Hydraulic Rejuvenation

[phpbiker]

Came across a great trick I thought I'd share with you.

Before doing this, it must be safely assumed that the lines are in good order and the calliper piston seals don't leak.

Take a bungie rope or thick cable tie and pull the leavers as close the bar as possible by hand and then tie them in position.

Leave the bike overnight come back the next morning and wallop..better clutch lift and brake feel.

it forces out small pockets of air that bleeding alone cannot.

Worked very well indeed for me. Even after bleeding there is inevitably air in the line its not possible to get rid of it all. Not even with my vacuum system...

Give it a try..

[KitNYC]

An oldie but a goodie! I do this every time I bleed the front, but I'm still looking for a good way to do this to the rear. Maybe a barbell and some string?

Cheers,
-Kit

[Flying Custard]

Other tricks to help a bleed, doing the m/c first can help sometimes on the bench or crack union at the top.

Slap new brake hoses around, air can sometimes cling to these. On my last bike there was an amazing amount clinging to the insides of new hoses, a right pain...

Suction bleeders can fail to work well if the nipple thread is gone slightly baggy; whip out the bleed nipple, clean and dry with thinners (must be dry), lil' bit of teflon tape or similar on the threads will seal it. Or grease maybe, depends how baggy.

[KitNYC]

I've always been a little sketched out by the idea of Teflon tape on the bleeder threads, just because a piece could come off and get into the hydraulic system.

There is absolutely no reason to ever put grease anywhere it can get into your brake fluid. Ever! Petroleum contamination can kill your hydraulics, and that's, y'know, bad...

Cheers,
-Kit

[Flying Custard]

Use red brake grease.

The teflon idea, sure, but it's a well-known thing. I've done it and no kittens died Tbh after a little while there's dirt and crap in most systems anyway yet they still work. Of course don't throw tons in there, there's no need... you just need to take up the area where the slack is i.e. when undone a bit and the suction hauls air past it.