Hey guys.. i was injuried at work and havent rode my bike since July.. so my baby hax just been sitting so i went to start it up the other day (started right up after sitting for 5 months not connected to a tender) but when i rolled my bike out the garage and grab the front brake to stop the bike there was no front brake pressure. Its full of brake fluid. Rear break is fine. Question.. Should i change the brake fluid and treat it as such or do i need to keep squeezing the brake lever until the pressure comes back? Not sure why there isnt any pressure. Thx

First thing to do is check for leaks. Carefully look for signs of leaks around your calipers and lines. If there's absolutely no sign of leaks try pumping them. If they pump down it should be ok, but I'd ride it cautiously a while.

Brake fluid's cheap. You might just go ahead and flush and bleed. Not going to hurt anything.

Agreed, you should have plenty of pedal unless someoen worked on it and didn't tell you they did something to the brakes?

Welcome back to riding, glad your better.

These type radial masters are common doing this so there is a nipple at the top of the master. Use a closed end 8mm wrench, a paper towel on top of the nipple; open nipple; pull lever to grip; close nipple before you touch the grip. If not once then twice is the charm the lever comes back.

Drain brake fluids every 2 years.

* Last updated by: Hub on 2/1/2016 @ 10:24 PM *

I often found a faint white residue film on my stock banjos and bleeds so I would look for something more significant than that before determining it's a leak....like actual wet marks.

I have had to pump the front break after winter storage before. It has always come back and stayed. I suppose a good bleed could eliminate any small amount of air that has risen to the MC---then again, if you don't NEED to bleed and have not done it before, you may accidentally get a large air bubble IN the system and then you will NEED to bleed to eliminate that. I'd just pump the lever like I have done in the past. It should only take 3-4 at the most. If the pressure fades out after a few hours, bleed. If pressure stays, don't worry about it. Now you will start inspecting for brake pressure gremlins before every ride. LOL I don't think my brake lever is ever at full pressure after sitting for just one night. I think it looses a little tightness but not nearly enough to pull to the grip. One pull on the lever snd its back. At least I think so....I don't know if it's me or the gremlins.

If all you need is new fluid, you can just soak up all that's in the reservoir without exposing the hole at the bottom and refill. That's about 90% of your fluid and you don't need to bleed.

Bleeding is a good thing to know how to do but it can cause some wear on the bleed nipple threads and that can promote leaks in the future. No reason to fear bleeding but don't do it unless necessary, IMO. A vacuum pump should eliminate most wear on the bleeds but I have not had much luck in getting them to work so far(though most people seem to love them).

I've "never" had the front lever just all of a sudden have no pressure no
matter how long a bike has sat.

Only if I've removed front tire / calipers or something like that and
have pushed the caliper pistons in and have to pump a few times to bring back.

Yes, flush brake and clutch. I flush both annually, it's cheap and only takes
a few minutes.

Get a "MityVac" they're not expensive and makes the process super easy.

Test front brake if you think there may be an issue by pulling lever
tight and use a Velcro strap to hold lever tight and leave over night. In the
morning there should be no change in lever position, leaks, etc. period.

I flush annually, clean calipers at least a couple times a year, replace
pads when wear exceeds 2mm and check rotors for wear/minimum thickness.

I really like knowing my brakes are 100%

* Last updated by: piken on 2/2/2016 @ 8:51 AM *

Test front brake if you think there may be an issue by pulling lever
tight and use a Velcro strap to hold lever tight and leave over night. In the
morning there should be no change in lever position, leaks, etc. period.

good suggestion. If theater's a leak, the increased pressure caused by the pulled lever will force fluid out of wherever its leaking. I would keep any plastic or painted surface under the banjos and bleeds protected with a plastic bag oe something the fluid can't penetrate. break fluid etches plastic and paint in no time. If a bleed leaks, the paint right around the threads will get eaten if it sits like that a while.

Yes, the zip-tie the lever overnight is one more trick in the mental toolbox.

Fine for detecting a leak as previously described but it ain't doing nothing for a soft lever. Some people swear zip tying a lever over night will somehow get air out of the system but I don't see how this could work.

Nope, as far as I know has nothing to do with getting air out of the system.

Just testing that a closed system, is closed.

I believe the piston seal in the brake lever cylinder can sometimes relax away from the cylinder wall if not used for a while there by losing pressure. Pumping the brakes makes it seal again. If you have leakage by the piston seal the bungie can compress the brake lever without any external leaks.
Isn't soft brakes an indication of air trapped somewhere in the system?

Most commonly from air or other gases (for example, contaminated water that boils).

I've never heard of or seen brake pads pulling back on their own. I do believe the phrase anything is possible is true. I suppose if something was wrong with the calipers or master cylinder it could happen.

I guess in some way I could possibly see it if contaminated, and fluid boiled, maybe when it cooled back down and condensed back into the fluid maybe this could create a vacuum?

The only time I've really seen pads get pushed away from calipers in somewhat of a "on their own" is warped rotors which wobble like a cam and when there's no brake pressure forces away the pads.

Piken i did order a Mityvac and when it comes im bleed brakes and replace fluid. I checked the brakes again and still no pressure but when i squeeze the lever all the way it does activate the front brakes... but still no regular pressure. Side note.. my rear brakes are fine.

I also keep a turkey baster in the tool box. Use it to suck all the old fluid
from the reservoir first.

Start with the master cylinder. Go "very" slow. doesn't take much.

Make sure to do the clutch too while you are at it.

* Last updated by: piken on 2/5/2016 @ 10:51 AM *