nevada72
Vintage User
I'll start off with the usual, did a search, found some useful information, could use a little more, etc......
So while I wait for my points gap tool to arrive (turns out the bike has the bean can with Hall sensor, so not needed) I am doing other things to the bike, like bleeding the brakes. Fronts, no issue (although they do seem a bit spongy to me). Back - no go. And I tried everything - Mity-Vac, reverse bleed, hang caliper with nipple on top......no matter what I tried I cannot move fluid through the rear brake circuit. When I've had this problem on other bikes (equally notorious for bleeding difficulty) it turned out to be a bad brake line. So considering this bike hasn't had what I would call religious maintenance, I will rebuild the master and replace the lines. Of note, I doubt the back brake has worked in a long while. The pads look brand new and not even slightly worn.
So the questions -
I see many recommendations to replace the oem lines with stainless. Anyone have a good source?
One person mentioned replacing the entire assembly south of the master with one stainless flex line - is that the standard, or retain the hard line?
There was some mention of the master cylinder being impossible to rebuild (albeit by one individual) - is it really that hard? I've rebuilt a few and it never has been an issue.
Any pointers on removing the brake master? After my final unsuccessful attempt at bleeding the brakes, I gave it a quick look and didn't see an obvious way to remove it. I'm sure once I get under there it will become apparent, but any tips on removal would be appreciated.
As an aside, I've really taken on a project with this one. I knew it wasn't put away properly, but it turns out someone in it's past had a love affair with hardware store solutions. The side case rack was held on by bolting it to a Reynolds rack with 1/4-20 carriage bolts. REALLY long 1/4-20 carriage bolts. On the right side this individual used 4 nuts on one bolt! I guess if one is good, 4 is extra good. Especially if they are rusted in place. They also fabricated (I use the term loosely) some sort of extra support from 1 inch flat iron. This was added between the rack and carriers at the rear and seemed to provide no useful support. The Reynolds rack was held at one point by sandwiching it between the shock and the frame, which is probably how it is supposed to go, but no spacers were used at the bottom so the shock was likely binding. But then again, maybe not because on the left side, there was no nut holding the shock on! It was just the bolt going through the frame.
There were other things like the cheap blue plastic quick-splices used to add some now gone accessory (but they left the live open cut off ends exposed). I'm really glad I decided to go through everything on this bike. God only knows what else I will find. But the motor seems sound with 31k miles. The transmission shifts well, especially after the fluid change. I'm thinking once I undo all the evil that befell this poor bike, it will be a pretty nice bike. We'll see.
Again, thanks in advance for all the help!
So while I wait for my points gap tool to arrive (turns out the bike has the bean can with Hall sensor, so not needed) I am doing other things to the bike, like bleeding the brakes. Fronts, no issue (although they do seem a bit spongy to me). Back - no go. And I tried everything - Mity-Vac, reverse bleed, hang caliper with nipple on top......no matter what I tried I cannot move fluid through the rear brake circuit. When I've had this problem on other bikes (equally notorious for bleeding difficulty) it turned out to be a bad brake line. So considering this bike hasn't had what I would call religious maintenance, I will rebuild the master and replace the lines. Of note, I doubt the back brake has worked in a long while. The pads look brand new and not even slightly worn.
So the questions -
I see many recommendations to replace the oem lines with stainless. Anyone have a good source?
One person mentioned replacing the entire assembly south of the master with one stainless flex line - is that the standard, or retain the hard line?
There was some mention of the master cylinder being impossible to rebuild (albeit by one individual) - is it really that hard? I've rebuilt a few and it never has been an issue.
Any pointers on removing the brake master? After my final unsuccessful attempt at bleeding the brakes, I gave it a quick look and didn't see an obvious way to remove it. I'm sure once I get under there it will become apparent, but any tips on removal would be appreciated.
As an aside, I've really taken on a project with this one. I knew it wasn't put away properly, but it turns out someone in it's past had a love affair with hardware store solutions. The side case rack was held on by bolting it to a Reynolds rack with 1/4-20 carriage bolts. REALLY long 1/4-20 carriage bolts. On the right side this individual used 4 nuts on one bolt! I guess if one is good, 4 is extra good. Especially if they are rusted in place. They also fabricated (I use the term loosely) some sort of extra support from 1 inch flat iron. This was added between the rack and carriers at the rear and seemed to provide no useful support. The Reynolds rack was held at one point by sandwiching it between the shock and the frame, which is probably how it is supposed to go, but no spacers were used at the bottom so the shock was likely binding. But then again, maybe not because on the left side, there was no nut holding the shock on! It was just the bolt going through the frame.
There were other things like the cheap blue plastic quick-splices used to add some now gone accessory (but they left the live open cut off ends exposed). I'm really glad I decided to go through everything on this bike. God only knows what else I will find. But the motor seems sound with 31k miles. The transmission shifts well, especially after the fluid change. I'm thinking once I undo all the evil that befell this poor bike, it will be a pretty nice bike. We'll see.
Again, thanks in advance for all the help!
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