How to Install SS Brake Lines + Bleeding using Mityvac

[Boneman]

Recently purchased some HEL stainless steel brake lines from HEL's ebay store: eBay My World - helperformance

1. REAR BRAKE LINES

So I started with the back brake line first. The process is simple, but a little messy. Get everything you need set up and laid out ahead of time and close at hand as you want to work quickly when doing the swap over as removing the brake line can be messy and you tend to drip brake fluid around.

I removed the seat and then the cap to the rear brake fluid reservoir. It's kind of a pain to get at and if you lift your tank it might make access to it easier. I put in a small funnel to make it easier to pour brake fluid in as you want to keep it topped up.

Simply unbolt both banjo bolts (caliper and master cylinder) and remove rear line. Then quickly bolt on your new line. Tighten the banjo bolts.

Top up the brake fluid. Pump the brake pedal several times to "prime" the system.

Now it's time to bleed. I purchased and decided to try using a Mityvac vacuum pump. This hand pump creates a vacuum that will basically suck out air and fluid through your brake lines. It's handy to use for flushing your system with new fluid, which is basically what I did at the same time as bleeding.

I used MOTUL DOT 4 brake fluid:

..continued next post.

 

[Boneman]

Once the Mityvac is assembled you are ready to go.

All you do is place some fluid in the Mityvac reservoir (so you don't suck air back into the system), attach the proper sized fitting to the brake caliper bleeder nipple, then pump up the vacuum a bit and then using a 8mm box wrench, crack open the bleed nipple a 1/4 turn. The vacuum pressure created by the pump draws air and fluid out from the line. Once the vacuum pressure is gone, close the bleed nipple and repeat the process several times until there is no air bubbles visible coming into the Mityvac reservoir.

Now one issue most people have with vacuum pumps, is that there always seems to be bubbles as it pulls air in through all the various joints and fitting on the pump unit. So to finish the bleeding, I just went "old school" and pumped the brake pedal with my hand, held it down, then opened the bleed nipple, closed it then released the brake pedal. I repeated this step several times until I got a hard, firm pedal.

Remember to keep an eye on the fluid level in the brake fluid reservoir!!! You want to keep topping it up and NEVER let it run empty or you will pull air back into the system and you will have to start the process all over again!

All finished!

I'll do the font write up tomorrow (need to get to bed).

 

[LERecords]

great writeup.. can't wait to learn how to do the front.. I'm probably going to cycle gear today to pick up a mity-vac.. thanks again bone :thumbup:

 

[Norbert]

Great start!

I'm really interested in knowing how to install the front lines so they are out of the way, whether or not you re-use the clips that came with the bike, using P-clips or hose separator, etc.

 

[Dennis in NH]

Thanks for the writeup.

A local Yamaha dealer charges $80 (1 hour) labor for front and rear brake fluid change; you also have to pay for brake fluid.

If I have time, may give this a try sometime.

Dennis

 

[Boneman]

2. FRONT BRAKES

The front brakes are a little more tricky than the rear as first I had to figure out which HEL brake line went to which caliper (yes, they are different) and then which end goes to the master cylinder. I think I figured it out. The right caliper has a small bend at the banjo.

So, this is the part I think I got wrong and someone please post their experience/information on this. I was paranoid about letting the fluid in the reservoir drain out, but in hindsight, I don't think it would have mattered as I have already 'breached' the system and introduced air into it. So I had to work quickly and have everything ready to swap out. This made for things getting a little messy when it came to the point of bringing the new lines down, getting the old off and new on. Lots of fluid dripping around. In hind sight I think it would have been ok to drain all the fluid out first since we are doing a full line replace anyway. Comments/suggestions guys? Can you drain out all the fluid when Changing over lines?

I started by removing the line from the master cylinder and then putting in the 2 new SS lines. There is a "double long" banjo bolt used for this, with washers in between each banjo:

I snugged em up enough to stop fluid from leaking, but loose enough to rotate them. In order to keep the leaking fluid from leaking out the other ends and all over the place, I taped some little plastic bags around the ends of each line:

I unbolted all the stock attaching points for the factory lines. I also removed this support bracket as it held the horn and old brake line and since I don't use the factory horn anymore, I removed the bracket and 2 bolts completely.

I finished removing all the factory brake line and removed it from the bike completely. I carefully wiped each hole at each caliper so it was clean.

...continued next post.

 

[Boneman]

2. FRONT BRAKES CONTINUED...

So this is the part when I had to work fast. I did one side at a time, starting with the right and brought the new SS line down to the caliper and bolted it into the caliper. Then re-topped up my fluid. Yeah it got a bit messy as you could imagine as the fluid now free flows down and through the new lines. I had lots of rags handy. Then did the same for the left side caliper.

