> P.S. has anyone every bled the brakes on their GTS???? If so > what did you use and how did you do it?????? Good question, I have the same question. I replace the pads on the rear brake, and bled the pistons at the same time. I used a Mity-Vac to vaccuum bleed the lines. After running the new fluid all the way through the lines, I now a major pulsating pedal when the ABS kicks in. I mean the pedal moves about 2" when the ABS engages. Before I bled the brakes the pedal just kinda bumped up and down a tiny bit, so I think I may have done something wrong. Please tell me if this is normal or do I need to fix something quick! My solution so far has been to rely on the front brake, no big deal I used it most anyway. Louis Tweed ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- try this---fill the reservior,put a clear plastic hose over bleeder, draining in to container, open bleeder,DO NOT touch pedal,keep resevoir full,be patient, gravity will remove any possible air, when hose is not showing bubbles it should be ready; this may take a little time, give it a shot I think there is a spec of air trapped. if this does not help , there is one more reason ,i will explain why if this doesn't help CubbyS@webtv.net (Bob Smith) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After having problems a couple of years ago with my rear brakes I finaly resorted to bleeding them through the allen head plug on the side of the ABS pump under the right side body panel. Just loosen it like you would the bleeder valve on the caliper & bleed the fluid through the loosened plug. Its kind of messy but it seemed to work. Not a single problem since! Bob Taylor,gtsbiker -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brake Bleeding - I'll share a few tricks and basic concepts with you. First, air bubbles naturally want to travel up to the highest point of the system and will do so unless trapped in a crevice. I've used the "bottom up" method for a few years now and it works. You need to make a squirt bottle using any quart size flexible plastic bottle and a foot of black fuel line. Clean and dry the bottle, then drill a hole in the cap that is a little smaller than the outside diameter of the fuel line. Compressing the fuel line with your fingers, feed 3 inches or so into the bottle cap. Fill the bottle with brake fluid and screw the cap on securely. First lean the motorcycle over, using tie downs, so that the master cylinder banjo bolt is NOT the highest point of the system. Next, using a syringe, remove the fluid from the master cylinder. The next step is take the squeeze bottle and place the end of the fuel line over the bleeder nipple. Now, turn the bottle upside down and tap, tap, tap the fuel line with your finger. You will here a gurgle, gurgle as the fuel line fills with fluid and the air goes to the top of the bottle. Now gently loosen the bleeder bolt and slowly squeeze the bottle. Tighten the bleeder bolt and empty the master cylinder again using the syringe. Repeat this procedure several times. This will remove those hard to get air bubbles. Another trick learned over the years is to tightly squeeze the brake lever and hold it there overnight using tape or velcro. In the morning remove the velcro and the brake will be more firm. I don't know how this works, but it does. Kevin Hawkins // Greensboro, NC ---------------------------------------------------- Bob Smith wrote: > > try this---fill the reservior,put a clear plastic hose over bleeder, > draining in to container, open bleeder,DO NOT touch pedal,keep resevoir > full,be patient, gravity will remove any possible air, when hose is not > showing bubbles it should be ready; this may take a little time, give > it a shot I think there is a spec of air trapped. if this does not help > , there is one more reason ,i will explain why if this doesn't help Will this work even though the air could be trapped in the ABS modulator. Since having done what I did to bleed the brakes, every time that I have gotten on the rear brake hard not only does the pedal surge the ABS light starts flashing slowly. :( Louis ---------------------------------------------------- From: CubbyS@webtv.net (Bob Smith) If you try gravity bleed to no avail, I want to point out some piss poor engineering pertaining to the location of the rear bleeder . I had a problem with a certain brake caliper built by J.F.Z. ,a top brake designer from Calif. a real pain in the ass brake system, Well after a short class over the phone,we got it solved. the problem was ,I had to remove the caliper mounting bolts,- raise the caliper so that the bleeder was higher than the incoming brake line, some times I would slip the caliper off the rotor ,place a piece of metal ,same thickness as rotor and bleed. what i am trying to say GTS bleeder looks like its lower than the line on my 94 , when my turn comes to bleed the back i will definetly raise it off Smitty ------------------------------------------------------------ From: Mark Bergman The !$&*(!