Front brake advice.

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Mountainman650
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Front brake advice.

Post by Mountainman650 »

Hey guys
I'm having trouble with my front brake master cyl/lever.
My stock master cylinder was "shot ". I tried bleeding the system
thoughrouly(?) and the I had NO front braking, with the lever having no
resistance at all to pull. So I picked up a master cyl/ lever assembly on good ole e-bay.
I installed it and it actually works at stopping the bike ,but the
lever pull is just so spongy.I've bled the system til' I got out all the air bubbles and then some . I bet I put 1/2 a can of brake fluid through that thing , and it got a bit firmer ,but not like I think it "should" be.... :?
I'm using the clear tubing deal to bleed it. I don't have a vacuum
pump or any such device for bleeding.Any thoughts???
I even checked out another guys KDX 220 today while out riding and his brake lever pull was much stiffer than mine.? :rolleyes:
Is this normal?? Would a braided steel brake line do the trick ,or is there something simple I'm missing?.. :?

Thanks
Dave
93' KDX 250
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skipro3
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Post by skipro3 »

I did a write up on useing an oversized brake rotor and a S.S. brake line. I can do stoppies (a sort of front wheel wheelie, when using the front brake agressively) using just one finger and then not pulling all that hard. It is amazing how well the front brake now works. I attribute most of it to the S.S. brake line.

I bought my line off eBay from a guy in England. I thought the shipping and customs would kill me, but a gafler front brake cable in S.S. 50" long was only $26.04 plus the shipping brought the total to only $32.98. WOW!!!

Here's the link to the auction I won. The seller said he had plenty of them so if he doesn't have one listed right now, e-mail him and get it directly. Best investment any KDX owner can do to improve their braking AND it will adapt to the the KX front suspension change over too.

Now, other possibilities to your braking problems: Have you inspected your pads and rotor? Disassemble and degrease them using a spray type brake cleaner. Any contamination can seriously reduce braking effectiveness.

Good Luck Dave, and keep us informed on how this ends up for you.
Jerry

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Post by KDXGarage »

If your brake hose mounts up and over the headlight, then you may not be getting all the air out of the brake line. I had mine to do this one time. The air would just stay in the part that is higher than the cylinder. I finally had success when I removed the master cylinder from the handlebar and placed it higher than the rest of the system.

Before I got it bled properly, my lever had no resistance either.
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Post by FLAKDX »

I had nightmares with mine as well being way spongy. I even went and felt an 05 on the showroom floor and it was also soft. Most of it is due to the rubber brake line. As said above a SS line will help alot in lever feel. I bled mine with an air powered Mighty Vac and it helped. It's still a little soft but it gets the job done. I can even do a stoppie on hard grassy ground and pavement LOL
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canyncarvr
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Post by canyncarvr »

You don't have to use a pressure/vacuum system. A couple of horse syringi from your local grange will do the trick as well...just not as cool-like!

If vacuum doesn't cut it, use pressure (from the slave to the master).

If you haven't thrown out the old MC, force feed IT and see if it's not all better. Probably will be.

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Post by skipro3 »

Jerry

I'd rather be a smartass like carvr, than a dumbass like.... well, you fill in the blank!
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