Bleeding the brakes?

[2wheelNsanity]

When I pulled the front wheel for a tire change I had to remove the front brake caliper to get the wheel off. Doing this caused the pads to actuate and perhaps introduced some air into the system. Before the front brake would bit almost immediatly when applied, now it doesn't bite until a 1/3 and it doesn't seem as strong, kinda spongy. I called the only shop that willl work on my scooter, after some pleading, and they want to charge me $40-$80 for the job (ouch!). So being poor has put me into another situation where I have to do it myself. I am going to order a Mityvac brake kit from amazon for $30. Has anyone bleed the brakes on the buddy if so any advice would be appriciated .

[HepCat]

When I pulled the front wheel for a tire change I had to remove the front brake caliper to get the wheel off. Doing this caused the pads to actuate and perhaps introduced some air into the system. Before the front brake would bit almost immediatly when applied, now it doesn't bite until a 1/3 and it doesn't seem as strong, kinda spongy. I called the only shop that willl work on my scooter, after some pleading, and they want to charge me $40-$80 for the job (ouch!). So being poor has put me into another situation where I have to do it myself. I am going to order a Mityvac brake kit from amazon for $30. Has anyone bleed the brakes on the buddy if so any advice would be appriciated .

haven't done it on a buddy, but have on my cars in the past.. I bought a bleeder from the local auto-parts store for a round $12.. might wanna shop around

[PeteH]

I've bled the brakes on numerous heaps, mostly VWs and my old Honda 550. I've seen these vacuum kits, but never used one, but only the old-school method where you simply hook a bit of tubing from the bleed valve into a glass on the ground with some brake fluid, and having your Lovely Assistant keep the brake pressure up and add fluid at the top while you work the bleed valve at the bottom until bubble-free.

Truthfully I wouldn't know what to do with the vacuum pump.

The gnarliest part of doing it on the Buddy, I would imagine, is gently removing the headset plastic to get to the reservoir. I guess that's why they're charging $40-80.

[un_designer]

so does this mean that replacing the front tire is more difficult/error prone than the rear tire?

[2wheelNsanity]

No, it was easy. I just had to remove the brake caliper so that the tire could clear. I forgot to wedge something in between the pads so that they wouldn't move around. Its no biggie, I still have good stopping power just not the same as before. Besides, I need to learn to bleed brakes anyway, been putting it off for years, due to the horror stories my friends had with their cars.

[Lotrat]

Did you disconnect the brake line from the caliper when you pulled it off? You can't get air into the system unless you open the system or run the reservoir dry. You may just need to pump the brakes to get the slop out. I've never used the bleed tools. You only need them if you don't have someone to help you. The manual bleed is a two man job.

[2wheelNsanity]

I guess they didn't have air in them after all. After a day or so the brakes are back to normal. Kinda puzzling on why they felt mushy for awhile. Oh well no harm no foul .

[DanielPerrin]

It sounds like you don't need it anymore right now, but I've used the vacuum pump brake bleeders numerous times. They do make it a one man job, instead of two. I also like to replace all of the brake fluid, but you have to keep the resevoir filled so you don't suck air in. It's nice to have clean brake fluid, instead of the dark stuff that you get after whatever gunks it up. Clean fluid seems better.

I have also used the same pump system to drain gas from the lawnmower before winter, and other fluids. At least for me, the system has come in handy for more than just bleeding brakes.

[Dooglas]

The Mityvac MV8000 kit is well thought of if you ever need to bleed your hydraulic brake system.

[SYMbionic Duo]

If you get the mighty vac ®, go for the metal one, the plastic ones crack easily.

[Beamster]

Do yourself a favor and install a speed bleeder on the caliper.
http://speedbleeder.com/

It's basically a one way valve so when you loosen it to bleed, no air goes back in making it a one person operation.
Simple and cheap. Can't beat $7a wheel.
No fancy equipment to buy.

There are installation and use videos on You Tube.

[Beamster]

No, it was easy. I just had to remove the brake caliper so that the tire could clear. I forgot to wedge something in between the pads so that they wouldn't move around. Its no biggie, I still have good stopping power just not the same as before. Besides, I need to learn to bleed brakes anyway, been putting it off for years, due to the horror stories my friends had with their cars.

You really don't have to wedge anything to hold the pads, put resist the urge to pull the brake lever when the caliper is free of the rotor or when the pads are out; that puts you in trouble.

Actually when you change the pads you just take them out of the caliper and put the new ones in, no need to bleed, again provided that you didn't make the mistake of pulling the lever which would push the pistons and potentially empty the reservoir, or if you have put fluid in during the course of using the bike on the old pads.

A problem that may occur when you change very worn pads is that you are going to have to push the pistons in to make clearance room for the new thicker pads to clear the rotor. If you have put any fluid in the system as the old pads wore, then you are going to have to remove some before installing the new pads, or else when you push the pistons in you're going to get an over filled and leaking reservoir.

The thing about brake fluid is that it is the most effective paint remover that you'll ever find, and fast acting at that. Always be prepared to wash off any spills immediately.