![]() ![]() Another plus is that it’s clear so you can easily see when it’s time to replace it (it turns brown). This is why I recommend and use Valvoline Synthetic DOT3 & 4 fluid. Synthetic fluid is designed to resist water absorption and therefore lasts much longer between bleedings. This results in that “spongy” pedal or lever you can feel with old fluid. ![]() This is why brake fluid containers are always labeled “only use fluid from a sealed container.” The water vapor and contaminants that infiltrate your hydraulic fluid lower its boiling point and make it slightly less effective. Brake fluid absorbs this moisture from the air and the contaminants in the water discolor the fluid. Over time air slowly makes its way into your brake and clutch hydraulic system – this air contains small amounts of water vapor. This makes it ideal for a brake and/or clutch system. In its pure (fresh) form brake fluid cannot be compressed (unlike air and certain liquids) and it is designed to have extremely high boiling points. What makes brake/Clutch fluid turn brown? Don’t forget that brake fluid eats paint, so when you’re preparing remember to have a lot of rags handy to protect your paint! This is a fairly simple process if you take your time and are careful. It’ll require some skill, some tapping on things and some patience to be certain you get all the air out because it likes to “hide” in these parts.Īs with all projects undertake this at your own risk. You’ll have to do a combination of vacuum and pump bleeding in order to get all the air out of the master cylinders and banjo bolts. ![]() You must also be careful to get all the air out of the system or you can have problems such as poor braking or trouble getting into or out of gear with your clutch. ![]() Keep in mind that if you’re rebuilding your brake hydraulic system or replacing your lines with braided ones and the system is completely dry it will take longer to bleed and will require more fluid. Also if you ever plan to change your lines to braided stainless steel or do a break-down and rebuild of your hydraulic systems, a vacuum pump will help get air out of the lines that a regular bleed won’t easily get. Since I bought mine I’ve used it more times than I can remember and each time is a reminder of how much easier it is versus the old hand pump method. If you think you might use it on your friend’s bikes or to bleed the brakes on your car/truck/etc then it’s only more of a bargain. If you plan to bleed your own clutch and brakes on the bike it’s well worth it. You can get these from Harbor Freight, Sears or most auto stores for about $30. Sometimes replacement with fresh fluid is all you need to get the brakes feeling good and solid again.īefore you start this job, consider buying a vacuum pump as an alternative to a one-man bleeder kit. The performance of hydraulic fluid degrades slowly, so most people don’t realize how bad the fluid is until they replace it via a bleed. I can only assume many of them don’t realize that this is a sign of old fluid which needs to be replaced. I see riders on all makes/models with clutch and brake fluid which is dark brown like Coca-Cola. This is a walk-through for bleeding the brakes on the VTX 1800 – the process should be identical regardless of the model. ![]()
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