For routing, I simply brought both lines straight down past the right fork, keeping them together with some black cable ties and also one loose cable tie around the right fork and both SS lines (similar to how they had the factory lines). Each side then just splits out to each caliper.

On the right side I re-used the factory clamp on the fork housing, and for the left I passed the line though the little plastic clamp that is on top of the front fender.

NOTE: The bend on the right side HEL SS line at the caliper makes the line come VERY close to the bleed nipple! In fact it was a bit of a PITA to get the Mityvac adapter on it and I had to hold it down with my other hand.

BLEEDING

I found some very helpful, step by step instructions on how to manually bleed your brakes and I referred to it during the bleeding process. I made it into a PDF and uploaded to my site. Feel free to download and use it as it was VERY useful!

Download: Manual Brake Bleeding

IMPORTANT: During this process you MUST keep brake fluid in the reservoir at all times and NEVER let it go empty or you will have to start all over again.

The first thing you need to do is to PRIME your system. To do this, do the following:

1. Pinch banjo fitting on the end of this loose hose with you thumb and index finger and pump the brake lever slowly until fluid squirts out between your fingers. (this is priming the master cylinder)

2. Re-install the brake hose and tighten the banjo bolt

3. Pump the brake lever and watch in the reservoir for air bubbles. Air bubbles coming up from the master cylinder means that the brake hoses and calipers are filling with fluid. After pumping the brake lever for what seems like eternity you should feel the brake lever getting stiffer as if your brakes are working but are spongy.

Now this is where you can bleed your brakes the "old fashioned" way or using the Mityvac. Again, I used a combination of both methods, just like I did the rear.

At some point during this process I ended up "ingesting" brake fluid into my Mityvac and the thing suddenly erupted brake fluid; spraying brake fluid everywhere including into my face and eye.

This would be a good time to mention if you are using a vacuum pump (anything under pressure) of any kind, please wear eye protection to avoid what happened to me. I did get the Mityvac cleaned up and back to normal. I think from lying it down and having it laying on the ground is how fluid got drawn into it. I would say it was user error and not the fault of the product.

So after some panicked personal clean up I abandoned the Mityvac and enlisted the help of my wife and proceeded to finish the job by manually bleeding the brakes. I just followed the bleeding instructions as laid out in the Manual Brake Bleeding document and after a while I had a nice feeling brake lever!

I topped off the brake fluid, but make sure to not overfill it! Replace the reservoir lid and have a look for any leeks coming from any of the banjo bolts.

Take your bike for a slow (driveway) test ride!! It was late and pissing rain so I only moved the bike around the garage and I still need to do a proper test ride. I re-checked the brake lever this morning and it's still solid and holding pressure. I suggest after your test ride and riding for a few days to re-bleed the brakes again.

Here are a few more pics:

TIPS AND LESSONS LEARNED

- Have lots of shop towels and rags on hand!
- Perhaps completely draining the fluid from the reservoir would be a better way to go(?)
- Found the Mityvac very handy and great for doing fluid flushes as it pulls the fluid through the lines very nicely and does make this a "one person job". However I felt more comfortable using the manual bleeding method to finish the bleeding process.
- A common complaint about Mityvacs is that they do produce a lot of bubbles as it will pull in air from all the various fittings and hose connections on the unit. So when bleeding, you always see bubbles and can be misleading - which is why I resorted back to the manual bleeding method to finish the job as by just using a hose on the nipple fitting and into a jar of fluid, you can then easily see when there are no more air bubbles coming out of the caliper.
- Give yourself lots of time to do this as it will take longer than you think it will!
- Double check and re-snug all your banjo bolts when finished.
- Do no re-use banjo bolt washers!

 

[Norbert]

My brake pump bled all over my garage floor like yours did.
As you posted, here's how to (hopefully) prevent this from happening:

*Place fluid in the Mityvac reservoir to submerge the bleeder hose
*Don't lay it down on its side.

One thing about using cable ties is that you should check every year to make sure they are not cracking from UV exposure. Some cable ties are "UV stabilized" or "UV resistant." Your fairing may shade the cable ties so it may not be much of a problem.


Excellent write up! :thumbup:

 

[Stevenator]

Thanks for the write up. Good stuff. :rockon:

 

[Ridgeback]

Cheers Boneman :thumbup:

 

[Norbert]

Here's a great article that I use the first time I bled my brakes:
Bleeding Motorcycle Brakes - webBikeWorld

I suggest everyone read this article before bleeding their brakes.
It get better towards the end.
Some notes/tips I took from the article:

"If the vacuum gauge starts to drop, you probably have some air leaking in, so you should check everything to make sure it's sealed. The instructions tell you to put some grease on the threads of the container to help prevent air leaks, but mine seems to work well without it, although I do put plenty of grease around the bleed nipple threads."

