front break lever no pressure

[username1]

changed front fork seals, put back together, blead breaks but cant get any pressure on front break lever. no air seems to be in sight???

[Prairiehammer]

Bike Year and Model1980 venture 1200

What model?

[dacheedah]

when you crack the bleeders while pulling the brake does any fluid come out??

[FuzzyRSTD]

changed front fork seals' date=' put back together, blead breaks but cant get any pressure on front break lever. no air seems to be in sight???[/quote']

 

Takes time and a can of fluid. Bleed one day. Then let set and bleed again the next day. I used an aquarium hose and a water. Bottle with brake fluid. It is in the tech library I believe.

[Condor]

You've got air in the line. Reverse bleed it. Should take about 15minutes and you'll be good to go.

Here's a write up on the procedure. It talks about the clutch but will work for the brakes also.

 

When trying to bleed a clutch that is completely empty of fluid on a Venture, it’s very difficult…maybe impossible… to get all the air purged out of the lines normally because of the location of the reserve to the slave. Unlike bleeding the brakes where the pressure is built up by rapid pumping the pedal or lever, the clutch does not build pressure. Squeezing the clutch lever has to be done slowly and constantly. Using this method causes the air bubbles in the lines to move down toward the slave with each stroke. During the release of the lever the air bubble rises upward in the line. Air rises. So in effect you end up with these bubbles rising and falling and going nowhere. I seen threads over the years where the owner has struggled for days to get the clutch properly bled.

Reverse bleeding is done by forcing fresh DOT fluid into the bleeder valve, and forcing the air and fluid up the line and into the reserve. This can be done several ways. If you have a Speed-Bleeder installed it will have to be removed. If you have a regular bleeder, the reverse bleed can be done with the valve in and open, or you can remove the valve like a speed-bleeder. I find the removal of the valve the easiest.

Take a rubber ear wax remover blub that you can find in your local drug store and snip the tip off a little bit at a time until it fits into the threads of the removed valve of the slave. It should fit snuggly and the tip end should be a bit off the bottom of the hole in the caliper.

Remove all the old fluid from the reserve, if any. Suck up enough fresh fluid to fill the bulb, insert it in the threads of the slave and force the fluid into the slave. Keep an eye on the reserve to make sure it doesn’t overflow. Not good. Sometimes you can hear bubbles as they make their way out of the line and into the reserve. If the bulb runs out of fluid it can be reloaded. The hole can be blocked off with your finger while refilling. When no more bubbles appear stick the bleeder valve back into the slave, adjust the level of the fluid in the reserve to about half full, replace the reserve top and you’re good to go.

This whole process can be done in about 15 minutes. When done go for a ride.

PS: After first opening up the reserve, lightly squeeze the clutch lever a tad. The surface of the fluid in the reserve should deform slightly. Squeeze hard and you’ll end up with fluid on you and the bike. Not good. What this shows you is that the expansion orifice is clear and functioning. If it’s plugged the hot expanded fluid will have no place to go, and start to push on the slave as if you were actually pulling the lever. The clutch will start to slip. This is also why the reserve should be only filled half way. I have seen owners spend a lot of money rebuilding their clutches, and all the reserve had was a plugged expansion hole caused by old dirty crystallized fluid.

Hope this helps