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[Dead_Reckoning]

How often do you change your Brake Fluid?
All I see in the Service Schedule is "I"nspect.

I wasn't privy to previous owner's Maint records and no idea when it was changed.
It now has 26K on it.I wasn't having any braking issues

I have been chasing an intermittent Cruise for awhile.
last week I
1.Changed Brake Fluid both Front and Rear, cleaned barrels, as suggested in another thread.
2. Flushed with new fluid until it looked like new coming out bleeders.
PS: Those guns for draining and bleeding are great.

:0) - Cruise works fine now

[SneakyPete]

Brake fluid and hydraulic clutch fluid (same) should be changed when the fluid darkens to something other than the light purple of fresh fluid.  With a vacuum bleeder like the one from Griot's garage, it is so easy to do, no reason not to do it as yearly maintenance IMHO.

[grc]

Harley's maintenance schedules used to call for fluid changes every two years.  Did they eliminate that recently?


Jerry


btw, the correct way to determine when it's time to change the fluid is by measuring the boiling point.  Changes in color don't necessarily mean anything, the real issue is the fact that the fluid attracts moisture over time and that moisture depresses the boiling point.  Having your fluid boil in the calipers on that long hard downhill run is not good.  Of course, it's much easier to just change it on a regular schedule versus draining some and checking the boiling point.

[Twolanerider]

Dennis, I don't remember the short sweep of years that Harley went to DOT5 fluid from the factory.  But your 03 might have caught that.  If so be careful in both bleeding and handling the fluid.  It is a royal pain in the ass to work with.

Its benefits are that it's not hygroscopic like DOT3, 4 or 5.1, it's got a high boiling point and that it won't (so quickly) eat paint if it's spilled.  But I'll gladly put up with the service intervals and the need to keep it off paint to avoid having to work with it.

If yours is DOT5 and you do change the fluids be careful.  Don't shake the bottle.  Don't even pour out of it too abruptly.  DOT5 fluid will entrain air bubbles within the fluid.  If that happens you can't bleed it out.  Just have to let the stuff set until the bubbles percolate on their own out of the fluid.  If the bottle is moved too vigorously and you're concerned you can heat the fluid.  But it's still a pain.  This is why DOT5 can't be used on a vehicle with ABS.  The agitation from the ABS pump causes the same problem.

In practice I have almost never cleanly bled DOT5 without having the stuff fight me at least a little.  On hot rods or bikes.  It's such a nuisance I won't use it.  

If you've got DOT5 you've also got the option of flushing the system and using something else.  In practicve I've never had a problem sucking the reservoirs and calipers dry than pushing plenty of the new fluid through.  Even long term after changes I've never had an issue doing this.  Know beforehand, however, that there are myriad warnings about doing precisely that.  Everything from not doing it at all (without rebuilding cylinders and calipers) to using any of several different flushing solutions.

[Dead_Reckoning]

Dennis, I don't remember the short sweep of years that Harley went to DOT5 fluid from the factory.  But your 03 might have caught that.  If so be careful in both bleeding and handling the fluid.  It is a royal pain in the ass to work with.

Its benefits are that it's not hygroscopic like DOT3, 4 or 5.1, it's got a high boiling point and that it won't (so quickly) eat paint if it's spilled.  But I'll gladly put up with the service intervals and the need to keep it off paint to avoid having to work with it.

If yours is DOT5 and you do change the fluids be careful.  Don't shake the bottle.  Don't even pour out of it too abruptly.  DOT5 fluid will entrain air bubbles within the fluid.  If that happens you can't bleed it out.  Just have to let the stuff set until the bubbles percolate on their own out of the fluid.  If the bottle is moved too vigorously and you're concerned you can heat the fluid.  But it's still a pain.  This is why DOT5 can't be used on a vehicle with ABS.  The agitation from the ABS pump causes the same problem.

In practice I have almost never cleanly bled DOT5 without having the stuff fight me at least a little.  On hot rods or bikes.  It's such a nuisance I won't use it.  

If you've got DOT5 you've also got the option of flushing the system and using something else.  In practicve I've never had a problem sucking the reservoirs and calipers dry than pushing plenty of the new fluid through.  Even long term after changes I've never had an issue doing this.  Know beforehand, however, that there are myriad warnings about doing precisely that.  Everything from not doing it at all (without rebuilding cylinders and calipers) to using any of several different flushing solutions.

Thanks Don
My manual said DOT5, so that is what I used.
Luckily I didn't shake either bottle and I poured it soo slowly I thought it was liquid gold.
When I finished, both front and rear were as hard as before I started.

Ridden it 500 miles now, since change, and no issues.

DR

[Twolanerider]

Thanks Don
My manual said DOT5, so that is what I used.
Luckily I didn't shake either bottle and I poured it soo slowly I thought it was liquid gold.
When I finished, both front and rear were as hard as before I started.

Ridden it 500 miles now, since change, and no issues.

DR

Well done!  The change interval could be longer on a bike with DOT5 than with other fluids since isn't nearly so hygroscopic.  You don't get the moisture accumulation in the fluid that settles in low spots and eats lines or cylinder or calper parts from the inside out.  For peace of mind it's still worth pushing new fluid through every few years though.  I do mine every third spring if there's not been a caliper change or some other service in the interim.

[Dead_Reckoning]

Well done!  The change interval could be longer on a bike with DOT5 than with other fluids since isn't nearly so hygroscopic.  You don't get the moisture accumulation in the fluid that settles in low spots and eats lines or cylinder or calper parts from the inside out.  For peace of mind it's still worth pushing new fluid through every few years though.  I do mine every third spring if there's not been a caliper change or some other service in the interim.

Thanks Don
  - Something else to add to my Scheduled Maintenance.
Sooner than later I should have a full History since I aquired this SERK.

I know the more I have checked off, the more comfortable I feel riding.


DR

[djkak]

Dennis, I don't remember the short sweep of years that Harley went to DOT5 fluid from the factory.  But your 03 might have caught that.....

As I remember it, H-D began running DOT-5 in ’79 0r ’80. There was a safety recall on the disc brakes back then that included DOT-5 fluid use on machines produced back to 1974.

[porthole]

With a vacuum bleeder like the one from Griot's garage, it is so easy to do, no reason not to do it as yearly maintenance IMHO.

Pete, which one are you using?

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/reverse+brake+bleeder+kit.do?sortby=ourPicks

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/one-person+brake+bleeder.do?sortby=ourPicks

[SneakyPete]

Pete, which one are you using?

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/one-person+brake+bleeder.do?sortby=ourPicks

This one

[Skillet]

Good info. Thanks

[porthole]

Looks good enough to try, reasonable too. Not available till next month though.

[SneakyPete]

Looks good enough to try, reasonable too. Not available till next month though.

Must be popular!  It works well.

[porthole]

Just ordered one.

[dayne66]

I do mine every spring. I have been doing it the hard way though. That bleeding tool looks to make things easy...and with the recommendations on here I'm getting one.

As a side note.....a friend in the SoCal Porche club once told me that to participate in any of their events your brake fluid had to be fresh..... with-in 30 days. I ride hard...and brake hard...so, once a year certainly isn't overkill.