No probs. Leave it another two hours. Rain is forecast to arrive in one -- Beav VN 750 Zed 1000 OMF# 19
Quite possibly. Check and when I applied the 'slight pressure'. Enough to push the fluid out but not enough to squirt it across the garden (I couldn't be bother with the drain hose etc). Check and exactly what I did. What normally happens is it farts and burps and eventually (depending on the pipe length and height changes) flows cleanly, which is what it did pretty quickly on this 550. I recently replaced all the pipes (copper-nickel) and hoses (stainless braided) on the kitcar and my mate had one of the pressure bleeders that he suggested we used first. It didn't work very well (spongy pedal) so I did it the old fashioned way (as outlined above) and it was fine. ;-) Anyway, as you may of since read the 'hold the caliper above the reservoir' trick worked so all's well (ta again). A/D units now stripped, cleaned, lubed and re-fitted (they were just gunged up with mainly ally corrosion. One hex bolt on the a/d top cap needed the stud extractor to get out. I now need a 17mm hex driver to undo the top fork tube caps (ordered from eBay tonight) to re-fill the forks. I showed my mate the partly rusty Motad box the other day (partial rusting away along the '4's' where the 4 goes into 1 and something I guessed he's seen a few times before). He said to leave it with him and dropped it back the next day all nicely welded up and painted! Hopefully, weather permitting I'll re-hang the exhaust tomorrow and this time not under any tension! Then it's probably just a new chain. The existing one is supposed to be new (Iris, ~150 miles) but there is summat wrong with it (one very loose / slack link?) and I'm not sure it should have a spring link either (but be riveted)? Any other stuff will have to wait till I've got it on the road (hopefully soon if I can book the MOT next week).
I (eventuall) saw that Ahhh, mates. Wonderful things. I fitted a spring link to a pal's SV, as the included rivet link was the wrong one but before I got a replacement the spring link and gone, causing a ball ache of a job getting it out from beng wrapped around the front sprocket. Last time I'll ever use a spring link even as a temporary measure. Well it sounds like you're getting on with whatever's necessary. -- Beav VN 750 Zed 1000 OMF# 19
This one is particularly Beav. Part of why I didn't start the job myself is that I have leant him my PortaPak and Sapphire kit (as his bottles at work were too big to take home for a job) and there aren't many people I would do such with. Not good. Maybe it's because I've only had low powered bikes then (or shafties [1]) but I have only ever used spring links and never had one come off, ever? I will rivet the link on this 550 though. I am and am pleased to say it's mostly going well (and partly with thanks to some here Beav <g>). I've done far more than I ever intended and there is still much I would like to do but really shouldn't because I'm supposed to be doing other things. Maybe because I'm quite conscientious and much of this 550 is new to me (Uni0trak, Anti Dive, Air assisted, hydraulic rear brake, endless chain, adjustable mono shock, auto fuel tap etc etc) I take a bit more time than I might. ie, the second a/d unit tool much less time than the first (even with a seized screw). I'm quite looking forward to having a ride on the thing and really hope I like it. Cheers, T i m [1] Inc Lambretta LD150 and a T80 Townmate (and R100RT and her XV750) ;-)
Just buy a Mityvac. Makes all this effort a thing of the past. Has many uses too, not all of them brake-related. ^^ "have", ffs, not "of". Obviates this, too. The caliper/reservoir thing, not the chavvy word choice issue. 17mm hex driver? Get a set of sump plug keys - you'll find all sorts of weird, wonderful and useful big hexes, squares and all sorts in there, all operable with a large (17mm/11/16" usually) socket or spanner. Damned useful for all sorts of odd jobs.
<Googles> Hmm, ~ 40 quid, I'll see. It may not actually be a problem in actual use but I'm not sure about anything that relies on the seal at the nipple. i.e., If this unit is sucking fluid through the system, what stops it sucking air in at the open nipple? At least with the positive pressure press, open, bleed, close method there is little chance of getting air back in (even if it doesn't always get it out)? I can see how it might be good for priming a fresh system though etc. I know, a grammatical inexactitude, sue me! Meh, took 30 seconds and I didn't have to buy / clean / put anything (much) away anything afterwards. alt.you.pedant >>> Well, 14/17mm. I notice that the front brake master cylinder is right in the way of the r/h stanchion cap. Ok, only a couple of bolts to remove it but still. Also, I'm confused re what fork oil to use, some places say SAW 10 and others 5W20 (I've not seen a multi grade used in forks before)? Hmm, where were you before I clicked on buy-it-now eh Pip? :-( However, I see such sets typically contain: "3/8" + 11mm square 8mm + 13 mm square" I believe I have these + some on a sump plug 'wrench' + 3/8" sq on std ratchet set etc "10mm + 12mm Hex" 3/8 + 1/2" sq drive - Allen / Torx / Spline key set. "14mm + 17mm Hex" Ordered from eBay and the same as you see in the Laser kits. The kit would have been better vfm though (and comes in a box so less chance of mislaying a bit).
Great tool, but probably not worth buying if it's going to sit in a corner gathering dust. They do, but the removal thing works just s well and it's free. Absoluwtely. -- Beav VN 750 Zed 1000 OMF# 19
And the same good mate gave me a new, long , 520 O ring chain today. ;-) He said it is quite old, a leftover from when his lads were riding crosser's in their teens They are both in their 30's now! ;-) Oh well, beggars etc ...
