Servicing Evo Brakes

$200+ dollars to bleed the brakes on my K12RS is giving me heartburn.

Common wisdom says this can only be done by dealers with special tools.

Through an off-line conversation with a friendly dealer, I have learned that he only uses the special tools to force the pads apart in the calipers... and that the correct procedure calls for completely draining the system, flushing, refilling and working out the air.... a 4-hour process requiring 4-5 bottles of brake fluid.

Yougottabekidding!

I would be interested in knowing some better ways/accepted practices.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Ian

Get a mighty vac for around 40.00. You can attach a reservoir to it and suck the fluid out of the bleeder with it. Just add fluid at the top till it changes color coning out, and shebang! You have drained the fluid. I am wondering what special tools besides a C clamp and screwdriver/prybar they need to change the pads?

lorazepam said:

Get a mighty vac for around 40.00.

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Lorazepam... sorry, but this is very incorrect. In my research so far, I have learned that doing this will drain the servo-assist system... and leave it full of air. No doubt, a bad thing!

In fact, instead of sucking the fluid out, you must push the fluid back though the system. And, you must not only replace the fluid in the brakes, but in the servo circuit as well.

This much I've learned through inquiries in other on-line resources.

What I am hoping for here is some information from someone who has actually done the service, or possibly, some indication where one can get official instructions.

Thanks!

Ian

Oops, sorry for the bad information. I will have to get up close and personal with the new system to see what the changes are. I think it is a shame when engineers over complicate a simple device.

You can use the Mighty Vac to push fluid in as well, just reverse the hose connections, and turn the reservoir upside down so the fluid will run out of the tube it comes in during vacuum operation. I dont know if this will work for you, but I know the mighty vac is capable of performing this function. It is probably not that simple though.

I've got a MighyVac... I use it on all my other bikes. It makes the whole brake fluid replacement process very simple to perform.

What I am not sure of is how to remove the fluid that is coming out as you push it backward through the system. From what I have learned via other sources, you remove the fluid from the reservoirs. This should be easy for the front brakes, however, it will be quite tricky to get the old fluid out of the rear master cylinder...

Then, of course, there is the challenge of bleeding the servo system.

Hopefully there are valid instructions on this somewhere in the world...

Ian

Try emailing Stan Walker from IBMWR about it. I think he's had success bleeding the brakes on his R1150RT.

Or you could sell me that RS for $7500.

jdiaz said:

Or you could sell me that RS for $7500.

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Hah! That would just about cover the cost of bleeding the brakes on that damned thing!

I can''t sell you the RS. The last time I saw you ride an RS was many moons ago at the Georgia Mountain Rally. I believe that you practically destroyed the belly pan on yours by riding it around the corners too fast.

And I simply can't stand to see good equipment abused!

Ian

Ian, there's another special tool that wasn't mentioned, and that's using Moditec to test the brakes after bleeding.

fish said:

Ian, there's another special tool that wasn't mentioned, and that's using Moditec to test the brakes after bleeding.

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Really!? What does it test?

According to my mechanic, it tests for the presence of air in the system, and for proper function of all the sensors and the servo pump.

He said that he bleeds the system from about 8 different points, and definitely flushes things as per spec.

I think I am going to give up on doing this myself.

$200 to bleed brakes. Ouch!

Ian

Visian said:

I can''t sell you the RS. The last time I saw you ride an RS was many moons ago at the Georgia Mountain Rally. I believe that you practically destroyed the belly pan on yours by riding it around the corners too fast.

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Scraping bodywork? No, that wasn't me.

That was the best riding weekend I ever had on my K1200RS tho.

jdiaz said:

That was the best riding weekend I ever had on my K1200RS tho.

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Oh... this was *way* before the K12RS came out... I believe you were riding a Kblue K100 or K1100.... I am pretty danged sure it was you.

This was like, 1997 or so.

Ian

ps => next time you & Sue come to GMR, I will take you on some roads that will give you even greater "bliss".... just ask GJH & WP

I had my K12RS at the '98 GMR, missed the '97 GMR with a wiring harness burnout on the way to the rally, had my R1100RT at the '96 event, etc etc. I'm pretty sure you are talking about '98.

http://homepage.mac.com/jondiaz_34/.Pictures/Bikes/k12rs.jpg

OK... maybe it wasn't you... because we first met at the MOA National in Morganton... 96, after talking via IBMWR for a year or so more. Ancient history!

Coulda sworn it was you, though... I remember thinkin: "jeez... what an animal to grind down the bellypan on a K!"

Still won't sell you mine for $7500, although after seeing what a PITA it is to bleed the brakes on this sucker, I don't know....

Ian

Ian,

EVO= linked, right? How do you feel about the linked brakes, are they worth it? Or, ignoring the added service pain, are they useful?

I never saw the point in ABS on a bike, but have to admit I have warmed to the idea (mostly)... how do you feel about this new leap forward?

Hi Lance -- EVO = linked + power assist.

The bike has an electrically-driven pump that boosts the brake, not 100% like power brakes in cars, but similar. It is an inter-relationship between boost and ABS. And they're linked, so pulling the front brake applies a proportion of rear brake, and vice-versa.

When you squeeze the front brake lever, you get more braking power than you expect... a little disconcerting at first, but easy to get used to.

My main difficulty with them (so far) relates to perceived emergency situations. I am an experience rider, and while I have no formal training, I practice a lot. I also have many years of dirt experience and am comforatable with the bike when it's not tracking in a straight line, or when it doesn't have 100% traction.

With normal brakes, in a "potential" emergency (I say potential because it isn't one quite yet, but could become one in the next instant) my instinct is to get all four fingers around that front brake level and be pulling on it... eliminating all play and ready to pull on it really hard if the situation deteriorates. The only thing I do with the rear is to use it to keep the rear wheel from passing the front. I can stop really, REALLY hard when I want to.

If you do this with the EVO brakes, you are going to be stopping, and stopping RIGHT NOW, and REALLY REALLY HARD. (Pretty impressive, in that respect)

This can be difficult if you ride the wide variety of bikes I do... everything from a /2 and airhead G/S to a K-bike. The EVO brakes make it somewhat more difficult to switch between bikes. Especially when instinct kicks in during an emergency situation.

The other hassle is that I use the rear brake in tight turns, especially in parking lots, to pull the bike around the turn. The first time I did this on the K12RS I nearly dropped it because the front brakes applied, too.

So... I can understand why many people like these things. I am lukewarm at the moment. They are an answer to a question that I wasn't asking. And I would absolutely hate these things off-road (although I am different than many other riders in that I tend to like ABS off-road).

Perhaps this is the first generation of this technology, and just like ABS I & II, it will refine over time. However, I sure hope that BMW makes this feature an option on future bikes.

Ian

I wasa a little skeptical, but after riding them, I'm convinced that the linked ABS setup is a Good Thing.

Visian said:

...They are an answer to a question that I wasn't asking...

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I read THAT loud & clear, ha! I actually had the parking-lot u-turns in mind when I asked. thanks

get a little off track here did we?