'79 BMW R45 build

[regomodo]

I spent an age today trying to get the front brake to bleed. I took the hose off the master-cylinder and found it was dry so I pumped and vac'd it until fluid came through. Then I reconnected the hose, stock bleed pipe to end (filled with fluid), held above the master cylinder and pumped until no air. Reconnected to the calliper and tried to bleed like normal. No luck! The lever never pumps to hard. There has to be air in the system as little bubbles are trickling into the reservoir when I pump.

Do you have to bleed from the correct connection on the calliper i.e. does the bleed nipple have to be in a particular place as the calliper has 2 holes right next to each other(i've got the bleed nipple closest to the wheel) ? I'm borrowing a colleague's 1-man easy bleed kit so hopefully that'll prevent me from doing something brash.

[TwinPlug]

I've seen a lot of info on the BMW forums about brake bleeding and there are different ways people find 'best' (for them)

I personally bleed brakes by starting with a dry system and use a large syringe with some tubing attached to the syringe and the other end on the bleed nipple - undo the bleed nipple and push fluid up into the system (some undo the M/C under the tank and ensure the brake line circuit is as vertical as possible) and fill the system with fluid.

Part of this is laziness (but it works very well) - the other is to protect the M/C internal seals.

One a bike of this age, the M/C usually has dirt and possibly corrosion in the chamber itself, when you pump the brake lever through it's full travel the piston (and seals) can go through this dirt and tear the seals - causing air bubbles, the reason for this is that the piston & seals do not normally travel this far into the chamber in normal use.

[regomodo]

I've seen a lot of info on the BMW forums about brake bleeding and there are different ways people find 'best' (for them)

I personally bleed brakes by starting with a dry system and use a large syringe with some tubing attached to the syringe and the other end on the bleed nipple - undo the bleed nipple and push fluid up into the system (some undo the M/C under the tank and ensure the brake line circuit is as vertical as possible) and fill the system with fluid.

Part of this is laziness (but it works very well) - the other is to protect the M/C internal seals.

One a bike of this age, the M/C usually has dirt and possibly corrosion in the chamber itself, when you pump the brake lever through it's full travel the piston (and seals) can go through this dirt and tear the seals - causing air bubbles, the reason for this is that the piston & seals do not normally travel this far into the chamber in normal use.

I might try that, among other things suggested over at advriders. Not sure where i'd get a syringe from though.

[TwinPlug]

I got mine from eBay, not sure where to look locally though - and it's not something I'd want to ask for in a shop, for obvious reasons 

[regomodo]

Found this interesting related video on the subject



I've just ordered 2x50ml syringes for £3 from ebay.

[Erskine]

You can get syringes over the counter from any chemist for about 50p.
It's no big deal ...... people buy them for a multitude of things!

[Maritime]

You can get syringes in kitchen shops for basting and marinade injection, they tend to be high volume, like 250-500 mil. Noce work I love that style pipe on the BMW airheads.

[jerryz]

Really like the look of those rims!

[regomodo]

Turns out I don't need the syringes. I took a colleagues advice and took apart the MC (minus the piston) and found that one of the passageways (the right-most) was blocked.

2012-09-05 17.16.51 by jonno85uk, on Flickr
Gave it a good clean with that poking device and a rag and once reconnected, bled easily.

I got the bike tidy enough to roll and went up and down the street. Wow, is that brake crap (realistically they probably need breaking in a bit) and the clutch is very snatchy! Pipes sound awesomely loud, not ear-piercing but more of a bubbly growl.

[regomodo]

Really like the look of those rims!

Cheers, they took ages to do only for 2 garages to mark them the 1st chance they got them. I managed to get the tyres on with levers and didn't manage to put a single scratch in them.

[TwinPlug]

Good to see you got the M/C sorted, how bad is the brake?

[regomodo]

I don't think I can really judge the brakes just yet but atm there's no real bite to them.

[regomodo]

Sorted out lighting today.
Extended the wires and mounted the rear light. Looks ok but quite a bit of daylight at the top and bottom between the light and hump

img_0001_08 by jonno85uk, on Flickr

Also rewired part of the loom for a new cheapo universal headlamp. It's crude but you get what you pay for.

[regomodo]

Finished up the lights today. These lights are awful in quality, I don't see them lasting a year. The brackets should last but there are so poorly made.

I brought the bike out into the sun to get some better pictures. Whilst wheeling it out I dropped the bike for the 1st time, there wasa man in a car right by the garage staring at me and he threw my concentration and "Bonk" the right valve cover went.


IMG_20120907_171512_v1 by jonno85uk, on Flickr

IMG_20120907_171523_v1 by jonno85uk, on Flickr

IMG_20120907_171532_v1 by jonno85uk, on Flickr

IMG_20120907_171546_v1 by jonno85uk, on Flickr

[kieferocks]

Finished up the lights today. These lights are awful in quality, I don't see them lasting a year. The brackets should last but there are so poorly made.

I brought the bike out into the sun to get some better pictures. Whilst wheeling it out I dropped the bike for the 1st time, there wasa man in a car right by the garage staring at me and he threw my concentration and "Bonk" the right valve cover went.

Oh no! Any damage?