Reverse brake bleeding

[Se7enheaven]

Not had great success with last conventional bleed . Brake lever still somewhat spongy after many attempts at bleeding . Does anyone use reverse bleeding technique and is it generally more successful without too much hassle ?

[airsafari87]

Have you tried ziptying the brake lever back to the bar and leaving it overnight?

That should get rid of the sponginess.

[Se7enheaven]

airsafari87 said:

Have you tried ziptying the brake lever back to the bar and leaving it overnight?

That should get rid of the sponginess.

Yep that’s in progress just now , so hopefully when I return home all will be well ,but just wondered for the next time if a reverse bleed might be a better option ?

[KurtFlew]

I push it up from caliper into reservoir with a syringe, then suck the last few bubbles out from the MC using the syringe. Takes a few attempts from an empty caliper but gets a solid brake lever quickly.

[sunbeam alpine]

I do it regularly with classic cars - and it works well - but I have no experience with bikes. I can't think of a reason why it shouldn't work with a bike.

[KTMsm]

I've had to do it with a clutch but never had a problem bleeding brakes the normal way

[Steve Bass]

airsafari87 said:

Have you tried ziptying the brake lever back to the bar and leaving it overnight?

That should get rid of the sponginess.

And turn the handlebars to the left so the brake reservoir is the highest point in the system. Loosen and rotate the master cylinder if necessary.
But as long as the brake lever is pulled in as far as possible, there's no loops or low spots in the brake lines and the reservoir is the highspot, the brakes will self bleed overnight...

[Se7enheaven]

Steve Bass said:

And turn the handlebars to the left so the brake reservoir is the highest point in the system. Loosen and rotate the master cylinder if necessary.
But as long as the brake lever is pulled in as far as possible, there's no loops or low spots in the brake lines and the reservoir is the highspot, the brakes will self bleed overnight...

Thanks . I have turned bars like you’ve said so hopefully all will be good by tomorrow.

[Fastdruid]

I like to pump the pistons out as far as safely possible then force them back in. Repeat a few times to ensure no air left in the system. Advantage is that you don't need to mess about with anything extra or pass loads of fluid through.

Also sometimes worth taking the lever off the bar to ensure there are no "high" spots where air can rest. Sometimes worth cracking the banjo bolt while squeezing the lever to ensure no air there.

I've also seen problems with remote reservoirs where the link pipe ends up with air in. Now on bikes I know are problematic I tend to unbolt the res and lift it up to ensure any air that exits the M/C gets all the way out and doesn't linger.

[Se7enheaven]

Thanks for all the advice . Much appreciated

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Does your bike have ABS? My old Fazer had ABS and it was a lot easier to bleed the brakes with the engine on or I'd always get a bubble inside the ABS pump

[Se7enheaven]

Finally got sorted at weekend. Went back to square one .Callipers off , another good clean before pushing pistons back . Another good conventional bleed including through ABS with Motoscan and voila , good solid lever at last. Lord knows what had happened but perseverance got there in the end. Lever tied back overnight and now good to go.
Thanks for all help and suggestions.