[Mark's c50t]

I am wrapping up the installation of my 12" apes today and I have to bleed my brake on the front. Now, I have a mityvac 8000 so I am cool on that but I have to do this with the master cylinder off of the bars because the way I had to mount the thing it is at a angle and I need it to be level while bleeding the brakes. My question is; am I going to have any issues once I get it all buttoned up because I had to mount the master cylinder at a angle?

 

[Mark's c50t]

Man I tell ya! This job is becoming a real PITA! I have been siting out there pumping my poor brake bleeder to death and I got NOTHIN! I HAVE GIVEN UP AND I AM GOING TO GET A BIG AZZ SYRINGE AND BACK BLEED! I am cursed with this bike I swear!

 

[The Unabobber]

Calm down. Step away from the brake fluid pump. Drink a Dr Pepper.

Now, Get the line and master cylinder filled. Be sure your cable is routed the way you want it. Be sure you can get a nice flat angle so you can open the master cylinder if needed.

Then let it sit overnight so all the air in the fluid will rise to the top.

Then next day bleed it from the top banjo first, by squeezing the brake lever, loosen the banjo slightly, bleed the air, tighten, then release the brake lever, in that order several times. It will drip some fluid so have old rags or towels in place. Refill MC as needed. When all air seems gone, begin bleeding from the wheel end until you get pressure back.

When you fill a new hose with fluid you get tons of air in it you can't see, tiny bubbles. Takes a while for it to separate into large enough bubbles to even make it possible to bleed.

Be patient, the tiny piston on the MC barely pushes any fluid per stroke, unlike a car MC. Good luck!

 

[rvcycleguy]

I've had better luck by just removing the brake master lid with banjos and bleeder tight and pumping the brake lever slowly while watching the bubbles rise in the reservoir. When no bubbles, replace lid and then bleed the wheel cylinder.

 

[Mark's c50t]

really put the old brain to work on this one! LOL! I put the old bars in front of the tree and zip tied them so they were perfectly level and sturdy and then I bolted the MC to the old bars and started at the banjo like I was instructed and then went to the wheel and within no time I had a nice firm front brake! I tightened everything back on the new bars and did a final check of the cable routing and then I lit her up! She fired up as always and the throttle and clutch work great and I am a very happy fat guy with a new set of 12" apes and I got away with all the stock cables and brake line I will finish the fender mod and put it all back together tomorrow and show her off Thanks to everyone for the advice! I really value the opinions of y'all and it is very cool to have a place to come and pick brains!

 

[MLN1963]

I'm late to the ball game here but I will throw tis out there for others or you if you find you need longer lines. And honestly, I am very surprised you got stock lines and cables to work with 12" apes. I wouldn't even consider that myself but you made it work. I would love to see how you routed all the lines with these new apes? Have you checked for tightness of lines and cables going from stop to stop with the engine running? Checked to see if it is disengaging your clutch any? What is the fender mod you are talking about. Anyway, back to the brakes.

As a dirt bike racer I have a boat load of hours bleeding brakes on mine, my son's and friends bikes. I normally try do this when I am not in a hurry and don't need to ride. I will unbolt the complete brake assy as one piece. I mean it comes off in one piece from the master cylinder to the caliper. Then I will remove the master cylinder lid and hang it from the wall, ceiling or whatever is tall enough. It doesn't have to be straight up and down at the master cylinder, just enough to keep bubbles going up the hose.

If I am changing out components, rebuilding the master cylinder (MC) or caliper or just have a stubborn one that won't bleed I will back flush the brake system from the caliper port up, this will make a mess so I usually have a bucket below to catch the mess coming out of the master cylinder.

A word about that bleeder port, put some heavy grease around the bleeder fitting. They are tapered threads and don't seal well when loosened. The grease will stop air from getting sucked in when you are back bleeding. Keep pushing fluid thru until you aren't getting much air. Level the master cylinder and push enough fluid so it fills up with brake fluid. Replace the rubber gasket and lid. If the rubber gasket extended when the MC got low push it back into place. Make the MC the highest piece again.

Let it hang for a few hours, I prefer over night, to let the air rise to the highest place, the master cylinder. I also tap the caliper, line and MC starting at the bottom working my way up to help any air move. I will do this a few times and it seems to help.

The rest others have covered but these steps have made my life a lot easier.

 

[Mark's c50t]

Thanks for the tips! Yeah...it was a bit of a challenge to hang the 12" apes on her without buying new cables but it works stop to stop just fine. There is not even a half inch more height that could be achieved with the stock stuff but I made it! LOL! Had to reroute the brake line outside the forks and I don't care for that so I think in time I will go ahead and get a stainless line a bit over stock for that but I did the work on the brake line with it fully extended up on the jack so there's no worry about it getting popped if the forks fully extend over a bump or anything. I just don't like the way it looks out there. I had to roll the controls a bit further than I really wanted to but I can operate the clutch and brake without any problem so I am happy with that. I am all about spikes and skulls and the studded leather so the bike is loaded with that stuff! I am finishing the front fender spikes this weekend so when it's all wrapped up and I get some sun here I will shoot a bunch of pics to show her off. Just little stuff but it's the kinda thing I dig

 

[The Unabobber]

I'm late to the ball game here but I will throw tis out there for others or you if you find you need longer lines. And honestly, I am very surprised you got stock lines and cables to work with 12" apes. I wouldn't even consider that myself but you made it work. I would love to see how you routed all the lines with these new apes? Have you checked for tightness of lines and cables going from stop to stop with the engine running? Checked to see if it is disengaging your clutch any? What is the fender mod you are talking about. Anyway, back to the brakes.



As a dirt bike racer I have a boat load of hours bleeding brakes on mine, my son's and friends bikes. I normally try do this when I am not in a hurry and don't need to ride. I will unbolt the complete brake assy as one piece. I mean it comes off in one piece from the master cylinder to the caliper. Then I will remove the master cylinder lid and hang it from the wall, ceiling or whatever is tall enough. It doesn't have to be straight up and down at the master cylinder, just enough to keep bubbles going up the hose.



If I am changing out components, rebuilding the master cylinder (MC) or caliper or just have a stubborn one that won't bleed I will back flush the brake system from the caliper port up, this will make a mess so I usually have a bucket below to catch the mess coming out of the master cylinder.



A word about that bleeder port, put some heavy grease around the bleeder fitting. They are tapered threads and don't seal well when loosened. The grease will stop air from getting sucked in when you are back bleeding. Keep pushing fluid thru until you aren't getting much air. Level the master cylinder and push enough fluid so it fills up with brake fluid. Replace the rubber gasket and lid. If the rubber gasket extended when the MC got low push it back into place. Make the MC the highest piece again.



Let it hang for a few hours, I prefer over night, to let the air rise to the highest place, the master cylinder. I also tap the caliper, line and MC starting at the bottom working my way up to help any air move. I will do this a few times and it seems to help.



The rest others have covered but these steps have made my life a lot easier.

+1
Excellent write up!

 

[The Unabobber]

I'm excited you made it all work out. Good job! Apes and Z bars always present a challenge, but look so nice.