Speed bleeders vs vacuum pump

[harventure]

Howdy to all and thanks in advance for any help you can give me. I bought a 90 Royale with 11k on it last Memorial Day,with the idea I would take a couple trips on it and make a few thousand on it selling it. By the 2nd day riding it I was hooked. What a nice piece of machinery. Since I'm never going to sell it (it's like brand new) I figured I better learn how to work on it. I've spent quite a few hours studying on this sight and found it to be a great resource. My first question is: speed bleeders vs vacuum pump. I've found posts on here in favor of both. My rear brake peddle feels plenty firm but doesn't work as well as my other bikes and there's plenty of pad left. I'm guessing bleeding is the place to start. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

[jburrell]

It depends on your bike and how the barke fluid looks. If I was new to the bike I would use a vacuum and remove all the old fluid and replace it with new and add bleeders while I was at it. In doing this you can bleed out your rear brake and make sure you have good fluid at the same time. Speed bleeders can be added for the next pad change/bleedoff.

I am adding speed bleeders next week to the front of mine and this is exactly what I will do. Cmpleted the rear brakes last weekend.

You can't beat speed bleeders.

[harventure]

I'm planning to change everything I can, as long as it isn't beyond my pay grade (ignorant but not stupid). I've done brakes and rebuilt calipers before with good luck. This week I'm going to clean it down to the frame, partly because I think one of the most important skills for this bike will be learning to get the body parts off & on quickly. Thanks again for your help.

[LilBeaver]

You have been around for some time and you have indicated that you have already found this site to be quite the resource. I have never used speed bleeders (and quite frankly, just can't quite justify the cost). A simple 8mm wrench a bottle and a couple lengths of hose are all you need to bleed the system.

 

Someone wrote up how to setup a coke bottle to work as a vacuum pump. I haven't even gone that far, I stick with the pump and open the bleeder valve method. I start by sucking all of the old fluid out of the resevoir(s), and cleaning them out really well. THEN start working the appropriate brake (clutch) line until I get clear fluid coming out of the bleeder. Then a few more pumps for good measure (while watching the master cylinder, of course) and as long as it continues to come out nice and clear with no bubbles, I'll top off as necessary and clean up.

 

I do see that you have a first gen and I do know that those linked brakes can be a little tricky, so this method may not be quite as easy for the linked braking system as it has been for me on all of the vehicles I've done this on.

 

Good luck!! Don't be afraid to dive in for these kinds of simple tasks. No sense in getting ripped by a stealer for something that, while might take a little longer, you can do yourself and be assured that it is done CORRECTLY (and actually done, for that matter).

[GigaWhiskey]

This week I'm going to clean it down to the frame, partly because I think one of the most important skills for this bike will be learning to get the body parts off & on quickly.

 

If you go down this far, Mequires Cleaner Wax on the frame and tank is great. Have some Back to Black handy, not great but will show an improvement. Plastix is awesome on the Brake and Turn signal lenses (I personally would not use it on the windshield). Have some Chrome Polish handy. You also may have a need for some Mothers aluminum polish.

 

Last but not least, a bunch of rags, old t-shirts and old socks (these are great). Almost forgot, save your old toothbrushes, you will need them.

 

Be super careful with the plastic, the tabs can the pins on the side covers can break easily.

 

Sorry I went off topic, kinda.

[harventure]

Thanks again to all. I guess what got me interested in speedbleeders/vacuum was making it a one man job more than making it faster. How much do speed bleeders cost and does anyone know of any problems with them. They look fairly simple and as long as you're running clean brake fluid thru them......

[LilBeaver]

Thanks again to all. I guess what got me interested in speedbleeders/vacuum was making it a one man job more than making it faster. How much do speed bleeders cost and does anyone know of any problems with them. They look fairly simple and as long as you're running clean brake fluid thru them......

 

If you scoll to the bottom of your thread here, you'll see there are many other threads that are titled "speed bleeders". Or you can do a search for 'speed bleeders' using the search tool on the bar on the top of this webpage (third from the right on the second blue bar from the top).

 

I think you'll find all sorts of good information on them that way!!

 

http://www.speedbleeder.com/

 

As a sidenote here, they don't seem to be as expensive as I recall seeing at some point.

[KiteSquid]

Don't forget about pressure bleeders and reverse flow pressure bleeders.

 

 

I built a pressure bleeder for my cages and will use it on the bike IF I can adapt it....

 

 

Reverse flow pressure bleeders apply pressurized brake fluid at the bleeder screws and flow fluid from the slave cylinder to the reservoir.

[Black Owl]

Don't forget about pressure bleeders and reverse flow pressure bleeders.

 

 

I built a pressure bleeder for my cages and will use it on the bike IF I can adapt it....

 

 

Reverse flow pressure bleeders apply pressurized brake fluid at the bleeder screws and flow fluid from the slave cylinder to the reservoir.

 

Okay. Educate this dumb ol farm boy. What is the advantage of doing a reverse flow pressure bleeder?

May have to change the fluid in the scoot if I ever get it off the

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[bongobobny]

Actually, on my '84 I ended up using both, and it bled out like a charm!

[KiteSquid]

Okay. Educate this dumb ol farm boy. What is the advantage of doing a reverse flow pressure bleeder?

 

 

The people who make em claim they push the air to the highest point of the system, which to me makes sense, but I have not tried one yet.