[jackotom]

imported post

Hi, thanks to all the people who replied to my engine swap problem, now i need help on bleeding the rear brake on my 1986gl1200ltd, its got good pads a stainless steel brake hose but when i bleed it the brake pedal goes all the way down before the brake starts to work, and it does not seem to have any air in it,i know its got a linked system but i not sure how it works.

all help greatly appreciated.

thanks dave,

[email protected]

 

[Jason]

imported post

The linked brakes on Goldwings are very hard to bleed. I've done quite a few and it usually takes two or three seperate attempts to get all the air out. In extreme cases you have to resort to the syringe and rubber hose method, ie injecting the brake fluid through the bleed nipple after loosening the joint at the master cylinder. When all the air is outthe joint (fluid runs clean), tighten the union andrepeat the procedure from the front linkedbrake (handlebar end first then rear master cylinder).

 

[tricky]

imported post

Brake Bleeding
Pump up system pressure by operating the brake lever or pedal. Do this untill no more air bubbles come out of the small hole in the reservoir. The lever or pedal should offer some resistance.
Note: When bleeding the rear brake system, bleed the front right caliper first, then the rear caliper.

Remove the bleed valve dust cap. Connect one end of a bleed hose to the bleed valve and put the other end in a container. (I usually put some brake fluid in the container to cover the end of the hose).
Sqeeze the brake pedal or lever, open the bleed valve 1/2 a turn, then close the valve just before the lever or pedal reaches the end of its travel.

Release the lever or pedal, wait several seconds after it reaches the end of it's travel.

Repeat until no more bubbles appear in the fluid coming out of the caliper.

Note: do not allow fluid in the resevoir to get too low.

Fill the resevoir to the upper level mark, install the diaphram and reservoir cover.

 

[JDuggan]

imported post

That's dong it by the book tricky. Unfortunately it doesn't always work that way and you have to try other methods. My GL1500 wouldn't give a hard pedal even after the mechanic bled it 4 times! Eventually he left the bleed nipples out of the calipers for several hours (lever taped in and pedal depressed), keeping the resevoirs topped up. At the end of the day he put the nips back in and the pedal and lever were both rock hard!

 

[tricky]

imported post

works for me every time. Never had a problem if I went by the book

 

[tricky]

imported post

JDuggan wrote:

That's dong it by the book tricky. Unfortunately it doesn't always work that way and you have to try other methods. My GL1500 wouldn't give a hard pedal even after the mechanic bled it 4 times! Eventually he left the bleed nipples out of the calipers for several hours (lever taped in and pedal depressed), keeping the resevoirs topped up. At the end of the day he put the nips back in and the pedal and lever were both rock hard!

your just not getting the bubbles out of the resevoir, it got me once then I took more notice, as soon as I got rid of them everything went according to plan. If those bubbles are not removed you can pump and bleed for ever and it will not work.

I can see your problem.. your using a mechanic...

 

[BigAl]

imported post

When I had my gl1500, the mechanic in the bike shop took almost 2 hours just to bleed the brakes after cleaning up the callipers. Said it was the hardest bike to bleed that he'd ever done. The rear pedal still wasn't as hard as it had been before the job, but the brakes worked.

 

[Renegade]

imported post

FYI.. The left front caliper on the GL1200's is bled by the rear brake cylinder.