I learned a couple of things today...

[BigShell]

I was pulling the rear wheel getting ready for the VMax rear end swap. To get the axle out, I usually use a wood dowel and hammer on the threaded end to start it moving. Once inside the wheel, I continue banging it through using a long extension. Once its about half out, I can grab it from the pinch bolt side and pull it on out. Today, I couldn't get it moving at all. I checked the pinch bolt... ok. Nothing in a bind that I could see. Banged some more... nothing. I was getting rather frustrated. For some reason I stuck my finger into the axle on the pinch bolt end. I thought I felt a hex hole. Looked in and there was a hex opening. I grabbed my 10mm allen wrench hoping maybe I could turn the axle and maybe break free whatever was holding it. It turned fairly easily. I also found I could pull out on the lower end of the wrench, putting it in a bind in the axle, work it back and forth while pulling, and the axle slipped right out. No more banging. Maybe everyone but me knew about this, but I hadn't seen it anywhere so thought I'd post it.

 

Next was bleeding the rear brakes after doing the Butler mod. I couldn't get the master cylinder to prime. Pump, pump, pump... nothing. I figured that maybe I had an air lock in the tube feeding the MC. I used a set of long needle nose pliers to gently squeeze and release the tube. Sure enough. I got a lot of air out the top and fluid down the tube... but still nothing through the MC. I've got speed bleeders installed. I thought that maybe with so much air in the line, it was compressing the air and not opening the speed bleeder valve. I took the speed bleeder all the way out. It worked! A few more pumps and fluid was moving. I pumped real slow so as not to shoot brake fluid everywhere. As soon as most of the air was out of the line and fluid started bubbling out, I put the speed bleeder back in and all was well. Still took a little while to get all the air out, but it's done. I can't say for sure that the speed bleeders were the problem. Maybe the MC gravity primed while I was messing with them, but I sure suspect them. If I had pulled the bleeder first, I might not have needed to clear air from the tube connecting the reservoir and MC.

 

The first image is pretty blurry, put you can just make out a hex shadow inside the axle. The next three show the allen wrench in place and me pulling and turning the wrench to slip the axle out.

[Squidley]

Good info Shell, let us know how you like the rearend and brake upgrades

[Yammer Dan]

Maybe I won't do the Speed Bleeders.

[Marcarl]

As far as the bleeding is concerned, you probably had air in the MC, and then it won't work, you need to prime the MC for any bleeding to take place, that's what you inadvertantly did when you removed the bleeder. Way to go.

[Squidley]

Maybe I won't do the Speed Bleeders.

 

Dan,

Shell is the 1st time I have heard of anyone having problems with Speed Bleeders. I have them on the '99 and loved them, I'll put a set on the next bike I get too

[BigShell]

I love the speed bleeders and intend to keep them!

 

I can't be sure they were the cause. The only reason I suspected them was because I had tried everything else I could think of. The proportioning valve was wide open for the bleeding. I'm assuming the bleeder works with a check valve and needs enough pressure behind it to overcome the spring and flow fluid out. My thought was that with a line full of air I couldn't get enough pressure to open the valve. You know how weak a brake is and how little pressure you get with any air in the system, and much less with a whole line full of air. Remove the bleeder, remove the need for pressure. I'm not saying my assumptions are right, just what worked for me.