@# rear brake gets soft--if I don't bleed it about every 3,500 miles, it's bad. By 5,000 miles it's dangerous--I can press the pedal to until it hits the exhaust pipe and not lock up the rear wheel. Yamaha claims that there's no problem, and the bleeding the brake is normal maintenance, not a warranty issue. ------------------------------- Here's an idea that works beautifully for bleeding the clutch and the brake lines. Find a large empty flexible bottle. An large empty bottle of Castrol brake fluid works well. Drill a hole into the cap and stuff a piece of larger diameter fuel line into the smaller hole. The fuel line should fit snuggly over the bleeder nipple. Air wants to rise to the top anyway, so lets bleed it from the bottom up! Take the cover off the master cylinder and, using a syringe, suck the fluid out. Fill the squeeze bottle with brake fluid and place the hose over the bleeder nipple. Turn the bottle upside down and tap, tap, tap the hose. When you hear the bubbles gurgle up through the hose, you are ready to bleed. Now, crack open the nipple and squeeze firmly. Brake fluid and air will rise up to the master cylinder. Once the reservoir is full, suck it out with the syringe and repeat. IT WORKS GREAT!!! Especially on the clutch, which can be a bitch to bleed. You might also consider leaning the bike over so that the banjo bolt fitting on the master cylinder is no longer the high point of the system. Also, remove fairing plastic!! Dot 3&4 brake fluid will ruin a paint job if left in contact for more than a minure or so. Kevin Hawkins // Greensboro, NC --------------- From: Rich Simmons Kevin is right this method works great! I have been doing the same thing for years. I use one an oil squirt cans that has trigger for squirting oil. You open the bleeder and pump the air out the top. ----------------------- Subject: RE: Bleed this! Put a Band-Aid on the fingers. One simly thing to due is to squeeze the brake lever WAAAAY in and hold it there with a zip tie overnight. This is an old trick I learned from the Ducati mail list. In the morning, they should be much better. Seriously. Another thing would be to bleed the brakes from the bottom up. I'll include a previous message that I've posted here in the past: Here's an idea that works beautifully for bleeding the clutch and the brake lines. Find a large empty flexible bottle. An large empty bottle of Castrol brake fluid works well. Drill a hole into the cap and stuff a piece of larger diameter fuel line into the smaller hole. The fuel line should fit snuggly over the bleeder nipple. Air wants to rise to the top anyway, so lets bleed it from the bottom up! Take the cover off the master cylinder and, using a syringe, suck the fluid out. Fill the squeeze bottle with brake fluid and place the hose over the bleeder nipple. Turn the bottle upside down and tap, tap, tap the hose. When you hear the bubbles gurgle up through the hose, you are ready to bleed. Now, crack open the nipple and squeeze firmly. Brake fluid and air will rise up to the master cylinder. Once the reservoir is full, suck it out with the syringe and repeat. IT WORKS GREAT!!! Especially on the clutch, which can be a bitch to bleed. You might also consider leaning the bike over so that the banjo bolt fitting on the master cylinder is no longer the high point of the system. Also, remove fairing plastic!! Dot 3&4 brake fluid will ruin a paint job if left in contact for more than a minure or so. Kevin Hawkins // Greensboro, NC ------------------- Subject: Re: brake fluid change Did you rotate the front caliper forward, simulating the position acheived by using Yamaha's special tool? The obejct is to get the bleeder at the highest piont, so the air naturally seeks the outlet. One other thought comes to mind also, the joint where the ft brake hose connects to the master cylinder by way of a banjo bolt. There is close to a 90 degree bend there, and a favorite place for air to hide. You have two options, first, unbolt the M/Cyl and rotate it so the resivoir is higher than the joint, and pump the lever. (the cap shouild be left on for this) The second messy option, is to break the banjo bolt loose and use it like a bleeder valve. A way to check to see if you have air at this point is to take a pair of needle nose pliers, wrap the brake line with 3 or 4 layers of a shop rag, and then pinch the brake hose off. While holding the line pinched, grab the brake lever and squeeze, it should be rock hard. If you feel ANY spongyness, you have air between the pliers and the M/Cyl. Bob -------------------- From: Bsascot@aol.com Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 00:55:07 EST Subject: Re: brake fluid change To properly bleed the front brake you need a special adapter made by Yamaha. It attaches to the front and elevates the caliper so that you can remove the air. Check with your dealer he may let you borrow it as the only use he has for it is on the GTS. I imagine that he hardly uses it. I have my dealers at home and if he needs it he'll call me. Scot