Brake bleeding, made easy!

I have read on here before about bleeding brakes in this fashion, so I thought about giving it a try. I am installing R1 calipers and Galfer braided brake lines, front and rear. I also will change the clutch line.
First off I had the pistons on the calipers all the way compressed into the caliper body when I installed them on the forks. For the bleeding process, I first removed the bleed valve from the caliper and I applied 3-5 wraps of Teflon tape to the threads. Be careful not to cover the holes on the bottom /side holes while doing this. Reinstall the bleeders into the calipers. I only put them in a few turns by hand, and left then loose.
Next I used ??? clear vinyl tubing that is available at Home depot and I cut two pieces about 5 ft long. On each piece of tubing, I attached one end of the hose to the end of the bleeder valve that sticks out of the caliper.
Next I opened the lid of the master cylinder and I let gravity push the brake fluid down and through the clear tubing that is attached to the bleeders. Do this until the tubing is half way full.
Now with the tubes half full, I stuck them through the side of a plastic coffee can that I had drilled two small holes into. This can is hanging from above and is above (about 24??) the level of the master cylinder that is on the handlebars.
So now the clear vinyl tubing has fluid in it, let it sit for a minute and it will seek the same level or elevation as the master cylinder.
Now slowly apply pressure to the front brake lever and you will see the brake fluid push into the tubing. You will also see air bubbles come out. Hold the brake lever for about 10 seconds and slowly release. I would wait 10-15 seconds and pull the brake lever again. Repeat this process many times. Be certain to keep an eye on the level of fluid in your master cylinder as you will be pushing fluid into the coffee can. You want to make sure that you don?t run low on fluid. I found that if I did a pull/release sequence about 10 times and let it sit for 5-10 minutes that the fluid that is in the clear tubing will settle back into the master cylinder until it seek the same level again. Once the level is the same, you can top off the master as needed.
I would also ?flick? the brake lever to try to bounce out any trapped air by the master cylinder out. You might see some small, microscopic bubbles come out. This is good, let the come out before pulling lever again.
The time frame that I bled my front brakes was about 6 hours. I would pull the lever a few times and then let it sit. Come back and pull again, then let it sit again. Etc?
Once I was unable to get any more air to come out through the bleeders into the clear tubing, I tightened up the bleeder valves and pumped the brake lever slowly. With doing this I am now pushing the pistons of the caliper against the rotor. By now you should start to feel a ?pedal or lever?. If necessary, top off the fluid again. I then opened the bleeders again and repeated the bleed process again until NO air was expelled through the clear tubing.
Once you are satisfied that the air is gone, close the bleeders. You can now remove the coffee can from it hanger and set it on the floor. Once the can or open end of the tubing is lower than the bleeders, you can pinch the tubing from the bleeders and let it drain into the can. You should have almost no mess and there is very little waste of brake fluid using this process.
With me changing my front calipers, all three front brake lines, clutch line, and my rear brake line, I only used 16 ounces of brake fluid using this process on all of the. Brakes and clutch all worked perfectly.
Good luck and happy bleeding.

interesting kevin... was it easier than a mityvac or speedbleeders?

Much easier. No pumping of mityvac, or any waste of fluid. My calipers are somewhat fresh paint and they still look great. With this process, I don't need a Mityvac.

gamorg02 said:

interesting kevin... was it easier than a mityvac or speedbleeders?

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I've never used any toll for bleeding.

Just a piece of 1/4" hose, about 5" long.

however it did take u 6 hours where speedbleeders would take 20 mins eh?

would u use the same method for refreshing or just replacing when dry?

gamorg02 said:

however it did take u 6 hours where speedbleeders would take 20 mins eh?

would u use the same method for refreshing or just replacing when dry?

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It takes about an hour for all, from the dry.
Myabe its sound imposible for ya Garret but i have my own way.
Wanna movie? :biglaugh:

I have speedbleedres laying aroung my garage, never instaled them.
Maybe someday I will.

gamorg02 said:

however it did take u 6 hours where speedbleeders would take 20 mins eh?

would u use the same method for refreshing or just replacing when dry?

Click to expand...

Yes it took me 6 hours, but that was because I was also working on another max at the same time. So I would pull my levers a few minutes, let it sit while I worked on the other bike. I am sure I could of refined the process if I stayed focused on working on one bike.
Yes I would use the same process for refreshing also. I like the idea of NO mess.

fair enough. maybe i'll join ya next time.

I've had no probs at all bleeding both front and rear brakes after replacing my S/S lines, upgrading the rotors and repainting the calipers.

The clutch, however, was impossible to bleed. It just would not build any pressure up, no matter how long or what I tried. Since I had no mightyvac available, I ended up - on someone's suggestion here - reverse bleeding the line using a syringe, and all was well again.

hey kevin, what kept the fluid from overflowing the master when it 'equalized'?

Garrett, just dont fill the master up until it equalizes. If you dont push any fluid out of the tubing, then you wont need to add any fluid. You can just work the same fluid back and forth and not have to add any new fluid.

I think the back bleeding with the syringe were the key to getting mine bled. Using Kevin's elevated bleed lines helped to get all the micro bubbles out of the calipers and lower lines (my lines were not as long as Kevin's setup).

last weekend I put on Speed Bleeders and bleed the old fluid and replaced with new, clutch included,,,really was easy and cool. Bought the long neck bleeders for all but clutch. Cost me $7 each.

If you can seal off the threads of the stock bleeders the MityVac works great too.

ouchez said:

last weekend I put on Speed Bleeders and bleed the old fluid and replaced with new, clutch included,,,really was easy and cool. Bought the long neck bleeders for all but clutch. Cost me $7 each.

If you can seal off the threads of the stock bleeders the MityVac works great too.

Click to expand...

Yes, putting a couple wraps of teflon tape on the threads of your bleeders is a must.