I tried to re-use my copper hydraulic fitting washers when I recently replaced a o.e.m. rubber hydraulic clutch hose on my 1987 FZR1000 (the system is essentially the same as a VMax's) with a custom-made stainless steel/teflon hose. I bled it using the oft-mentioned method of reverse-feed through the slave cyl bleeder nipple instead of using my Mity-Vac to vacuum-bleed. I always got a good bleed initially, no residual bubbles in the master cyl reservoir. The lever would have a free-play well-within factory specs. When you took-up the freeplay on the lever, prior to using enough force to disengage the spring plate disc in the clutch (the FZR1000 uses a 6-spring plate instead of the diaphragm spring of the VMax) I was seeing a nice little geyser of brake fluid erupt from the small return hole on the floor of the master cyl reservoir (be careful as too-abrupt of a squeeze will result in an arc of brake fluid outside of your master cyl and onto your paint & components in proximity!). A further squeeze would result in the perceptible resistance of the clutch pressure plate springs being compressed, disengaging the clutch via the slave cyl, just as things should be. Button-up the master cyl cap, use some cleaner to the areas of the master cyl & slave cyl to remove any traces of brake fluid, and time for a test ride. Check all connections for tightness while squeezing the clutch lever, no weeping, no leaks.
Now the drama. Not very far into the test ride, the clutch lever started to slowly come-back towards the handlebar w/every squeeze of the lever, resulting in a lengthening freeplay in the lever travel. The clutch would still disengage, but obviously 'something was not right.' Return home.
I could find no mist or obvious leaks from the banjo bolts at the master cyl nor at the slave cyl. I removed the slave cyl to check for wetness on its lowest point-nothing, dry. Go another round of reverse pressure bleeding, maybe a trapped air bubble hadn't worked itself free? Another stiff clutch pull from the bleed, another within-specs lever freeplay, another check for misting, leaks, etc., nothing, "Driza-bohn" around the fittings and components. Another test ride, another frustrating experience as the same thing happened. A gradually-increasing freeplay and poor clutch release as the freeplay lengthened, another return trip home.
Now, I had done some preventative maintenance, the bike I bought in 1988, from my friend who bought it new in Ft. Lauderdale FL for $5600. He put a bit >2K mi. on it and I bought it from him and have had it ever since. It doesn't get ridden excessively, it's a pain in the back, arms, shoulders, wrists, etc. to ride around town, but I bet a Ducati 888, its contemporary, would be worse. It has ~25K mi. now. So, I replaced the master cyl (it was leaking, my main reason for the repair) and since I was at it, the rubber hydraulic hose w/a stainless steel one my friend Steve at Under Pressure in Dania Beach FL did for me. I also replaced the slave cyl. So you can understand my frustration when I was unable to get the bleed job to 'stick' and hold its adjustment even though I was unable to easily identify any source of weepage or hemorrhage of brake fluid. It couldn't be an internally-ruptured hydraulic line, I replaced that.
Then I decided to do something I should have done in the first place. I replaced the Cu (copper) hydraulic flat washers with new ones. By process of elimination, they were the only original parts I hadn't replaced. In the past, I have re-used the Cu flat washers if the replacement piece I got didn't come with new replacements. Of course I would use a paper towel and some spray solvent to clean them after inspecting them to see if they were burred on their sealing surfaces, distorted, or had foreign material contaminating them. Sometimes I would even use the wire wheel on the bench grinder to remove any oxidation to the surface, then clean and re-inspect them. No problems. This time, evidently, there was a problem.
I went to the local auto store and at the HELP! section (where they have a rack display of arcane parts bubble-packed) I bought two packages of Dorman #66272 brake hose washers, i.d.=25/64 & o.d.=5/8, the material thickness is a bit greater for the Dorman parts than it is for the stockers, but not enough to make a difference in the position of the banjo bolt holes for the hydraulic fluid.
After installing the Dorman HELP! washers (yes, I cleaned the mating surfaces of all components and checked for burrs, again) and reverse-bleeding the system from the slave cyl bleeder, I have a firm lever, correct freeplay, and after squeezing the lever about 50 times, no change in the pressure-point for clutch release! This is where the Spanish-speaking people shout, exito! with the upside-down exclamation point in-front of the word (it means, success, I am told). After I post this I am going to go for a test ride and visit Under Pressure to see how my VMax engine rebuild of the bottom end is going, and of-course I will 'test' the FZR1000 clutch. The bike does easy power wheelies on the throttle in first and second, but I am too-mature to try that.
