Okay all, I'm stumped.

I'm trying to bleed my brakes. I read the manual, and the Haynes guide, and watched a couple youtube videos. Looks easy - Open the bleed valve, squeeze the lever, close the valve, release the lever. Rinse and repeat.

I have my front brakes bled such that there are no air bubbles coming down the hose when I do that. But ... the brakes don't work. There's no pressure, the wheel doesn't stop.

What could be going wrong? I never bled the master cylinder because I don't see a bleed nipple on it. Am I wrong there? What else could it be?

So frustrating.

Edit:

It's becoming increasingly clear that my problems stem from me being a ******* idiot.

I think the earlier problem was caused by not having the lines parallel. That must have done something to misalign the bleeder holes, which meant that one brake didn't get enough fluid, hence no pressure, hence no stopping. So, that seems fixed.

New problem: Stripped cover screw. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? *facepalm*

No trouble shooting needed for that, just need to figure out how to get the screw out, then I can adjust the fluid in the reservoir and maybe (maybe) be good to go.

 

Okay, so: Stripped screw - replaced.

Brakes - bleeding double checked.

Wheel - Still not stopping.

I'm officially out of ideas.

 

Pump lever 5 times. Hold pressure on lever. Break bleeder loose SLOWLY until fluid SLOWLY starts to exit through the clear hose. Close the bleeder screw down TIGHT BEFORE the lever bottoms out on the grip. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat...

 

Yeah, the bleeding was good F3.

I just went out and (quite literally) did exactly this:

Unscrew the lever bolt. Stare at it. Could there be a piece I'm missing? Nah, this is exactly how it came. Said screw it, put the bolt back in.

Brakes work. Or, at least, at waddling speed (since I have no seat / etc on) they bite great and have a noticeable pull when I grab the lever.

I don't know. My bike has an imp that likes to screw with me or something.

So, it's provisionally fixed. Until the imp decides to toy with me again. lol, wtf.

 

Ok, it was just that you said you were lossening the bleeder then pulling the lever. That can cause problems too. Banjo bolts can be touchy! I'd suggest you tighten everything up and rebleed just to be sure.

 

As the others said, pump lever, hold lever down, ease th nipple barely open, BEFORE you hit bottom on lever, close the bleeder. rinse/repeat.

That said, listen to F34ME?, always double check the banjos. They'll get ya every time.

I also use teflon tape on the bleeder-screw threads to ensure that there's no air leak on the back-end there.

Is the bottom of your hose (off the bleeder) securely in the waste-fluid? that prevents air back-drawing into the line as well. Start on the longest/farthest caliper, then work back and forth as the bubbles dis-appear.

As last resort, if you've done any dis-assembly to the caliper piston and/or MC, replace the seals in those, and then try again. The only time to suspect the MC needs a re-build, is if you were having trouble before starting the current work. Since, you are doing complete fighter mod, I get the impression that the brakes have been just part of the general dis-assembly to work the frame, etc. and that they worked fine before that.

Hope this helps ya work it out.

Ern