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advantages/disadvantages of dot 5 brake fluid?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Guest
Well, spring is around the corner, time to stop being a lazy bastage and work on the bike. One thing on the agenda: Twinpot brake mod including new lines and m/c rebuild. Which brings me to my question: Why should i consider switching over to dot5 fluid in my system? any and all input would be great, and pics will be forthcoming, assuming i can overcome my lazyness (gee, i would have to find a cable and push, like, 4 buttons, what a pain...)

greg
 
My understanding of the Dot system is the higher the number the higher the boiling point, so brake fade would not happen as quickly with hard brake use. The trade off is that the higher numbers absorb water quicker, so you should change the brake fluid more often.
I have stuck with Dot 4 as a good middle of the road fluid
 
SILICONE BRAKE FLUID (DOT 5)
Silicone based DOT 5 was originally introduced to give higher temperature performance over glycol DOT 4. Silicone fluid also has other advantages, it does not damage paintwork and it does not absorb water.
 
Nope. Dot 5 is silicone-based and does not absorb water, one of its advantages. The down side is you should completely disassemble your system and clean every bit with alcohol to remove any traces of old fluid as it may not be compatible with DOT 3 fluid. Some report that the feedback is more spongy as well. DOT 5 brake fluid won't hurt paint, either.

edit- Agemax beat me to it.
 
from the reading i've done, dot 5 needs more constant maintenance, is more prone to system corrosion, and is also prone to foaming. not stripping my freshly painted parts sound nice though.....speaking of paint, the paint on my m/c was getting damaged around the cylinder cap, but now that i am stripping it, it is REMARKABLY resistant to aircraft stripper. soaking in brake fluid now, we'll see if that helps.

greg
 
hey, as long as i am in the t/s/b section, is my fork oil gonna drain out if i remove the anti-dive units from the fork legs? they are getting removed and blocked in favor of a cartridge emulator set up, i want to machine the block off plate but i'm not ready to remove the forks yet. thanks!
 
Yes!

I've used Dot 5 in a car. Bugger to bleed & gave a spongier pedal feel. There is a school of thought that any moisture in the system would pool & create worse havoc than with Glycol...
One of the big benefits on the car I used it on was that the MC was under the driver floor so refilling without having to worry about spillage was a big help.
 
I use Dot 5 in most of my bikes after I've totally rebuilt the brake system. You do need to bleed the brakes a little more frequently (at least once a year) to remove any moisture that will bead up behind the caliper pistons.

I like the fact it can be spilled on bodywork and not strip the paint off....
 
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