'Bleeding!' Rear Brake

MilliAprili · Feb 3, 2011

Hi All, Since the Apes been stuck in a 'VERY' cold garage all winter have discovered the rear brake and clutch stopped working. Noticed the little pipe from the clutch reservoir was wet so replaced and bought a 'Motrax Little Bleeder' kit and bled the clutch successfully:thumbs up.

My problem is the rear brake, the pedal moves all the way down, with no brake action felt so tried bleeding it but the pedal still moves all the way down, and have noticed a bubble coming up in the reservoir when i'm pumping the pedal, will the seal on the cylinder have gone? can you replace the seal or is it a sealed unit, ps the brake worked fine before winter shutdown. Thanks MKY:thumb up

Sabre · Feb 3, 2011

Are you bleeding it properly? By this I mean , are you taking the rear caliper off and suspending it so that the bleed nipple is uppermost? .i you are not then no amount of bleeding will help as air can still get trapped at the top of the caliper if left in situ.

Spoonz · Feb 3, 2011

MilliAprili said:
Hi All, Since the Apes been stuck in a 'VERY' cold garage all winter have discovered the rear brake and clutch stopped working. Noticed the little pipe from the clutch reservoir was wet so replaced and bought a 'Motrax Little Bleeder' kit and bled the clutch successfully:thumbs up.

My problem is the rear brake, the pedal moves all the way down, with no brake action felt so tried bleeding it but the pedal still moves all the way down, and have noticed a bubble coming up in the reservoir when i'm pumping the pedal, will the seal on the cylinder have gone? can you replace the seal or is it a sealed unit, ps the brake worked fine before winter shutdown. Thanks MKY:thumb up

How did you bleed it ?

If it was with the caliper still in place it won't bleed correctly like that. You have to remove the caliper and raise it up with the bleed nipple uppermost. (Cable tie it to the footrest/exhaust hanger) Whilst on the bike the bleed nipple is lower than the M/C and air don't like going downhill in fluid.

Make sure you push the pistons right back in the caliper and put something between the pads whilst bleeding to stop them pushing out again. With the pistons extended there is an air trap behind them.

Spoonz · Feb 3, 2011

Lol Stu synchronised posting.

You just beat me.

MilliAprili · Feb 3, 2011

Sabre said:
Are you bleeding it properly? By this I mean , are you taking the rear caliper off and suspending it so that the bleed nipple is uppermost? .i you are not then no amount of bleeding will help as air can still get trapped at the top of the caliper if left in situ.

AHH! thanks no its in situ, will try that, cheers sabre:thumbup

MilliAprili · Feb 3, 2011

Thanks for both your speedy duel responses lol:thumbup

jumpin jack flash · Feb 4, 2011

thats great advice i will do this me self

Smithy-R · Feb 4, 2011

Gents, would you advise bleeding new fluid through the back brake if it is ok ? I bought the bike towards the end of last summer and there is about one or 2 cm's of 'feel' at the end of the stroke, so it does work. the pads are good and the fluid looks ok ? I dont want to remove it and find i 'lose' it by trying to bleed it but getting some new fluid in there would be a good idea !

Sabre · Feb 4, 2011

Experience has taught me this..........if it aint broke, dont fix it. Fluids do need to be changed as a service item but the back brake? Really?

eddiec · Feb 5, 2011

when it comes to aprilia rear brakes, there is a good written procedure within the RSVzone website, and I tried that, as well as a vacuum bleed, but its still not easy! in the end the only procedure that worked for me, was to give the bike to a much better mechanic than myself, that worked!

Spoonz · Feb 5, 2011

eddiec said:
when it comes to aprilia rear brakes, there is a good written procedure within the RSVzone website, and I tried that, as well as a vacuum bleed, but its still not easy! in the end the only procedure that worked for me, was to give the bike to a much better mechanic than myself, that worked!

A good tip is to move and tap the caliper a little even when you have it raised up with the bleed nipple uppermost. It has some air traps that no amount of bleeding will shift unless you help it out a little. The movement and a good tap will dislodge trapped air.

Also don't recycle your fluid straight away as you bleed it out as it will have tiny agitation bubbles in it which you are just putting back in again. It needs to stand for about 24 hours for the bubbles to migrate out of the fluid again.

Smithy-R · Feb 5, 2011

haha eddiec, good point but tbh i dont trust my local aprilia dealer - bad experience with them the first time i ever got anything done there im afraid.
sabre, wise words which i am going to take note of. the back brake stays sealed

thanks

MilliAprili · Feb 5, 2011

Hi all, have managed to bleed the rear brake today, as advised took caliper off and used two cable ties joined together and attached to rear subframe, tied the caliper as high as the brake pipe would extend and with the 'nipple':devious upermost and rested it against the exhaust with some rags in between and began to bleed, lot of air came through and took awhile till I was satisfied all the air was out and felt good resistance at the pedal. Also I used a spanner fitted between the pads to keep the pads apart.

So another job done, then discovered that the horn now doesn't work!

Spoonz · Feb 5, 2011

You can get pills for a faulty horn :devious

Sabre · Feb 7, 2011

Spoonz said:
You can get pills for a faulty horn :devious

You could let him have some of the Bulk order you bought, Spoony!

Spoonz · Feb 7, 2011

Sabre said:
You could let him have some of the Bulk order you bought, Spoony!

Ever tried riding round the Pyrenees with 2 flat tyres ? :devious:devious

Sabre · Feb 7, 2011

touche Monsieur le Spoon

theruck · Feb 7, 2011

if you do not want to spend all your life bleeding this brake always put something on the lever over night. the air will go out. i am personally using a paint brush coz it suits just perfect

i can post some pictures if you want. its not something i am proud of but at least it works.

MilliAprili · Feb 7, 2011

Mmm! that sounds interesting, what is it with the rear brakes anyway I had a Honda for 5 years and never had to touch it (maintenance wise)where does the air get in?

Tash1 · Feb 7, 2011

Was it you I saw in Tesco earlier? If it was it didn't click till later who you were.

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'Bleeding!' Rear Brake

MilliAprili

Sabre

Spoonz

Spoonz

MilliAprili

MilliAprili

jumpin jack flash

Smithy-R

Sabre

eddiec

Spoonz

Smithy-R

MilliAprili

Spoonz

Sabre

Spoonz

Sabre

theruck

MilliAprili

Tash1

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