dirty sight glass?

[Seaking]

After flushing out my clutch oil today because it was 'dark' in the sight glass, I notice it's still 'dark' in the sight glass after all fresh new DOT 4 went into the system..

 

The brake reservoir sight glass shows bright oil but the clutch is still showing dark oil.. Is this due to a dirty sight glass and can it be cleaned?

 

Cheers

[T.J.]

I always take a paper towel and soak up the rest of the fluid in the bottom of the reservoir and wipe the walls and sight window clean of any residue. So the answer is yes you can clean the sight glass.

[LilBeaver]

I always take a paper towel and soak up the rest of the fluid in the bottom of the reservoir and wipe the walls and sight window clean of any residue. So the answer is yes you can clean the sight glass.

 

[Seaking]

Thanks for the info.. Another refill of fresh DOT4 won't hurt

 

Cheers

[LilBeaver]

Thanks for the info.. Another refill of fresh DOT4 won't hurt

 

Cheers

 

If you have a vacuum bleeder, it wouldn't hurt to pull the fresh fluid all the way through the system - just to make sure you get all of the crud out.

[Seaking]

If you have a vacuum bleeder, it wouldn't hurt to pull the fresh fluid all the way through the system - just to make sure you get all of the crud out.

 

Thanks.

[Guest]

I had flushed my clutch last year. I just disassembled the clutch master cylinder for polishing and man, it was pretty nasty in there. Once I drained the fluid out there was a good amount of black gunk sitting at the bottom of the reservoir. Cleaned the whole insides out with a clean cloth and some q-tips. Im just wondering where this black gunk comes from. The rubber dont look like its deteriorating.

[Kirby]

I had flushed my clutch last year. I just disassembled the clutch master cylinder for polishing and man, it was pretty nasty in there. Once I drained the fluid out there was a good amount of black gunk sitting at the bottom of the reservoir. Cleaned the whole insides out with a clean cloth and some q-tips. Im just wondering where this black gunk comes from. The rubber dont look like its deteriorating.

 

 

It comes from condensation collecting in the system.

[Guest]

It comes from condensation collecting in the system.

 

I guess the bike sitting idle for the last 6 months didnt help it any.

[allwx]

I guess the bike sitting idle for the last 6 months didnt help it any.

 

 

Woulda happened anyway, riding or sitting. Maybe faster in a humid climate, maybe faster with frequent heat cycling from riding regularly, I don't know. But it does happen either way, and I can't really tell the difference.

 

This winter and spring I fixed up a deteriorated VTX1800 that had sat outside a lot, including periods of time when it was being ridden every day, and other periods of months when it was just sitting. The hydraulic fluids were horrible after three years of neglect. The stuff in the clutch was almost jelly-like, and very funky looking. Yet, I flushed it until my hands cramped, and everything worked fine, strong hydraulic action in all three cylinders.