My brake lever recently became "squishy".I rode one day it was fine and a week later the brakes had gone south.I could not find any leaks on the floor.So I bled them by filling the resevior,loosening the bleed valve"(looks like a grease zerk) after I had pumped the brake.I had a clear hose attached to the valve.I would squeeze in the lever,loosen the valve and the retighten before releasing the lever.I also keep the resevior full.I did this process numerous times,at least 10 for each side until no bubbles were visible.Trouble is the brake lever did not get firmer like it used to be.I still would have to pump the lever before the brakes would grab.All the hardware is in place and tight. Any ideas?

 

how about a rubber hose swelling or expanding

 

Some how, you have got air in the line. Just bleed them out. I have one of those bleeder pumps that they sell at auto parts stores. They work great and are cheap.

 

check out http://www.speedbleeder.com/ they make bleeding your brakes a very easy one man job.

 

You may also have to rebuild the master cyclinder. Fluid could be passing by the seals not putting any pressure on the calipers.

Smitty

 

Check the piston and cup set at the master cylinder. The O rings and seals may keep fluid from leaking on the floor, but can deteriorate so fluid doesn't completely pressurize the line, and leaves a squishy feeling. One way to tell is to "pump" the brake. If after several pulls it feel tight, a master cylinder rebuild is in order.

 

I had the same problem a few times before. There is air trapped in the line just ahead of the master cylinder that won't come out with conventional bleeding.
Just remove the master cyl from the bars and hold it so that the reservoir is higher then the hose connection but not too much higher. Now pump the lever a few times in 10 second intervals until the lever becomes firm again.
Air gets trapped in the hose fitting because the hose connection is slightly higher then the reservoir and the large diameter of the fitting allows fluid to flow past the trapped air pocket when you attempt to bleed it.
This trick works on any hyd front brake. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I had to get the resevior fixed.The mechanic said that there is a small seal in there that had come loose. $20 fix.

 

Glad to hear that its fixed