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Soft front brake lever

  • Thread starter Thread starter thadius33
  • Start date Start date
T

thadius33

Guest
After doing some reading on here it seems like I need to replace the brake lines on my 81 gs650, because that is what most of the symptoms lead to. But I also noticed when bleeding the brakes that the right caliper isn't getting as muc pressure as the left one. for example, when i squeeze the brake lever i can see the line move but i can't see the caliper move. When i noticed that I took it off and made sure that it worked, and it does. Then after I got it put back together i realized that when i was bleeding the brakes, brake fluid just trickled out of the bleeder valve. So could that be caused by a bad brake line or does that lead to something else being the problem?
 
Last edited:
thadius33 said:
After doing some reading on here it seems like I need to replace the brake lines because that is what most of the symptoms lead to. But I also noticed when bleeding the brakes that the right caliper isn't getting as muc pressure as the left one. for example, when i squeeze the brake lever i can see the line move but i can't see the caliper move. When i noticed that I took it off and made sure that it worked, and it does. Then after I got it put back together i realized that when i was bleeding the brakes, brake fluid just trickled out of the bleeder valve. So could that be caused by a bad brake line or does that lead to something else being the problem?
Click to expand...

Help US help YOU -

What model and year is your bike?
You said you were bleeding the brakes. Why? Did you flush out all the old brake fluid and replace it with clean?
Be more specific - when you took WHAT off to make sure "it" worked? How do you know "it" worked?
Are the brake lines original?


The more information you give, the more help you get. Pictures help a lot.
 
Could be blocked bleeder nipple, just had to clean one up on bike I'm working on to get it to bleed anything out. terrylee
 
850GT_Rider said:
Help US help YOU -

What model and year is your bike?
You said you were bleeding the brakes. Why? Did you flush out all the old brake fluid and replace it with clean?
Be more specific - when you took WHAT off to make sure "it" worked? How do you know "it" worked?
Are the brake lines original?


The more information you give, the more help you get. Pictures help a lot.
Click to expand...

It's an 81 gs650. I was bleeding the brakes beacause I always try the simple fixes first. I have not flushed the brake fluid, and have no Idea if they are the original brake lines, I bought the bike a year ago. I took the caliper off and pressed the brake lever and the piston moved, just not as much or with as much force as the left caliper. I do plan on replacing the brake lines and flushing out the ol fluid .
 
thadius33 said:
It's an 81 gs650. I was bleeding the brakes beacause I always try the simple fixes first. I have not flushed the brake fluid, and have no Idea if they are the original brake lines, I bought the bike a year ago. I took the caliper off and pressed the brake lever and the piston moved, just not as much or with as much force as the left caliper. I do plan on replacing the brake lines and flushing out the ol fluid .
Click to expand...

Yes - with a 'soft lever', bleeding is a good place to start I guess. If the brake lines are black rubber, they might be date-coded.

Sounds like you're heading toward a complete rebuild. We've all been there.
 
If you didn't pull the calipers apart when you got the bike, now is the time to do so

Sounds like the seals are hard, maybe the pistons are rusty

You'll probably be surprised at what you find inside the caliper
 
I assume this means that they are the original lines
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So it's time to order a rebuild kit for the caliper, any recomendations? I know bike bandit has the parts, but no full kit.
 
Take it apart and look. Quite often the clipers and master cylinder don't need any new parts, just clean the rust and dirt out of them. The brake lines you can make up yourself, or order them made to size.
 
Do as Tom said..disassemble and clean everything. This includes all the calipers and master cylinders..not just the front. Replace the old piston seals in the calipers, clean the scale out of the seal grooves, wipe the sludge out of the piston wells, new lines, and new pads while your going all the way.

And as an added little trick..Once the brakes are rebled use a bungee to hold back the lever overnight. Pump the brakes as hard as the lever will get and strap it back to the bars and in the morning youll have the best brakes you have ever felt on that bike.
 
chuck hahn said:
And as an added little trick..Once the brakes are rebled use a bungee to hold back the lever overnight. Pump the brakes as hard as the lever will get and strap it back to the bars and in the morning youll have the best brakes you have ever felt on that bike.
Click to expand...

Interesting. What's the explanation for that?
 
I dont have a clue in heck what it does for the system..but it makes the lever like I have never felt before. literally just a few fingers gently squeezing and your feeling the brakes working..cant explain it.

Give it a try tonight. Tie yours back and then report what you think in the morning.
 
He's right about tying that lever back. I don't understand it either and I've looked for an explanation but I can't find one. You may want to tie it back with a zip tie instead of a bungee. They hold a bit better.
 
Tying the lever back, it works by pushing the air down the lines toward the caliper in the form of tiny bubbles in the fluid. Overnight all the bubbles slowy rise to the top, which puts them in the upper end of the hose near the master cylinder. When you release the lever, most of the bubbles are positioned in the closest part of the fluid to be returned to the reservoir.

It really only takes an hour or so to do quite a bit, you can speed the process by tapping on the lines occasionally with your finger or something to help the bubbles move up the line quicker.

Repeat it two or three times, if there's a lot of air bubbles the brake keeps getting better and better.

Also check for a leak, when it's pressurised for a long time even the slowest leak will be easy to spot. I found a couple bad crush washers the other day this way.
 
Thats why I said do it at the end of the day Tom.. Let it sit all night and its done without repeating and tapping anything.
 
I'm currently having to renew/recondition the front brakes on my 79'. I found all the rubber stuff deteriorated bad. I also found one of the caliper lines completely blocked with crud:eek:
 
Yes, the lines deteriorate inside, what turns the brake fluid black is rubber from the inside of the pipe, that crud you found is bits of the inner wall of the brake pipe.
 
Flyboy said:
Yes, the lines deteriorate inside, what turns the brake fluid black is rubber from the inside of the pipe, that crud you found is bits of the inner wall of the brake pipe.
Click to expand...

It turns black even with steel lines. It's water in the fluid, and eventuly rust that makes it turn black.
 
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