Bleeding my brakes tonight. Tips?

Nice to know a bit is normal - mine were weren't as bad as this last time I did them though so I'm quite convinced I've left a bit of air somewhere. I'm starting to hate bleeding brakes

[TheRamJam]

Bleeding your brakes is a relatively simple job and shouldn't turn into some of the horror stories that you hear sometimes!

I fitted my HEL lines to the GSXR a few years ago and they are still great. It took my about 4 hours to do and I didn't use any fancy bleeding kits neither.

If your replacing your old lines then take the opportunity to inspect/clean your calipers. Once your happy that everything is clean you can go about attaching your new lines etc.

When bleeding use a clear hose and make sure its a tight fit over the bleed nipple.

Firstly you'll bleed the master cylinder (MC) first. So fill the fluid reservoir to the max line. Connect one end of the hose to the bleed nipple on the MC and other end in a container with some DOT 4 in it. Make sure the hose is submerged in some fluid, you don't want to be sucking up air into the MC.

Pump the brake lever 5 times and hold, crack the bleed nipple open and then close again. Repeat the above process until you see a clear liquid coming through. Keep repeating until your happy that there is no air bubbles coming through. That's your MC bleed

Now onto your calipers. Again attach the tubing to the nipple and submerge the other end in some DOT 4. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR FLUID RESERVOIR!! Top up to Max if needed.

Pump the brake lever 10 times and hold, quickly open the nipple and close. Repeat the process over & over until you can see the fluid coming out and there is no air bubbles present. Again KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR FLUID RESERVOIR!! Don't let it get low.

Repeat that process on the other caliper. The lever will start to firm up. Once you fell adequate pressure then tighten up all your nipples. Make sure your fluid level is topped up and do a brake test just by freewheeling the bike. If i feels good then a quick ride just to make sure.

Job Done, follow this and like me you shouldn't have any bleeding nightmares

HTH

Originally Posted by TheRamJam

Firstly you'll bleed the master cylinder (MC) first. So fill the fluid reservoir to the max line. Connect one end of the hose to the bleed nipple on the MC and other end in a container with some DOT 4 in it

Does the SV650 have a bleed nipple on the MC?

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Does the SV650 have a bleed nipple on the MC?

Hope not, drained and refilled mine at weekend, couldn't find one.

[TheRamJam]

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

Does the SV650 have a bleed nipple on the MC?

Apologies, you are indeed correct sir. There is no bleed nipple on the MC on the SV

Therefore your job is even easier by just having to bleed both front calipers

[MJC-DEV]

This (above #12) is the method I've always used (pump and crack open/shut!) and never had a problem with any bike. The SV new hoses were very simple to bleed with this method.

Cheers for those tips - I'll actually be doing this job tonight now as the banjo bolt on the master cylinder is properly stuck - I think I'm going to have to whip the fairings & screen off to get at it with some force!

Will keep those suggestions in mind though, although I have invested in one of those little bleeder gizmos (100mm clear tube with an aluminium non-return valve in the centre) which makes the 'routine' bleeding easier - lets hope it makes this job easier too!!