Author Topic: 02 Stone Brake bleed  (Read 2693 times)

Offline WP2

  • Gosling
  • ***
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 349
  • Location: Jenison, MI
02 Stone Brake bleed
« on: June 04, 2019, 02:18:41 PM »
I know that brake bleeding is not rocket science and I've done it many, many times.

But, I'm having a really frustrating time with bleeding the rear brake on my "02 Stone. Tried regular bleeding procedures and went thru a ton of fluid with no good results, Tried reverse bleeding - same spongy brake petal. Finally got tired of feeding my buddy beer for pumping the pedal so I ordered and installed a Speed bleeder so I could pump and watch. Fluid seems to be bubble free but the pedal is still spongy.

Bike has been on the lift for too long and I may have a buyer wanting the Stone in a couple weeks - needing to get this done.
Any advice? What am I missing?

Thanks.

Walt
'03 EVT
Jenison, Michigan
MGNOC

jwinwi

  • Guest
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2019, 02:30:37 PM »
Master cylinder is worn out?

Offline Kiwi Dave

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • *
  • Posts: 1421
    • Guzzi Gander Ltd
  • Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2019, 02:38:57 PM »
It would be worse if you had linked brakes.

IMHO, reverse bleeding is the better way to go.  You're probably getting air bubbles stuck somewhere along the route from the master cylinder to the caliper.  Try tapping this route while applying a little bit of pressure at the caliper to dislodge the bubbles.

If this doesn't work, walk away, speak to the Guzzi gods, and then try again.  Trust me, I've been there.

Offline drdwb

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 1233
    • backfeelsgreat.com
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2019, 02:54:18 PM »
Thanks for the post. After installing new clutch plates on my 03 EV with the linked system I’ve had the same experience, I can get it to be solid for a day or 2 but than goes spongy again.I tried speed bleeders, back filled it and done every thing but the fix where you take the calipers off  and hang them above the reservoir,  it will be the last resort. I have seen posts about hanging a heavy weight on the brake pedal over night, but this was a fix posted by a Norge owner who claims it fixes the reoccurring spongy brake pedal. I also have a Norge and have not experienced this yet, but I’m going to try it on the EV.  I’ll follow this post Incase you find a fix for this.
Dave
07 Norge, 05 Baby Breva, 04 Stone  Touring , 03 EV, 82 650 Maxim 79 XS750 Special 78XS1100 Teraplane side car

Wildguzzi.com

Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2019, 02:54:18 PM »

Offline WP2

  • Gosling
  • ***
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 349
  • Location: Jenison, MI
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #4 on: June 04, 2019, 02:58:11 PM »
Master cylinder is worn out?

How would I tell if the M/C is worn out?

I'm hoping not because the bike only has 55,000 miles on it.

Walt
'03 EVT
Jenison, Michigan
MGNOC

Offline WP2

  • Gosling
  • ***
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 349
  • Location: Jenison, MI
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2019, 03:04:43 PM »
Thanks for the post. After installing new clutch plates on my 03 EV with the linked system I’ve had the same experience, I can get it to be solid for a day or 2 but than goes spongy again.I tried speed bleeders, back filled it and done every thing but the fix where you take the calipers off  and hang them above the reservoir,  it will be the last resort. I have seen posts about hanging a heavy weight on the brake pedal over night, but this was a fix posted by a Norge owner who claims it fixes the reoccurring spongy brake pedal. I also have a Norge and have not experienced this yet, but I’m going to try it on the EV.  I’ll follow this post Incase you find a fix for this.
Dave

I had a 15lb dumbell on the pedal overnight - didn't help.

I haven't tried hanging the caliper high - don't know why, it's pretty simple. It'll be in my future soon.

Guess my thoughts were centering around the M/C but wanted to eliminate all else before going into unknown territory.

Thanks.

Walt
'03 EVT
Jenison, Michigan
MGNOC

Offline rdtricks

  • New Egg
  • *
  • Posts: 35
  • Location: Sonora, CA
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2019, 03:17:15 PM »
The rear caliper on my CalVin has the bleed port pointing down and is the lowest point in the system.  Unfortunately this has allowed small air bubbles to stay lodged within the upper piston area.  I needed to dismount the rear caliper, getting the bleed port pointing up and above the hose.  Using a coupe of large zip ties to hold a small piece of wood between the pistons, rotating the dismounted caliper for the bleed port to be pointed up and zip tying the caliper to a frame member above the inlet hose allowed me to purge all air from the rear brake system.  PITA but worked like a charm.
2006 Moto Guzzi California Vintage
2003 BMW R1150RT
2017 Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX

Offline Tom H

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 3377
  • Location: So. Cal.
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2019, 03:38:11 PM »
The rear caliper on my CalVin has the bleed port pointing down and is the lowest point in the system.  Unfortunately this has allowed small air bubbles to stay lodged within the upper piston area.  I needed to dismount the rear caliper, getting the bleed port pointing up and above the hose.  Using a coupe of large zip ties to hold a small piece of wood between the pistons, rotating the dismounted caliper for the bleed port to be pointed up and zip tying the caliper to a frame member above the inlet hose allowed me to purge all air from the rear brake system.  PITA but worked like a charm.

