i agree, its better for me to have someone looking over my shoulder to tell me if im wrong than to just guess. When it comes to brakes i dont want to mess up. And plus the dealership is insured so if something goes wrong while they install the lines then hopefully they will cut me a check and that could be a possible upgrade to an RR. lol jk. I dont wanna get a new bike by crashing mine. lol

 

DAMN I SHOULD HAVE DONE THESE MYSELF!

First off, the dealership (Birch Run Motorsports in Michigan) didn't have my bike done when they said it would be done. Not much to do for an hour at a bike dealership. *They don't allow test rides*

Secondly, when I got on the bike the rear pedal was absolute MUSH (front was fine)! I thought to myself "Well maybe a few miles and several hard stops will help." WRONG! I called them the next morning and they said "Well we can get you in next week to re-bleed the line." BUMP that, I did it myself the other night.

Third sticking point was today at lunch - pulled into a Mickey D's parking lot which has a steep driveway and hear a nasty "snap" from the front end. I park the bike and take a look - the jacka$$ didn't put the bolts back on the front fender when he removed the stock lines! So the fender is kinda floppin' around there but fortunately nothing has broken on it. I got on the phone right away and told her "Alright your mechanic didn't put the bolts back in my fender so I will be there tonight for you to fix it." She was like "Well what time tonight?" I felt like telling her "5 minutes before you f-ing close!"

Anyways. There's a guy here at work who's been wrenching on bikes for many, many years so I think I'm gonna head over to his place next week and work on the front pads (those didn't get done either, but Chromewhore.com took care of it for me).

SUMMARY: BIRCH RUN MOTORSPORTS WON'T GET ANY MORE OF MY $$$.

 

tahoe said it perfect. i customize cars and i know alot about cars. bikes are basically the same. brakes are brakes. and if you buy a hand vacuum bleeder pump it will go alot faster to bleed the air out, then pumping the brake handles a million times to get all the air out. also, since your changing brake lines, you might as well do a brake fluid flush with some fresh fluid.

 

I don't think it's possible to change lines and not flush fluid, but I get your point.
The autoparts store had a sale (4.99) for a 32oz bottle of Valvoline Synthetic. So I picked some up. Anyone know how much fluid is needed to do the job right (with and w/o vacuum bleeder)?

 

yo make sure the valvoline is DOT 4...
32 OZ is plenty for bleeding the lines...with the vacuum bleeder you need less fluid...without it...i used about i think 12oz...one small bottle...to get the job done.

interesting thing about doing your own work...i went and watched mechanics work...they don't do anything different than if you followed the manual...from torque specs, etc..if anything, they've just learned to do short cuts!!!

figure if you torque everything to specs, watch for leaking liquids, bolt everything back up right...you're golden.

 

If you replaced lines on cars, you'll do fine on a bike.

I think it's one of the best mods you can do to your machine. There's ZERO fade in the front. I have noticed, that I can lock up the rear wheel by just breathing on the rear pedal!

 

It says 3 & 4 Compatible.

 

Just don't use 5.

Not sure, but I'd also stick with the same specification as the manufacturer recommends.

 

if that's the case then you must have air in the system...i just look at mine and it locks up!

 

after my brake flush, i also noticed my rear wheel locks up easier than before the flush and the fronts really grip (a more touchy lever feel compared to the old fluid that was in). im 100% sure i have NO air in the system. i used about 1/2 a liter of brake fluid when i did my flush with a hand vacuum bleeder. i used a bit more than normal just to make sure i got all of the 9yr old fluid out. i might re-bleed the front and rear tomorrow just to make sure everything is cool (no air trapped anywhere), especially after reading the few posts above about possibly having air still in the system.

i used ATE super blue racing brake fluid (dot4). 15.00 a liter
this is the same stuff i use in my car for autocrossing as well as road racing. never had any brake fade or boiling of the fluid.