Reservoir Draining for Brake Fluid Replacement

[Anonymous]

The brake fluid in both reservoirs of my recently acquired GS850GLZ looks pretty bad. It seems to have some particulate matter in it. A friend said it might be water. It wouldn't surprise me it it isn't the original fluid. The brakes seem to be working OK.

I plan to replace the fluid. I've read the manual so I understand the procedure. I was thinking, however, of cleaning out the fluid from the reservoirs by siphon or suction bulb. My thinking is that this would avoid running at least some of the contaminated fluid through the brake lines. I'm thinking that if I keep it as clean as possible, it should work.

Before I do this, does anyone have any comments or suggestions?

[Hoomgar]

Be careful with advice offered by me as I get accused all the time by friends of being really unconventional in my ways of doing things but I get stuff done and it works.

Here is what I do. Since the bike reservoirs are small I don't bother with playing with the siphon. I just use a rag and feed it into the reservoir slowly allowing it to absorb all the fluid and then throw it into a plastic grocery bad and discard it. Once that is done you can wipe it out really good and clean and fill it up with new fluid. Always use really clean lint free rags when doing this as you don't want anything getting into the system. I have done this technique on all my bikes and cars and pickups over the years and it has never been a problem and always works out for me. I find it a lot less messy to. Given that you don't drop the rag when you pull it out

Siphoning works too and is the factory recommended way of doing it.

[Anonymous]

I had thought about using a rag or paper towel. I was thinking, however, that it may not get sediment. I was thinking of using a suction bulb like they have at pharmacies.

[Hoomgar]

I had thought about using a rag or paper towel. I was thinking, however, that it may not get sediment. I was thinking of using a suction bulb like they have at pharmacies.

An infant nasal aspirator. That's a good idea. Like I said if you go the route I said you can wipe it out good then with another clean rag to get all the sediment out. There should be much anyway.

It works really well. I used old underware and T-shirts cut up to do it.

[Anonymous]

I just use a rag and feed it into the reservoir slowly allowing it to absorb all the fluid and then throw it into a plastic grocery bad and discard it.

This is all I have ever done, too. Works fine for me. As mentioned, use clean rags and watch for lint or other fuzzies that might get into the fluid. Wipe out the reservoir good when drained and refill.

Mark

[mdole]

I usually just use my Mighty Vac to pull it out through the brake bleeder.
I keep topping off the reservoir when it gets nearly empty until I get clear fluid out of the bleeder. Totally draining the reservoir can result in a bubble that can only be removed by bleeding the banjo bolt on the brake cylinder.

Mike

[Anonymous]

Totally draining the reservoir can result in a bubble that can only be removed by bleeding the banjo bolt on the brake cylinder.

I always crack that top banjo anyway, because it will often hold a bit of air depending on the angle the reservoir and outlet is sitting at. I just wrap a rag around the banjo bolt and pump a bit of fluid out to be sure. Its a small thing, but one bit of air can drive you nuts trying to get that perfectly solid lever feel... 8)

Mark

[Anonymous]

I pump the reservoir down to the little area in the bottom. Then I clean it out with a bunch of qtips but the qtips fall apart quickly. Get as much as you can and then just keep feeding brake fluid through until it stops getting cloudy up top and comes out clean at the calipers. It's not worth the trouble of cleaning the reservoir out so much that you need to reprime it, it's better to just use up the whole can of fluid.

Cheers, Steve

[Anonymous]

I'm with Steve; just keep feeding clean fluid until its coming out clear at the caliper.