2005 brake lever rant

[02S3]

I was having the same issues with my 02. After sitting for a few days I would have to pump up the lever to firm up the brakes. I had bled the brakes in the past in an attempt to improve the feel but it never had a significant effect. I bled the brakes the old fashioned way (pump brakes, open and close bleeder).

I just recently removed the calipers to clean the pistons. This time I bled them using the Motrax Little Bleeder which is a small one-way check valve. This allowed me to get all of the air of the system. The lever is really firm and I have to keep the lever set to 4. Also, I don't have to pump them up every morning. I have 150 miles on this bleeding so far. Previously my lever would go back to mushy after 100 miles or so. Fingers crossed. :-)

[sailfish14]

I bled them the old fashion way using a jar with brake fluid in it with a hose attached to the plead nipple. when the hose is full of fluid and you tighten up the screw no air will get back through the bleeder, unless the threads are leaking.

[Geof3]

On 2005-11-29 09:41, sailfish14 wrote:
I bled them the old fashion way using a jar with brake fluid in it with a hose attached to the plead nipple. when the hose is full of fluid and you tighten up the screw no air will get back through the bleeder, unless the threads are leaking.

There is no way the brakes can get "mushy" over time unless there is a pressure loss in the system somewhere. Some have noted the bleed valve leaking on some of the calipers. Check out the thread on t595.com as I suggested before. It really hits this issue at length. My dealer uses a power bleed method that forces ALL the air out of the calipers and the lines. It seems some of the NISSIN calipers have a tendancy to "hold" air in the the little spaces. If these calipers suck so bad, why are there SO many companies using them and not having problems? It's really interesting...

Sailfish, it seems you have much more of an issue than simply a little excessive lever throw. You have a problem with your system, I will almost guaranty your brakes are not bled properly. I'm not suggesting you are incompetent, just that the old school method of bleeding these doesn't seem to work well. Good luck getting it sorted. Check out that thread...

[SprinklerHead]

The problem is not that the brake lever gets mushy, it's that you get so much ***** travel in it before the pistons touch the pads. The problem is that the stock seals on the calipers are ***** and the pistons stick. I just picked up my bike from a private shop that rebuilt my calipers and put in some HH pads. I'm still bedding in the pads right now, but the lever feels like it's supposed to again. Nice and firm all the way out, not nice and firm after I pull it in an inch. I'm curious to see how long they're going to stay this way now. If they stay this way, I'll be recommending this shop to any Speed Triple owner in Northern California.

He could barely get the pistons out of the calipers when he took them off the bike. After he cleaned them and lubed them, they were moving in and out like they're supposed to. Triumph and/or Nissin really dropped the ball on this one and I wish they would get off their ass and fix it like they've done in the rest of the world.

[xpwarrior]

I had the same problem of lots of lever travel on my 02. Bleeding the brakes with the line in a bottle method fixed it right up. I pumped two reservoirs full of fluid through the system quickly to carry any bubbles along. The brakes are now amazing with only a very slight amount of travel before engaging. I went from 1 to 4 on the lever adjustment and with thick gloves on almost wish I had a 5 setting. On the first ride after this I came roaring up to a stop and grabbed a handful of brake like I used to do and thought I was going to go over the bars.