This!

Also remember that it may only have 55K, but it's 17 years old. Had a rear master go bad on my '04 EVT. Only about 25K, but 15 years old.

Tom
« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 05:07:38 PM by Tom H »
2004 Cali EV Touring
1972 Eldo
1970 Ambo V1000
1973 R75/5 SWB with Toaster
2007 HD Street Bob
1953 Triumph 6T (one day it will be on the road!)

Offline Joliet Jim

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • *
  • Posts: 6156
  • Justus Esto, Et Non Metue
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2019, 04:58:06 PM »
with mine I took the caliper off the bike so the bleed hole was the highpoint of the caliper and used a spare rotor I had to bleed the brakes
1975 T160 Triumph Trident "Spot"
2002 Cali Stone "Moby Dick"
1998 Centauro "Psycho Chicken"
2003 Buell Blast "Pegasus"

Online s1120

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • Posts: 2161
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2019, 05:04:26 PM »
As a few just said. Remove the caliper, block the pads, and bleed with the nipple sticking up. Mine went nice and easy.
Paul B

Offline 80CX100

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 1433
  • Location: Ontario, Canada
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2019, 06:58:36 PM »
The rear caliper on my CalVin has the bleed port pointing down and is the lowest point in the system.  Unfortunately this has allowed small air bubbles to stay lodged within the upper piston area.  I needed to dismount the rear caliper, getting the bleed port pointing up and above the hose.  Using a coupe of large zip ties to hold a small piece of wood between the pistons, rotating the dismounted caliper for the bleed port to be pointed up and zip tying the caliper to a frame member above the inlet hose allowed me to purge all air from the rear brake system.  PITA but worked like a charm.

     This,,, and before I did this,,, I went through the linked brake system fittings from start (M/C) to finish (Caliper) and loosened and bled each fitting,,, it's messy, used lots of rags and paper towels to save the paint, fwiw ymmv

     If it's the linked system M/C,,, are you getting good response at the linked front caliper? If not maybe a rebuild is in order, just a wag.

      Kelly
2008 California Vintage
2003 V11 Lemans
2007 Griso 1100
1979 G5 & 1980 Lemans CX100
2010 Suzuki DR650 & 1978 SR500

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. George Orwell

jwinwi

  • Guest
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2019, 07:34:20 PM »
Should've started with this question: Were you changing fluid which resulted in a spongy pedal or did the spongy pedal develop by itself after storage?

Online s1120

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • Posts: 2161
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #12 on: June 05, 2019, 06:38:17 AM »
     This,,, and before I did this,,, I went through the linked brake system fittings from start (M/C) to finish (Caliper) and loosened and bled each fitting,,, it's messy, used lots of rags and paper towels to save the paint, fwiw ymmv

     If it's the linked system M/C,,, are you getting good response at the linked front caliper? If not maybe a rebuild is in order, just a wag.

      Kelly

The 02 stone does not have linked brakes.
Paul B

Offline WP2

  • Gosling
  • ***
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 349
  • Location: Jenison, MI
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #13 on: June 05, 2019, 01:03:09 PM »
Thanks guys for all the advice  They're bled and the pedal is solid.

Ended up hanging the caliper high and bled using the speed bleeder. Easy and fast - probably took 45 minutes start to finish with most of the time invested in taking the caliper off and reinstalling.

In the future, I will use this method at first sign of frustration in bleeding.

Thanks again.

Walt
'03 EVT
Jenison, Michigan
MGNOC

Online s1120

  • Gaggle Hero
  • *****
  • Posts: 2161
Re: 02 Stone Brake bleed
« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2019, 01:57:13 PM »
Thanks guys for all the advice  They're bled and the pedal is solid.

Ended up hanging the caliper high and bled using the speed bleeder. Easy and fast - probably took 45 minutes start to finish with most of the time invested in taking the caliper off and reinstalling.

In the future, I will use this method at first sign of frustration in bleeding.

Thanks again.

Walt

Cool!  It turned out on mine the pads where getting pretty bad, and the caliper slide pins were stuck so it wasn't moving.. So it was good that I pulled it to change the fluid and bleed.
Paul B

 

***Wildguzzi Official Logo High Quality 5 Color Window Decals Back In Stock***
Shipping in USA Only. Awesome quality. Back by popular demand. All proceeds go back into the forum.
http://www.wildguzzi.com/Products/products.htm
Advertise Here