My lesson is, replace cheap parts which may have a significant effect on the proper operation of your system. I didn't bother using some 220 wet-or-dry to resurface the flat washers, I just replaced them. Maybe if I was in Samarkand-Uzbekistan I would have to resort to that. I feel a bit sheepish posting about this (does this make me one of the sheeple?) but if someone else can cut their repair time and proceed to returning to the road more-quickly, I don't mind the good-natured ribbing.
Now the drama. Not very far into the test ride, the clutch lever started to slowly come-back towards the handlebar w/every squeeze of the lever, resulting in a lengthening freeplay in the lever travel. The clutch would still disengage, but obviously 'something was not right.' Return home.
I could find no mist or obvious leaks from the banjo bolts at the master cyl nor at the slave cyl. I removed the slave cyl to check for wetness on its lowest point-nothing, dry. Go another round of reverse pressure bleeding, maybe a trapped air bubble hadn't worked itself free? Another stiff clutch pull from the bleed, another within-specs lever freeplay, another check for misting, leaks, etc., nothing, "Driza-bohn" around the fittings and components. Another test ride, another frustrating experience as the same thing happened. A gradually-increasing freeplay and poor clutch release as the freeplay lengthened, another return trip home.
Now, I had done some preventative maintenance, the bike I bought in 1988, from my friend who bought it new in Ft. Lauderdale FL for $5600. He put a bit >2K mi. on it and I bought it from him and have had it ever since. It doesn't get ridden excessively, it's a pain in the back, arms, shoulders, wrists, etc. to ride around town, but I bet a Ducati 888, its contemporary, would be worse. It has ~25K mi. now. So, I replaced the master cyl (it was leaking, my main reason for the repair) and since I was at it, the rubber hydraulic hose w/a stainless steel one my friend Steve at Under Pressure in Dania Beach FL did for me. I also replaced the slave cyl. So you can understand my frustration when I was unable to get the bleed job to 'stick' and hold its adjustment even though I was unable to easily identify any source of weepage or hemorrhage of brake fluid. It couldn't be an internally-ruptured hydraulic line, I replaced that.
Then I decided to do something I should have done in the first place. I replaced the Cu (copper) hydraulic flat washers with new ones. By process of elimination, they were the only original parts I hadn't replaced. In the past, I have re-used the Cu flat washers if the replacement piece I got didn't come with new replacements. Of course I would use a paper towel and some spray solvent to clean them after inspecting them to see if they were burred on their sealing surfaces, distorted, or had foreign material contaminating them. Sometimes I would even use the wire wheel on the bench grinder to remove any oxidation to the surface, then clean and re-inspect them. No problems. This time, evidently, there was a problem.
I went to the local auto store and at the HELP! section (where they have a rack display of arcane parts bubble-packed) I bought two packages of Dorman #66272 brake hose washers, i.d.=25/64 & o.d.=5/8, the material thickness is a bit greater for the Dorman parts than it is for the stockers, but not enough to make a difference in the position of the banjo bolt holes for the hydraulic fluid.
After installing the Dorman HELP! washers (yes, I cleaned the mating surfaces of all components and checked for burrs, again) and reverse-bleeding the system from the slave cyl bleeder, I have a firm lever, correct freeplay, and after squeezing the lever about 50 times, no change in the pressure-point for clutch release! This is where the Spanish-speaking people shout, exito! with the upside-down exclamation point in-front of the word (it means, success, I am told). After I post this I am going to go for a test ride and visit Under Pressure to see how my VMax engine rebuild of the bottom end is going, and of-course I will 'test' the FZR1000 clutch. The bike does easy power wheelies on the throttle in first and second, but I am too-mature to try that.
My lesson is, replace cheap parts which may have a significant effect on the proper operation of your system. I didn't bother using some 220 wet-or-dry to resurface the flat washers, I just replaced them. Maybe if I was in Samarkand-Uzbekistan I would have to resort to that. I feel a bit sheepish posting about this (does this make me one of the sheeple?) but if someone else can cut their repair time and proceed to returning to the road more-quickly, I don't mind the good-natured ribbing.
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