Open nipple? There isn't an open nipple: the plastic flexi-tube fits tightly over the open end of the nipple (via one of the selection of the supplied rubber adaptors if required (and there's a really handy 90 degree one in there)) thence to the fluid collection pot which is connected to the vacuum pump. One simply pumps a couple of times to induce a vacuum, then opens the nipple a little, then watches the fluid gracefully exit the caliper and trickle into the collection pot. The only real exercise required is to regularly check and refill as neccessary the reservoir. Having said that, it will always suck air in past the nipple threads. However, this matters not a jot generally, it still pulls the fluid through and obviously as the fluid nips outwards towards the vacuum pump then atmospheric air isn't going back in to the caliper. In extreme cases, or when I've particularly wanted to see the bubbles of air in the fluid coming out of the caliper, I've whipped the nipple out before starting and greased the threads ... which is a nice bit of maintenance on the side, as it ensures the nipple will open next time you need it. On the odd occasion when the nipple/caliper thread has been shagged, a bit of PTFE tape has worked very well - and yes, I left it on afterwards and no, nobody died. Really, once you've used a Mityvac you won't ever want to go back to the old ways. A couple of (non-bike but large fluid volume examples, which in neither case did I grease the threads, just pumped like buggery): 1. I fucked up with a Volvo Estate car - while replacing the front flexible hoses for MoT, twisted the (rusty) steel lines from the reservoir. Even with clingfilm under the res. cap, all the fluid had gone by the time I returned with new Kunifer pipes. By the time I'd rebuilt the fluid system, it was dark, cold and raining so I gave up. Test booked at 09:00 the next day, I slipped under the car at 07:30 and starting from the nipple nearest to the master cylinder, pulled new fluid through into the Mityvac catch pot. Six nipples and fifteen minutes later and the fluid was changed, there was no air in the system and there was a lovely firm pedal. All on my own, under time and weather pressure, no wheels off or jacking up. Try that with a bit of hose and a jam jar. 2. Ford Transit with apparent brake failure, required to transport His Champness to the IoM. In the back of beyond, out the back of some Ixiot's house in darkest Glos, with little time and fewer facilities. Dicking about with calipers, pads and drums yielded nothing, so we set to with a litre of Gyp's brake fluid and my Mityvac. Didn't seem to be doing anything except pulling loads of bubbles past the nipple threads, but when we dropped the fluid out of the final nipple, the brake pedal suddenly firmed up. Testing by revving the nuts off the thing and dropping the clutch, running forward as fast as poss for twenty feet and slapping the anchors on revealed skid marks from all tyres. Sorted. Initially, the pedal travel was such that I wouldn't have fancied trying to pump fluid through with it, such was the apparent volume of air in the system (I reckon matey had let the level drop past the bottom of the reservoir and then used the van). As to being forty quid - I bought mine through eBay from a US supplier and got the 4000 model that retails for close to a ton here, for forty quid including delivery. The plastic model with a guage, so not the boggo model, is available from the US for less than 25 sheets, here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lincoln-Mityvac-Hand-Vacuum-Mity-Vac-Model-06203_W0QQitemZ310083593446 And the pukka die-cast 4000 for fifty currently: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mity...177QQhashZitem180287980278QQitemZ180287980278 (Apols for the long urls, they didn't want to shorten)
Pip has given you a much longer and more detailed explanation, but I'm intrigued as to why you think it would matter if the pump sucked air in at the nipple?
I can answer this one. If it sucks sufficient air at the nipple then it doesn't draw fluid, nor air, from the system very well. DAMHIK,IJK, but PTFE tape came in very handy.
If one cracks the nipple a mere crackage, just sufficient to allow the hose between the collection pot and the nipple to become a little less flat, then, err ... <looks over shoulder toward squeaking noise, observes Champ wheeling around corner> ... err ... fewer airs should be sucked through. It does, too. And still, nobody has died. Yet.
Thanks. ;-) Is the right answer. The same effect as when using the traditional 'clear pipe > rubber bit the OWV). Air can be drawn back in via the threads. Yep, or some Coppaslip (also handy when you want to open the nipple again in say 18 years [1]) as mentioned, will also help seal the threads if working single handed. I nearly finished the GPz the old fashioned way single handed but as daughter was about she helped me on the ns front. The front brake system on the GPz is nearly vertical and looks like it's designed for air to bubble back up the hoses / pipes naturally. The bleed nipples on the caliper, a/d unit and union are provided to bleed air from the high side of each individual unit? I might get a Mityvac to play with though, always keen to try new toys (but have managed without for 35 years so far ... luckily I have friends who are happy to help if needed) ;-) [1] I recently re-did the entire braking system on the kitcar and all but two of the joints came undone cleanly. The two that didn't were particularly rusty (steel fittings, now brass) and were the reason I was doing the re-furb in the first place (MOT advise).
Sfunny, I wouldn't think of looking at a BMW site for things chain related Steve. ;-) FWIW the chain my mate gave me today, still in it's greasy packet and box, complete with spring and rivet links is a .. <reads box> "RK Excel Co Ltd, RK Takasago Chain, O-Ring, 520SO, 120 Links". Were / are they any good? I'm keen to get the new (150 miles ago apparently) old chain off and see if I can find out why a couple of the links feel real shagged. I *think* there is some question about the abilities of the guy who worked on this last for the PO and the potential of him using a couple of links from the old chain? ... ;-(
RK is good chain. EK is shite though. Why do you need to find out exactly why the old chain stiffened up, some chains just do that through lack of use or bad maintenance. Just stick the new one on and bin the old one.
