[Kawigirl]

We bought a used 1998 KX100. The previous owner did not maintain the bike. Little stuff...broken. We bought and replaced the plastic holders for the brake line (fork) and since we disconnected the line to put them on...we can not bleed the brakes. We have tried for two days now...any suggestions?

 

[1Adam12]

If your brake is soft and when you squeeze you get no resistance you probably already know that you have air in the line. If you've pumped the brake(squeezed it) quickly and the air has not gotten out of the line you may want to try it with a vacuum pump like the mity vac. It's about 39.99 or so.

Otherwise if you have one person pump the brake and the other with a wrench open and close the valve while keeping your brake fluid above the fluid line you may be able to get it with some more patience.

 

[Freakinout]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=37201

One of those might help you out a lot.

 

[Knightrider]

Make sure when you squeeze the brake lever and open the bleeder that before you release the brake lever you close the bleeder valve or you will just suck the air back into the line again. You may get some results by , what we call, dittleing the brake. quickly and with very short strokes, flick the brake lever back and forth with the bleeder closed then try bleeding it the usually way. Some how it sort of builds a fluid pressure at the outlet fitting of the master cylinder and allows the fluid to get into the line.

 

[spdrkt ZX7R]

I used to use a generic one man bleeder that required the opening and closing of the bleeder valve, but I picked up a Motion Pro one way bleeder and it is worth it's weight in gold.

Hydraulic Brake Bleeder
Motion Pro has developed a unique tool that makes bleeding your brakes a one-person job. The unique check valve allows fluid and air to escape while preventing air to re-enter the system. Once this unit is primed with brake fluid, simply attach the hose to the caliper bleeder screw and place the other end into a bottle. Follow the included directions. Once all the air is bled from the brake line, close the bleeder screw on the caliper and remove hose.



Bleeder clicky (scroll down to view)

 

[QKENUF4U]

MITY-VAC all the way.
the didling mentioned above is to remove any air bubbles around the piston in the master.

 

[Knightrider]

Dittleing

Exactly, and once removed or purged, you should be able to pump fluid through the system.

 

[Spok]

remember that when your bleading out the air, you need to keep an eye on the resevoir so not to empty it and pull more air back in.

 

[tagedieb]

all good suggestions, but I've always had the best luck with this:
take a short rubber hose, put it on the bleeder screw, stick the other end into a bottle of brake fluid. crack the bleeder and start pumping. having the hose under fluid at the other end prevents it from sucking air back into the line. works like a charm.
i tried using vacuum pumps, but the result wasn't as good.

 

[2WheelFun]

Have you tried reversing the direction of the fluid? Pump it up from the outlet on the forks up into the resevoir? Just have someone suck out the fluid as it fills the resevoir.

 

[woodchucks800]

Have you tried reversing the direction of the fluid? Pump it up from the outlet on the forks up into the resevoir? Just have someone suck out the fluid as it fills the resevoir.

Thats how I've done it. An I didn't have to spend 40 bucks for a gadget either.

 

[2WheelFun]

Thats how I've done it. An I didn't have to spend 40 bucks for a gadget either.

Since air rises, eh?

I'm saving some $$$ for Beartooth so I can buy some gadgets there.

 

[uglybob007]

Hi there. How are you getting on with your brakes? I know on my system I had to bleed the air out of all the connections 1 by 1, starting with the bolt coming out of the handle, then the bolt into the caliper and, finally, the bleeding nipple on the caliper. Make sure you have a clean, dry rag handy 'cause it can squirt out sometimes and it aint good on your paintwork. Remember to keep the resovoir full of new fluid. Good luck mate.