Servicing Evo Brakes

Can you say "thread drift"...? I knew you could!

Frankly, I gave up trying to bleed these damned things myself!

jerry said:

get a little off track here did we?

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sorry, sorry sorry... at least we're still talking about EVO brakes while we wait for someone who knows how to bleed 'em... my bad, sorry sorry sorry

jerry said:

get a little off track here did we?

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A couple of failed hijack attempts.


Personally, I like the integral ABS. Get the newest version possible. The first couple of iterations on the R1150RT were...um...suboptimal.

The newest brakes are pretty darn good, but yes...they are difficult to maintain in one's own garage.

I have ABS on my truck and change the fluid anually and have never got air in the system. I just open the bleeder valve on a caliper, attach a tube to this and insert this in a jar with fluid. As the fluid level drops in the reservoir I add new so no air gets in. Am I missing something?
Should it not work this way on the beemer brakes??
Just make sure that the reservoir is always topped up so no air can get in. The dirty stuff comes right out of the bottom and when it is clear I just tighten the bleedervalve .
I know that the EVO system is complicated but laws of physics still apply. It should be possible to change the fluid this way.
Just my 2 cts..

rider1150RT said:

I know that the EVO system is complicated but laws of physics still apply. It should be possible to change the fluid this way.

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Rider -- complicated indeed. So complicated that if you only bleed the brakes, you don't bleed the servo-proportional-abs-linked-dowhatzy-in-the-middle-of-the-whole-works and you're hosed!

Trust me. This is a dealer job. At least until your warranty expires.

Ian

All right ,I guess the dealer wins on this front.

I'm on record as disliking and refusing to buy a high zoot brake system on a motorcycle. So, I had been wondering if BMW would be offering a bike with "standard" brakes in the future. By a stroke of luck, I was able to purchase an '03 1150GS "Sport" model with independent unpowered, non-ABS brakes. It saved about 20 lbs, cost about $1500 less, and the brakes can be bled at home with the usual bleeders and common sense.

I know that's not much comfort to you owners of Integrated ABS brakes. But I know of more than one situation where a professional mechanic attempted to install new brake lines, and was eventually forced to admit bleeding defeat and take it to the BMW dealer to use the magic BMW tools and two hours of shop time. I think you should plan on having the dealer service your Integrated ABS brakes from now on.

Unfortunately, BMW has apparently dropped the GS "Sport" from the lineup. The standard R1150R may still be available. But the plan appears to be to have Integrated ABS on all bikes.

pmdave said:

Unfortunately, BMW has apparently dropped the GS "Sport" from the lineup. The standard R1150R may still be available. But the plan appears to be to have Integrated ABS on all bikes.

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AFAIK, both the Boxer Cup Replika and Boxer Cup Prep do not have integral servo-assist ABS.

Visian said:

Rider -- complicated indeed. So complicated that if you only bleed the brakes, you don't bleed the servo-proportional-abs-linked-dowhatzy-in-the-middle-of-the-whole-works and you're hosed!

Trust me. This is a dealer job. At least until your warranty expires.

Ian

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Just a few comments on the original thread topic:
EVO is the new 320 mm diameter rotor and calipers. EVO has nothing to do with Integral, which is what we're talking about here. The K12RS has partial Integral with EVO, while the R and KLT have Integral EVO (rear activates front. Glad I don't have that.) I (we) over at i-bmw.com are bleeding our own systems. The dealers, for the most part, don't really know how to do it anyway. The new ABS III (Intergral EVO) pump does not have the seperate chamber that ABS I and II had, so bleeding the system without introducing air does flush the entire system.
For my 2c, I'd perfer the Integral EVO ABS III a lot more if it actually produced best in class stopping distances, but it does not. What it does do is make it very difficult to swap between the BMW assisted brakes and a non-assisted bike. This actually make riding more dangerous. I can hardly wait for the 2008 steer by wire system.

rider1150RT said:

All right ,I guess the dealer wins on this front.

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Why not have the dealer do it and you watch to see if you can pick up any tips and info? Also, do you have a service manual? A service manual will show the steps on how to do the job so you can determine if it is within your capabilities and resources. Just a thought.

CABNFVR said:

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Just a few comments on the original thread topic:
EVO is the new 320 mm diameter rotor and calipers. EVO has nothing to do with Integral, which is what we're talking about here. The K12RS has partial Integral with EVO, while the R and KLT have Integral EVO (rear activates front. Glad I don't have that.)

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Well... maybe we're talking semantics here, but I can tell you that when I apply the rear brakes on my 2002 K12RS, the fronts come on.

When I apply the front brake, the rear is also activated.

And I can tell you that my brakes are power-assisted, both front and rear.

Integral... EVO... I don't know... All I can tell you is it cost $132 to bleed my brakes. It would have cost more, but I was also getting something done under warranty that involved the removal of the side panels,, so I wasn't charged for that as part of the brake service.

Ian

ps => I looked at the procedure that "you" over at i-bmw.com are doing... there is no way that I am going to go through that much kludge factor... what a mess!

My brakes are bled... they work great (I can't attest for your dealer, but the people at BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta really know what they're doing and it shows.

And you're right... going back and forth between bikes that have the new brakes and the old brakes is a major PITA.

Visian said:

1) Well... maybe we're talking semantics here, but I can tell you that when I apply the rear brakes on my 2002 K12RS, the fronts come on. .....
2) ps => I looked at the procedure that "you" over at i-bmw.com are doing... there is no way that I am going to go through that much kludge factor... what a mess! ......
3) And you're right... going back and forth between bikes that have the new brakes and the old brakes is a major PITA.

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1) Your front brake does not come on with your rear pedal. Nope, not on an RS.
2) What kludge? It's just a normal brake bleed, unless you introduce air, then you're (oops, can't say that over here).
3) Yep, huge difference in feel between our Ducati and the RS. Both good brakes, but way different.
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"One outa three ain't bad"
Tim

p.s.
some light reading on ABS III

CABNFVR said:

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1) Your front brake does not come on with your rear pedal. Nope, not on an RS.
2) What kludge? It's just a normal brake bleed, unless you introduce air, then you're (oops, can't say that over here).
3) Yep, huge difference in feel between our Ducati and the RS. Both good brakes, but way different.
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"One outa three ain't bad"
Tim

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1) You're right, I guess it's just the top-heavy nature of the bike because the first time I lightly applied the rear brake in a parking lot turn on the bike, I practically fell on my butt. It sure does have a powerful rear brake for such a small brake pad.

2) I found your procedure, and it appears that I got your it confused with one on another board (there are so many boards these days...). That procedure looked way more complex than yours. Yours does look messy and involves many rags. After looking at your write up, my only comment is that your procedure is not what my dealer's Master Tech showed me, which is the factory's recommended procedure. Given that the factory designed the system, I'll choose to follow their recommendation on my bike, thanks very much!

3) Yep.

Ian

I switch between my '03 KLT and a '00 Concours all the time with no problem. I did put braided brake lines and more aggressive pads on the Concours, but I really don't find the integrated, servo-assisted, EVO brakes that much different than "regular" brakes except when you squeeze hard. When you do... you WILL stop!