question on speed bleeder placement on ABS and clutch

[Boxwrench]

I am pretty sure that being the year of my RT I have ABS II.

I have the PDF on doing the ABS system and brakes for ABS III.
Is it still valid for the older system and where can I get an Illustration of where the bleeders go on the ABS unit?:scratch

Also where on the clutch does the bleeder go? A direct to a file w/ illustrations would be helpfull. I do have a Clymers.:scratch

[norton]

As far as-putting Speed Bleeders on the ABS under the tank, It's probably a waste of time and money if you are talking about a 2000 RT in your profile. I bleed the ABS every 5 years and it come out fine from the beginning. ( I do bleed the brakes every year) The 2000 RT also has a clutch cable.

[Boxwrench]

Thanks . I will then prolly send back the clutch one.
I bought it used and do not know if and when the ABS was done.
Only thing I am pretty sure is it was a garage rat.
If It has 114K+ miles on it and not 14K+ it sure don't look it.
My MOM booklet says it is a yearly item.
At least I will have a known start date when I do it.

Still like to know if the PDF file on the ABS III is valid for the II

[jcridge]

Put the speed bleeders on the front and rear calipers. If you bleed the brake system, you bleed the ABS unit as well. The fluid is common through out the system. The bleeders on top of the ABS unit are there to bleed the trapped air out of the system if you replace a component.

If the fluid starts to darken, change it...

I change the fluid every year on our bikes, its cheap and ABS hydro units and calipers are expensive. It takes 30 minutes and what else do you have going on when there is 2' of snow outside, well at least here.

If your not going to use the clutch bleeder, you may want to think about using it to bleed the high beam fluid. I believe they use the same thread size, and it sure would make that job go allot easier...

[Andy VH]

I installed SpeedBleeders on my ABS equipped R1100RS some years back. Glad I did, as I can flush my brake system in about 1/2 hour. But I installed them on the front and rear brake calipers and never bothered with the ABS modulator.

Now, I did replace my ABS modulator about four years ago, at which time I filled it with fresh brake fluid before installing it and then manually bled it before going on to the rest of the brakes. But the SpeedBleeders on the calipers seem to do just fine to bleed the brakes.

[genen8kua]

I recently flushed the brake fluid on my 1998 R1100RT - it's identical to yours. I drained at the front and rear calipers as others have recommended. The new fluid was a tad lighter than the old fluid and I could tell when all had been replaced.

The front went really well & I exuberantly let the reservoir run just dry on the rear. Crap! Removing the plastic and the tank and bleeding the rear ABS unit was in order. One tiny bubble came out of the top (I'd already tried to bleed out the air without touching the ABS & It still didn't feel right) with a little tiny (insignificant) streak of darker brake fluid mixed amongst the new stuff. That accounted for about 1/4" of extra travel at the brake pedal.

So my experience 1) reinforced the advice NOT to let a reservoir run dry and 2) demonstrated that doing the fluid change at the calipers does just fine.

BTW, the servo-assisted brakes in the R1150s and R1200 are quite different & on them you need to change and bleed the separate control to servo unit and servo unit to brakes circuits.

I got perfectly good results with a "one-man brake bleeder" from my local auto parts place, but those speed bleeders sure do seem slick.

I'm just getting into owning and wrenching on these newer beasts: generally the brake flush, valve adjust, throttle body synchs and fluid changes are "gee, that was easy" moments. Contrast that with fuel filter & throttle cable replacement! Of course on the RT, that's all true once the bodywork removal becomes easy (and it will if you do it enough). Enjoy!

PS - I really recommend you get a decent shop manual (Clymer or Haynes) for your model. Forums like this and the manual nicely complement each other, IMHO - the Clymer manual for the 1100/1150 does a nice job of describing the different brake systems (yours is ABS II), but is of no help for the linked brakes (says take it to your dealer, though many have figured out how to DIY it). It nicely describes how to bleed yours.

[Boxwrench]

I have the Cylmer as noted above, I just received a twinmax I bought and hafta learn to use it.
I have ordered the feeler gauges for the valves ( don't have those sizes and quantity). I have 2 bottles of Dot 4 brake fluid and of course the bleeders, and a turkey baster.
I also ordered the DVD on the 1100 series.

waiting the feelers. so I do all the work together.

[bikerfish1100]

If you purchased clutch and rear caliper speed bleeders, the one for the clutch should work fine on the front brakes (it did on my 2001 R11S). First option would be to remove the entire fitting with grub screw that comes on the right front caliper. The left is not that tough to use.