Brake system bleed

[stevebrooker58]

Hi Guys ,

I would like some advice concerning bleeding the brake system , IABS SYSTEM 2003 GS 1150 , I have done the job before when i replaced all the brake hoses.

What i would like to know is can I carry out the job without packing out the calipers and just do it with the brake pads in situ .

All advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Forgive me if I am missing something but....why wouldn't you do it in situ?

 

[Ian J Hartley]

Hi Guys ,

I would like some advice concerning bleeding the brake system , IABS SYSTEM 2003 GS 1150 , I have done the job before when i replaced all the brake hoses.

What i would like to know is can I carry out the job without packing out the calipers and just do it with the brake pads in situ .

All advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

It's up to you. As far as I am aware there are two reasons for pushing the Pistons fully back.

1. You are more likely to replace ALL of the old brake fluid with the Pistons fully home.
2. The Servo reservoir level will be at the correct level.

Now if you are not concerned about either of these, then go ahead. Do it with the pads in place. Just remember though, that when you replace the pads, your are very likely to end up with brake fluid overflowing from the reservoir.

Ian

 

[Massive Lee]

You should either fit new pads, or wood block of same thickness as new pads. The reason is simple. If you bleed the brakes with thin pads, then next time you change them for new and thicker brake pads, you will spill a lot of brake fluid when pushing the pistons back into their bore to accept the new pads... I have two bikes with the same iABS (R1150GSA and K1200RS) and the procedure is the same.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

or before pushing the pistons right back into their housings, remember to remove some fluid....

 

[mspenz]

Or just remove the annoying servo altogether...

 

[JoeC]

I beleive that you need to make sure that the pistons are pushed all the way in as otherwise you could get air bubbles behind them which will cause issues with spongy brakes.

 

[stevebrooker58]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies advice , I thought that would be the case.

Next job methinks.

Thanks again ffor the words of wisdom.

Steve

 

[spanner monkey]

I beleive that you need to make sure that the pistons are pushed all the way in as otherwise you could get air bubbles behind them which will cause issues with spongy brakes.

That's not correct, they will bleed just fine. If you are just doing a brake fluid change then there shouldn't be any air in there to start with, if there is air after a bleed it's because you have pumped it in yourself. The bleed points are all at the highest points so that any trapped air naturally migrates towards it and out of the caliper. Given that the whole system requires a substantial flush of the best part of a litre of fluid it would be nigh on impossible for a bubble to remain trapped throughout the whole process.