Just for info, a brake bleeder issue I had not seen before —

[mneblett]

I recently performed the first year brake fluid change on my ‘23 RT. I found the rear caliper bleeder to be unusually tight, but didn’t think much of it. Next time I took the bike out, I found the rear brake pedal would not hold pressure, sort of like when a master cylinder has gone bad. Stopped and found brake fluid leaking out of the caliper. Grabbed a wrench from the tool kit, but the bleeder was already tight.

Long story short, I removed the bleeder and found this:



Looks like some form of hard coating on the top had failed, or there was a manufacturing issue. While waiting for a warranty replacement to arrive, I smoothed the rest of the top layer off to get an even sealing surface, allowing the bleeder to now seal off the caliper.

Just posting in case someone else runs into the same issue. It was the first time I’d ever run across a defective-from-the-factory bleeder.

 

[pcarnut]

Good info, thanks. I've just got a '23 1250 RS so I'll check it out.

 

[mneblett]

I'll be surprised if you find any leakage. This is such a rare/oddball thing; I'd never heard of it before. I posted to hopefully help someone that can't figure out why their caliper is leaking after the bleeder valve has been opened/closed.

Enjoy the new RS! I had one for a brief time -- it's a great bike.

 

[105258]

I always install speed bleeders and change brake fluid every spring. Never had an issue like this with speed bleeders. Ran 250,000 kms on last GSA, changed fluid every year, so that was 4 changes no issues with the speed bleaders, quality product