Brake issue after attempt at bleeding

[mild83]

So I was having an issue w/ the amount of travel on the front brakes of my 91 Vmax. The rear brake seemed to be ok. Well, I attempted to bleed the front brakes w/ no success at getting any better "feel" from them. No better, no worse. I then attempted to bleed the rear, which, for some reason, now I have zero pressure. I spent about 5 hours messing with them on Saturday. I'm at the point where I'm taking it to a local dealer to get them checked out.

My question is, the bike was serviced back in March (previous owner) for the same issue. The brakes were bled, and the invoice notes from the tech state that after the bleeding, there was no issue. Do you think that it's the front master cylinder? I don't want to pay to have the brakes bled, only to have to bleed them, then have them go soft in 4 mos, replace the master cylinder, then pay to have them bled again. Also, should I go ahead and pay to have the lines replaced while having the work done? The lines are the oriignal and I'm concerned that they may possibly be the culprit in the first place.

I'm just a little frustrated. Sorry for the long post.

 

[PATMAX]

Yeah man, change them lines if they 91 vintage like your bio info reads. Hopefully you'll have new banjo bolts and O rings. I'm a fan a forced bleeding via vaccum. Pumping brakes has always been hit or miss for me. Mity-Vac is a cheap tool and good investment.

 

[ouchez]

Mild,

Get a set of Galfer brake lines from Morley. Front and back. Drain and install the lines following the directions carefully,,,You Tube has a lot of step by step for doing this. Get the MityVac from an auto store to suck the new fluid thru the lines from the nibble. Once you have this done and the levers feel real good wait a week or two and if they still feel good get a set of Speed Bleeders and install them in place of the OEM nipples, bleeding will never be a problem again. If that is the stock Master Cylinder you have you just may want to rebuild or replace the original before doing all the work. Ask Morley what he thinks as he can probably sell you a new or near new one.

Brakes are far more important than anything else you do to your machine.

O

 

[naughtyG]

I agree, swap your front (and back) lines for braided stainless steel ones - I got a custom length pair for my front (direct lines, no T) for about $100 from Sean. They make a world of difference.

On your rear, there seems to be something wrong - either you're not closing the nipple properly when letting the pedal return (therefore pumping air back in) or maybe your rear M/C is bad. Those are ultra cheap to renew, Sean or Kyle could help you with a replacement.