Guides Bleeding your hydraulic clutch

Sweet, cheers hero. I'll give that a go first tonight.

TBH it's something I really shouldn't live with as I use the bike pretty much every day in the summer and it's becoming a ballache. I paid for the clutch and rear brake to be bled at the start of May as my regular dealer couldn't get it in they've been good though and other these are the only issues I've had with the bike.....

Well aside from the speedo not working but that's down to the shonky dealer who changed the chain.

Anyway i'll give it a whirl tonight with a cable tie first. See how that goes. I've done that with brakes in the past so I don't know why I didn't do it anway. If no dice I'll try your "be careful" method after and see if that gives me enough to get it there on Monday.

Ta

The gently method will give you back a fully functioning normal clutch which will last a couple of months min. All you have to do is use common sense. If you open a bleed nipple and squeeze the lever you will squirt fluid. so you just take it easy and aim to get no more than a drop of fluid on the tissue. you will see the bubble build in the end of the nipple, and can pop it. as you get fluid rise up the nipple you stop and nip the nipple back up and let go of the lever. and start again. you are not actually pumping fluid out of the nipple, just the air bubbles. the only fluid on the tissue should be the last try when you see no bubbles forming.
Very easy and very clean. i did it outside a Chinese restaurant with a napkin and the spanner from the tool pack. wish i had done it earlier in the day, but thought the poor gear changes where down to being tiered. Realised it wasn't when we stopped for our dinner, and it was a bast*** to get in and out of gear.:thumbup

heroblob you're truly the man, a hero one might say :biggrin

tried it and it worked no bother. the first go the lever came a long way back and i was worried there was something else up but then i saw the fluid coming through. after 3 goes it was sorted and it's now back to how it was when i got it back the last time.

not only does this mean that i can ride to work tomorrow and make the most of the weather but in future i'll sort it between services myself. the rear brake is probably a different matter but i can leave that for now unless i'm planning a track day which requires scrutineering.

you're a total lifesaver. :thumbup

cheers

Your more than welcome, Glad i could help.
with reguard the rear brake i took the caliper off and tied it up as high as it would go, this required removing the plastic cover on the swing arm and then bleed as normal to the caliper.
Once in a while i hang a weight on the rear break over night as someone else stated earlier.

yep i think i'll give the latter a go although TBH i've kind of trained myself out of using it. the only time i miss it is if i'm in traffic on a hill

ta again.

...Glad that you've sorted it all out!

In any case if it helps: the clutch slave cylinder is located on the left hand side (as you sit on the bike of course) to the left of the front sprocket and slightly above the oil filter cover. You must take off the LHS fairing to access it.

With regard to the rear brake, I changed the entire brake fluid a few days ago along with the terrible Galfer pads they fitted at the time of the last service (which were both screeching and eating away my rear rotor :rant), and now I have a terrific rear brake! (I use it mostly in town, riding in the traffic I prefer using it instead of relying completely on the front brakes to avoid too much diving of the fork). For changing either the clutch or brake fluid I completely recommend the syringe method!:thumbup

...and by the way I fully recommend Carbone Lorraine RX3 rear brake pads!!!

hi there new to this so just a quick question i have an 02 rsv and having tried to bleed the rear brakes but still having problem s with the lever being fully depressed only to get a small amount of brake any suggestion s on how to solve it ?????????????????????????

Gues you didnt bleed it properly.

Try bleeding it the standard way with pump and bleed. And when you are done at the lower bleeder also do the master cylinder, there is a bolt there where the line starts. Have someone to help you and hold the lever, you crack open the bolt and quickly close it. Efcorse hold some cloth or something there so you dont get the fluid all over you bike.

An update, i just realised that it's been quite a while since I had a clutch issue... almost 2 months in fact. With the miles I do it would definitely be on the way out again but since I did it myself it's been just fine. Brilliant! :thumbup

Oh and I've also taken to resting a spare dumbell weight on the rear brake lever overnight and the brake is golde. too. Not sure if the weight is making any difference but it always used to totally stop working within 2-3 weeks so it must be doing something.

Finally Donington on the RSV was excellent! :doug