Hi All Just wanted to share and get some advice from the experts on this process. Bike: 2014 675R Brake fluid : Comma Dot4 ECU software : DealerTool (DT) Clear hose and collection jar (with hole drilled in lid for hose) Spray bottle with water Clean rags for wiping down any spills, covering tank and areas of paintwork My Competency level I'd rate as a 7/10. I do most maintenance on all my cars and bikes, but lack of a lift means some things I leave to mechanics. So, decided to refresh the brake fluid and wanted to share my process and get some thoughts on whether I had missed anything or done things that were not necessary. Step 1: Started with the rear - Used a syringe to remove excess fluid from the reservoir - filled the reservoir with new brake fluid - attached spanner and hose leading to glass jar to bleed valve - pumped the rear brake several times and held down - opened the bleed valve and closed before the brake pedal got to full depression The above process was repeated for 3 fills of the reservoir. Step 2: Front Brake Caliper (near-side) - Used a syringe to remove excess fluid from the reservoir - filled the reservoir with new brake fluid - attached spanner and hose to bleed valve o caliper furthest away from reservoir (near side) - pumped the front brake lever several times and held down - opened the bleed valve and closed before brake lever got to grip The above process was repeated for 3 fills of the reservoir Step 3 : Front brake caliper (off-side) Same as Step 2 Step 4 : Master Cylinder - clipped the end of the hose to have a fresh connection to the nipple - pumped the brake lever several times - opened the valve and closed before lever fully got to the grip. This process was done for 1 fill of the reservoir Next ABS bleed. - Attached battery conditioner - Ignition to on position - DealerTool software connected to ABS ECU Step 5 : Starting with the rear - depressed the brake pedal - clicked "bleed ABS" on DT - as the ABS whirred, opened the bleed valve - once ABS stopped, bleed valve closed WAITED 5 MINS - to allow the ABS pump to "cool down" Repeated Step 5 Did Step 5 onwards another 2 times Step 6 : Front near-side - pulled the brake lever in - clicked "bleed ABS" on DT - as the ABS whirred, opened the bleed valve - once ABS stopped, bleed valve closed WAITED 5 MINS - to allow the ABS pump to "cool down" Repeated Step 6 Did Step 6 onwards another 2 times Did Step 6 for off-side Steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 repeated 300ml of brake fluid used in total Now that I've typed up the process it feels like over-kill although at the time I just kept in mind that this was the braking system and a little extra caution wouldn't be a bad thing. When I've done this process on the MTB brakes I've always "de-gassed" the fluid by creating a depressurising the syringe. I don't notice any significant change in braking performance, it's a little sharper, but that might be psychosomatic! The last thing I did was tie the brake lever with a zip-tie over night. Look forward to hearing your thoughts....
A bit of overkill for me but if you're doing it yourself your time is free. If you going to do the abs I would probably do it first to get some fresh fluid in and release any possible air, then do the brake calipers and master cylinder once, instead of bleeding everything once, bleeding the abs then doing everything all over again. No need to do the abs for each front brake caliper, there's only one line to the front brakes from the abs unit.
Excellent advice, thank you for responding Always learning and keeping mind open to different advice.
