Where's The Bleeder?

[Godfather]

Newbie here again...99'1100RT right front caliper no bleed nipple, but a bolt of sorts instead. I was checking out the calipers before I order some speed bleeders, do I remove this bolt without worry and install the speed bleeder, or ??? I'm confused, I think.
Thank you, Mike

[joelaw]

Mike,
Front break systerm on the R1100's has just the one bleeder nipple. Use a vacuum bleeder device, keep the reservior full of fluid, and suck until the fluid comes out clear.


Joe

[Godfather]

Can the GRUB bolt be replaced with a speed bleeder without issue? Is the bolt and the bleeder the same size? I'd prefer to not use a vacuum system. Thanks, Mike

[PacWestGS]

Can the GRUB bolt be replaced with a speed bleeder without issue? Is the bolt and the bleeder the same size? I'd prefer to not use a vacuum system. Thanks, Mike

Mike, I'm afraid to tell you much more, you might get somewhere you shouldn't but, that's probably not gonna happen. Good to see you wrenching on your bike.

Yes, there is a speed bleeder for the right caliper. You have to remove the grub bolt (which the dealer uses to pressure fill/bleed the system) and then you can bleed the system SEMI normally. Do you have ABS? If so there are some differences you should become familiar with. You have to bleed the ABS pump as well. There is some good info on the IBR site. I'll see if I can find the link.

http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/brakes.shtml

Know this, if you screw it up the brakes will fail. Also, if you do/did everything right, anytime your bike goes into the dealer they have to run a system check on the ABS and braking system before they give your bike back. It's free.

Russ

[Godfather]

If I use a Mighty Vac system, will this be sufficient for thr"anual" bleed. I guess the ABS pump(s) get done every 24 months? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks, Mike

[PacWestGS]

I'm gonna have to defer this answer to someone more knowledgable than me.

Paul's in Intermot but there are others who have done this.

Cjack to the white courtesy phone...

[Boxerkuh]

I have been there before... I also bought speed bleeders, thinking of doing the same thing... after much research I decided against it. Not a good idea. The ABS on your bike is not the lastest ABS, but afterall is still pretty complicated...
You are trying to save time and money, but in this case it is ill-advised... It will make you sick what might happen.... :sick

[BubbaZanetti]

buy three speed bleeders. two larger ones for the front brakes, one smaller one for the back.

remove the entire fitting on the right front side, not just the grub screw. it is a bear and held in with loctite. i removed mine without heating, but a little heat gun action might be advisable. with a fair bit of force, the whole fitting will come off. you then insert the speed bleeder in it's place. the right and left calipers will look the same. make sure you push you pads in to evacuate the fluid in the pistons. there was a very good article on oilhead brake bleeding in the ON a few months back.

as far as the ABS is concerned, i'm doing mine every other year. the pumps are a pain to get to and i have never managed to get very much fluid out of them for some reason. lots of pumping with minimal ammount of fluid pushed through the system. the comparatively small ammount of fluid in the abs units will mix with the rest of the fresher fluid in the system. having the dealer bleed the abs might be a good idea if you don't feel like tackling it yourself.

brake bleeding is one of those things people are afraid of trying themselves. it is a really a very straightforward procedure and requires no special tools, no torquing and no special checks for clearances. just make sure you have plenty of fluid and no air and its pretty hard to screw up on these pre-linked, pre servo oilheads.

also, be carefull of tightening the speed bleeder on the back caliper. it is small and breaks (pun intended) easily. i broke mine off in the caliper and had to order a new housing screw and bleed nipple from beemer boneyard.

lastly,
these are your brakes and your level of mechanical aptitude. they are the one part of the bike that has to function correctly. while at the Vermont rally this summer, i put new tires on my bike. left the front tire off the bike for about 6 hours with the calipers tied to the forks. the next day while riding to maine i went from average to virtually no braking. when i arrived at my destination i bled the system and all was normal. a tiny bit of air can really foul these things up. no idea how air was introduced to my system that time, but it was. riding with just a whimpy back brake is not very fun.

[Godfather]

Thanks to everyone for your help. I am going to leave this to the experts for now. I will want to actually see this done before I attempt to do it myself. For now I am going to stick to the basic fluids, you know, the "no brainer" stuff untill I become more educated. Are there any tech daze in Michigan?