"It was difficult to start the bleed without bubbles seeping in at the junction where the hose met the nipple. I used lots of petroleum jelly to seal the area and had to hold the hose as perfectly straight on the nipple as possible and eventually it all worked out fine. Again, this is described in the procedure below."

"... vacuum pump gauge. It lets you see exactly what's happening as you perform the bleeding, and as long as the gauge shows that you're holding some vacuum in the system, it means air isn't entering in through the bleed fitting."


"First thing before you open the bleed screw is to give it some vacuum and make sure nothing's leaking. "

"If you can't seem to get rid of the air, try depressing the brake lever slightly, crack the banjo bolt at the brake reservoir/master cylinder just enough so fluid begins leaking out, close the banjo and release the lever. This can get rid of air lurking around the banjo."

"It may seem that no matter what you do, the lever stays spongy. Try this: With the reservoir lid off, depress the brake lever halfway and secure it with a Velcro tie, a zip tie, tape or whatever. Leave it overnight. In the morning put the cap back on, take off the tie, put push the bike and pump the lever a couple of times...if you're in luck it will firm up."



Also, this kid bled his brakes:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA3HIVkup94&feature=channel_page]YouTube - Brake hose bleeding[/ame]


Here's two things I learned from him:
1)bang on the handlebars and maybe some airbubbles will come up to the top
2)slightly squeeze (more like a tap) the front brake lever to let out some more air bubbles.


Hopefully this will help somebody.

 

[Norbert]

Hhhhheeeeeeeellllllllllppppppppp!!!

OMG_WTF is in trouble again....:shakehead:
I don't know which end of the brake lines goes where. :tard:
Why the HELL didn't HEL write some damn instructions or label the ends? :Flip:
(Bad joke, sorry)

Anyways, this is what I know:
(Left and right usage assumes you are seated on the bike and looking forward)
1. The line that goes to the right caliper is the shortest.
2. The line that goes to the right caliper, when screwed into the master cylinder, is the farthest away from the master cylinder.

So looking at the attached photos, I think:
L2 and R1 go into the master cylinder, with R1 being the farther away.
L1 and R2 go into the left and right calipers, respectively.

Also, for the rear caliper, the end with the sharpest bend goes into the caliper.

It's kinda hard to make out how they look in the photos.
L2 is the straightest of all front banjos.
L1 and R2 look almost identical (same angles), but I am not sure.

Could somebody provide some clarification? I'm pretty sure what I described is correct....

 

[Boneman]

Looks like you got it! This is how I see it (and by the looks of it did the exact same with mine)

L1 = Left Caliper
L2 = Master cylinder

R1 = Right caliper (this bend was VERY close to the bleed nipple wich did give me some dificulty in fitting the bleed hose onto it as the SS line is very tight to the side of the nipple
R2 = Master Cylinder

Just make sure that the master cylnder banjos are the same looking, each with the same slight angle and both oriented the same way as to provide equally flat mating surfaces.

Rear = you are corect.

It was a "best guess" call when I did mine. The right caliper is definately R1 as it does have a definative bend and that bend can only go one direction on the caliper. The Left Caliper didn't really have much of any bend IIRC so I matched up the other end of the R1 line with the similar looking end of your L1/L2 line as these banjos need to be close to the same to ensure they "mate" together properly when joined together into the master cylinder as seen here:

So by process of elimination, that left the other end of the L line to be the caliper end.

Oh and I did the little trick the other day of taking the top off the brake fluid resivior (so air can get out), then cable tied my brake lever back and to the handle bar and let it sit over night. WOW! It firmed right up now! I mean I was happy with the feel of the lever and braking after my bleeding, but doing this little trick must have got every ounce of air out and man is that lever ever solid now!!!! Give it a try!!

Yeah some lables/tags on each end/banjo would go a LONG way to help!!!

 

[Skeezix]

Sorry to act like a noob, but in one of the pics of the rear brake procedure, there is a tube with BREMBO on it. Did you add that as an aftermarket part? I wasn't aware that the FZ6 came with any BREMBO componets. Thanks.

Skeezix

 

[stink989]

Sorry to act like a noob, but in one of the pics of the rear brake procedure, there is a tube with BREMBO on it. Did you add that as an aftermarket part? I wasn't aware that the FZ6 came with any BREMBO componets. Thanks.

Skeezix

front and rear master cylinders are brembo standard:thumbup:

 

[OneTrack]

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again...Here's an old automotive trick for cleaning up spilled brake fluid:-
Always have a bottle of fresh water on hand to clean up any brake fluid that has spilled on your bike, on the floor or on your hands. Brake fluid is death to paint and many other types of finishes.
Pouring cold water over any brake fluid splashes FIRST before drying it off is the BEST way to remove it; this includes your hands and the floor.
Brake fluid loves water...it will absorb it until there is no brake fluid left.
Do not get any water near the master cylinder if you've got the cover off.
If you need convincing, try it. If you've got some brake fluid left over, pour a bit on the floor. Flush it away with fresh water....you'll be amazed.

