Front brakes............again.

[Blastedbones]

Ahh the Rocket front brake .. yep she does this:sad: I went with adding an additional brake hose, but still get a weak lever.You can try OWL's old mod, a washer inserted over the lever piston, but be careful on that one. To get it thru MOT, tie the lever tight against the bars ( brake full on) with a bungee cord & leave over night. Lever will be firm after a couple of pumps, but the effect is a bit temporary.
Consensus from past posts: the brakes are a bastard to bleed 100% & probably have irremovable bubbles trapped someplace.

 

[leigh_m_gardner]

Not sure why your brakes should be so bad that you fail an mot. True, r3 brakes arent brilliant but they do work and stop the bike. The mid line splitter makes the front brakes a bastard to pressurise correctly.

Apart from asking a dealer, you could try the age old method of removing the master cylinder cap and zip tieing the front brake on and leaving them overnight.

That may work, or have a word with Les about a set of Pretechs

Sent from SYDland ....

 

[budman]

yes, what Leigh said..when I put my Rivco risers on along with my thunderbike T bars, I needed 2" longer brake lines..a call to Spiegler brake company, good company to deal with btw, and two separate lines were sent..both lines fasten onto the end of the reservoir, one line each going to each caliper, eliminating the midpoint splitter block..nice, firm brake, no sponginess..

 

[Trirocket3]

Take it somewhere else for the mot
My guy just saw the 6 pots & didn't even try them

 

[RocketEd]

Sometimes people try bleeding the front brake without first moving the bars and master cylinder so the master cylinder is level, which it should be.

 

[barbagris]

Sometimes people try bleeding the front brake without first moving the bars and master cylinder so the master cylinder is level, which it should be.

Even better is having the lever higher than the M/C. Bike on side stand - bars full left.

I replaced my front line with Goodridge lines ( Build-a-line ) from M/C to callipers direct when I raised the bars. Bled once and they're ROCK HARD. But imo that "T" piece in the original lines is a dirt/air trap. I'd fit a pair of new lines and bleed.

 

[barbagris]

There you go. Due to my longer lines - I had to wait a week as nobody had them in stock.
I also rerouted differently.

tbh - I would rather have had hoses made to measure - but it was summer when I did the mod - and my "contact" in Goodridge Spain who I know from the UK (early 80's) was on leave.

You need to angle bars etc so the only way bubbles can go is UP when you bleed. Anything - even a banjo - higher than the M/C and that's where a bubble will be.

After years of bleeding Guzzi integrated brakes - the R3 is a piece of cake. I'd do it late afternoon - then leave overnight so any micro bubbles can rise and final purge the next morning.

 

[Hipporider]

Very helpful thread. as I have the same problem,with my lever touching the handlebar. Dual lines for me , I believe.

 

[Paul Bryant]

Very helpful thread. as I have the same problem,with my lever touching the handlebar. Dual lines for me , I believe.

Yep, same here Hippo.

 

[Willtill]

I have never seen duel banjo fittings installed like that. Interesting.