Topping up front brake fluid.

[rosie631]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Won't be worrying about the brakes for a while. Took a spill yesterday and bike is pretty banged up. And no, it was nothing to do with the brakes LOL.

[sinfull]

Sorry to here about the spill, seems to be a bit of that going on again !

[Goblin]

Oh shit Rosie! Hope you are ok and not broken.

[rosie631]

Sorry to here about the spill, seems to be a bit of that going on again !

Yep, joys of winter riding eh?

[rosie631]

Oh shit Rosie! Hope you are ok and not broken.

Thanks Goblin. No, nothing broken. Was knocked out so got a bit of concussion. Otherwise the leathers etc did their job. Very thankful. It could have been so much worse.

[sinfull]

Yep, joys of winter riding eh?

Well when ya do get it back on the road and replace them front pads, bleed the lines and leave the reservior full so ya know next time it gets low, your pads are down so it's time to do it all again !
Not the spill that is !!
It's usually a good gauge for pad wear, then when ya push the caliper pistons back it fills the resevoir up to the full level again (or it should)
On the track you'd be bleeding ya lines more regular due to overheating of the fluid, i've got myself into the habit of a half doz pump/bleeds before each track day, but then your replacing pads a lot more often too lol !
But i digress, though i'm on topic for a change lol
Where're the pics and what happened ???

[98tls]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Won't be worrying about the brakes for a while. Took a spill yesterday and bike is pretty banged up. And no, it was nothing to do with the brakes LOL.

Bugger,glad to hear your ok.Hope the bikes all fixed up for the summer.

[rosie631]

Where're the pics and what happened ???

No pics. Riding in the wet. Open road, on the straight. Hit a greasy patch of road and two of us went down. Bikes just flew out from under us. Long slide down the road but the gear did its job and we both walked away. Can't ask for more than that eh?

[steve_t]

Knocked out?! Glad to hear you're OK! Coming back through Te Awamutu to Hamiltron, the left lane of the two laned open road was rainbow coloured! I think someone must have been haemorrhaging a crap load of oil!! Take care on the wet/greasy roads everyone! Sorry for all the exclamation marks!

[scumdog]

Not sure. Just checked it with the bike on the stand. I will go ahead and top it up but just wanted to check if it's ok like it is. Going for a big ride today and haven't got time to get the brake fluid first. Will recheck with it level too.
Cheers everyone for the advice.

NEVER spill any on your paint - silicone fluid is not as bad but the old stuff is as good as paint stripper.

Wash it off with water as soon as you can if you DO spill any.

And keep the lid on the master-cylinder except for when you are actually topping it up - brake fluid sucks moisture out of the air and is water Not Good(tm) on brake systems.

[mouldy]

Do not mix silicone and mineral based fluids and always leave an air gap in your master cylinder , brake fluid expands as it heats up and always check the level after putting in new pads .

[The Stranger:Me]

Sorry to hear about he spill. But one other thing I don't see anyone else mention here yet. The fluid is "missing" because of pad wear. Any time you need to add fluid you should check to ensure you have sufficient brake pad thickness left.

[scumdog]

Sorry to hear about he spill. But one other thing I don't see anyone else mention here yet. The fluid is "missing" because of pad wear. Any time you need to add fluid you should check to ensure you have sufficient brake pad thickness left.

And don't forget that if you put new pads in and have to force the pistons back a bit (and you will) that the fluid has to go 'somewhere' - back up to your master-cylinder - so check there's enough space in the cylinder for it to go into.

[The Stranger:Me]

And don't forget that if you put new pads in and have to force the pistons back a bit (and you will) that the fluid has to go 'somewhere' - back up to your master-cylinder - so check there's enough space in the cylinder for it to go into.

Hmm, sounds like someone remembers this lesson well.

[Max Preload]

NEVER spill any on your paint - silicone fluid is not as bad but the old stuff is as good as paint stripper.

Not just the 'old' stuff. DOT 5.1 is glycol based too just like DOT 4 & DOT 3.

And don't forget that if you put new pads in and have to force the pistons back a bit (and you will) that the fluid has to go 'somewhere' - back up to your master-cylinder - so check there's enough space in the cylinder for it to go into.

You should never force the fluid back up the line because the moisture and accumulated muck from the caliper goes with it and can causet he master cylinder to wear prematurely and the tiny hole to block which means the brakes won't fully release. The way to do it is put a hose on and crack the bleed nipple before pushing the pistons back - that expells the dirtiest fluid directly from the caliper and makes purging the rest with clean fluid from a previously unopened container (that last point about "unopened" not quite so necessary with DOT 5 but still good practice).

But one other thing I don't see anyone else mention here yet. The fluid is "missing" because of pad wear. Any time you need to add fluid you should check to ensure you have sufficient brake pad thickness left.

Once you've correctly verified the current level don't just top it up - check the brake pad friction material first. If the fluid is low you've either got a leak (unlikely) or the pads are worn. The reservoir size is designed to have sufficient fluid to still have spare capacity when the piston(s) have travelled to their limit when the pads are worn.