 

[Norbert]

I just finished my HEL brake lines. I thought I'd knock this all out in a day.
It took 3 days.
I feel like if I can survive this, I can survive anything!!
I learned a TON about bleeding brakes even after bleeding my brakes last year.

Here are some notes to further help those poor souls who are doing this themselves.

I used MOTUL DOT 5.1 brake fluid I bought from my Yamaha dealer for like $10. I previously used some Valvoline dot 3 & 4 brake fluid I got from an auto parts store. That fluid sucked. I could tell there was significant fade towards the end of the season. I went for the more upscale MOTUL fluid and hopefully will have good results. They even have a "racing" fluid that's even more pricier.

You can see how the lines are fitted in the banjo bolts in my post and Boneman's reply above.

Rear Brake Line
If you have stock rear sets, then it will be difficult to reach a socket wrench and a big torque wrench over the rear master cylinder banjo bolt. The frame gets in the way. You need to swing the rear mc towards the back to be more upright. Also, you don't want the mc to be loose, since the banjo bolt is on there kinda tight and you will have to torque down the new one tight as well.

I removed the top rear set bolt, loosened the bottom rear set bolt, and removed the bolt that's held in by the cotter pin down near the brake lever. Doing all this allowed me to swing the mc towards the rear. Then I tightened the bottom rearset bolt back up because I didn't want the mc to be flopping around. I used a huge extension socket and my torque wrench to get to the bolt. I had to snake the socket behind the frame.

Putting things back together, I didn't have a hex socket for my torque wrench, so I just made the rear set bolts tight with an alan key and a small pipe for some leverage. I used blue loctite too.

Before putting things together, you probably should tie the rear brake lever down with some weights with the rear brake reservoir cover open. Also, you should do the trick where you undo the banjo bolt to let any air out. Both of these tricks are described further down.

Front Lines

The right caliper brake line banjo fitting does indeed come annoyingly close to the bleeder nipple! When you torque down the banjo bolt for the right caliper, place a flat head screwdriver tip to allow for a precious few millimeters of space so you may put the rubber nipple cover on.
Even after doing this, I still have to force the brake line back with my thumb while twisting my nipple cover on. Although difficult, I can get the cover on and off and that's what matters.

Keeping the Front Lines Tidy

I used 2 zip ties for a cross pattern (Red arrows). This works well. Make sure it's not tight. I described this here:
http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/29025-where-buy-brake-line-separators.html#post301119
For the line going to the right caliper, I reused the old bracket that was there already. I pried off the insulation from the old line so the new brake line would be kinda snug in the bracket.
For the line going to the left caliper, I reused the insulation because I was worried about the metal edges all over that area. I just zip tied (of course!) the insulation to hold it in place (Green arrows).

One thing about zip ties is that they do become brittle with UV exposure. So every once in a while you should check to see if they need to be replaced. Some stores sell zip ties that are "UV stabilized."

Zip Tie Brake Lever Trick

This has been mentioned on this forum already. It's all over the web too.
Put the bike on its center stand.
One thing I learned is that I first needed to extend to lever to the fullest length of travel. I zip tied my brake lever to the handle bar when it wasn't even giving any resistance. So adjust the dial on the brake lever and extend it out first. Then zip tie the lever to the handlebar.
Open up the reservoir cap and remove all the over things underneath it. Put some saran wrap over the cap. Make sure it's not air tight. The saran wrap is there to keep dust and dirt out.
Leave it alone overnight. I waited 7 hours.
Remove the saran wrap. Put the cover (and those other 2 things) back on. Remove the zip tie. Pump the lever.
Now, do the Banjo bolt loosening trick.

Banjo Bolt Loosening Trick
I first saw this posted by Fred. I later read up on it elsewhere online. Put the bike on the side stand.
Turn the bars so that the mc is at the highest spot it can be (you still need some room for a wrench so the handle bars won't be fully turned).
Then pump the lever a few times and zip tie (of course!) it to the handle bar. Carefully and slowly crack open the banjo bolt. You should see air bubbles coming through the crush washers in the banjo bolt. Once the bubbles have stopped, brake fluid will start oozing out. Re-torque the banjo bolt to specs. Be sure to have plastic all over, rags to clean up the brake fluid, etc.



Conclusion

What a freaking mess.

Front+rear

Front

All done! So glad it's over. My back, knees and thighs hurt. What a work out. All that brake cleaner I used most certainly took a few years off of my life.

Special thanks to Boneman. I sent him a bunch of PMs for help/clarification. Over the weekend, no less. :cheer:

There you have it, folks. If you can't install the Hel SS lines now, there's something wrong with you. :Flip: