73
Gold Level Site Supporter
are u sure its hydraulic fault?if its an old set of pads in it check for cracks,or lifting between backing plate and pad material that could flex as that can caus a spongy feel even when bled perfect.a sticking piston in caliper or also a sticky or bent caliper slide (crash damage?)can cause poor feel or excess travel, as can a slightly warped disc,if its too badly warped you usually get a pulsing feel,check by spinning the front wheel and taking note of wether the disc is spreading the pads apart more than seems reasonable.bleeding u must have a little free play on the lever stop screw before the master starts to activate.sorry if uv checked this stuff already.Important-when bleeding only open the bleed screw as LITTLE as necessary for fluid to just flow,this gives u more forcing pressure(stiffer feel when squeezing lever)as the fluid has to travel faster thru a smaller passage.you can also take the caliper off and rotate it around slowly in all directions while bleeding,but make sure u use old pads etc to stop the pistons marching out when u pump lever,try and take all bends out of line,have caliper as low as poss,master as high.try slow and fast squeeze pressure(cover open cylinder for fast).Important-close the bleed screw during EACH lever compression AS fluid is flowing out!with bleed screw closed,then release fully and wait a few seconds to allow fluid to draw b4 repeating.ie.open,squeeze,shut near end of stroke,release,repeat.if ur screaming at ur screen "i have done all this f$#!er" im sorry ok?,i didn't know! good luck.you can also pump the lever a few times to try and build some pressure,then still holding lever pressure on,open bleed screw quickly and close again BEFORE lever bottoms out,repeat.Also with master sealed and filled,remove from handlebars and invert/rotate as high as u can for a few minutes.any air in lines or banjo should rise into master,then bleed at caliper again
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i to have been going round in circles bleeding.. with new seals top & bottom & hose,
iv been squeezing, pumping, vacing, pushing,taping,elevating,dangling,rotating & pushing the pistons independently & only see odd occasional bubbles , some tinny or regular size ..but only getting the leaver to be firm... & not hard... eg two fingers will still pull to my knuckles
Bad seals in either cal or pump.
if you have ever got a new bike, and try to bleed the brakes.. takes 1-3 seconds. Ive got problems with the seals on my nissin myself.
adddy
New member
if you had the bike from new then its a factory problem ?..if 2nd hand & the system had been open for any reason ? new hose or popped a piston by mistake through cleaning then its very difficult or maybe imposable to bleed entirely by usual methods ... but popping the pistons & reassembling in a suitable container of brake fluid (striped of the rails no pads) then toping up MC may be the quickest method to this air trap conundrum..this is the path i chose today with mine & i can say im definitely seeing improved feel bit by patient bit & will resume removing air bubbles tomorrow by more lever angled flick/pumping the MC then compressing the pads (reinstalled) in pushing fluid up & air to the MC. calliper off & lower at all times..you will need a syringe to constantly + & - the fluid level in the MC keep repeating with the pads in & modulate the fluid level until Elvis has left the building !
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So submerge the caliper in fluid, and reinstall the pistons submerged? Makes since. Then pour fluid in the MC to fill the system? Or back bleed it with a syringe? Im going to find a newer rmz or similar MC and shit can the black one. I have a feeling its part of the problem.
Its not that dangerous. Just swap the seals in the caliper. Air isnt so dangerous.
Take a hose that fits, take a canister/syringe and fill it FROM the calipper TO the pump. When things are flowing over at the top, close the bleedscrew, and bleed as usual.
Problemo solved.
Agreed, if you have to fight it too much, it's time for a repair kit in the master cyl.
The only way I could get mine to be 100%, was to put a custom plate with fitting over the master reservoir opening, and apply vacuum for half an hour. This was using an electric vacuum pump.
barossi73
Gold Level Site Supporter
Pretty sure he said he had new seals above,if any of the seals were allowing fluid to bypass there would be weeping at the lever/piston or around the caliper pistons,or bubbling in the master during the stroke.(a little at the very beginning of the stroke is not unheard of tho until the seal moves past the outlet hole).new seals can be quite 'dry' and should be greased with rubber grease when fitted,caliper pistons should move in and out with moderate pressure.my best guess in no particular order would be -sticky piston/seal in caliper,faulty seal/bore in master,or....air still.might be time for a new master if you're sure of all the rest.agree with comment above-it should usually be a fairly painless process tho.old british landrovers are on the other hand an absolute nightmare...
