I returned my front master cylinder to Gutsibits.They in turn have tested it on a P9 caliper and it has bled fine!I received a caliper from Ray to test and it too bled straight away with no problems and is still on the bike at the moment.I tried to bleed the new one countless times with no success, so what is going on - I am bamboozled!The new one is on it’s way back, so I guess it all starts again upon its return.As I have only the caliper seals that aren’t brand new I thought I might as well change them as well, so when the MC arrives my whole system will be new.AND I expect it to bleed first time with no hassle!Mind you, it has bled perfectly, in about five minutes with Ray’s caliper, so what is going on is beyond me!I returned the wrong flip top chokes as well and rather than have the right ones, decided to revert to the original cable system and have ordered new cables for them as well, as mine are a bit knackered.My back is still giving me pain from moving the bike lift a couple of weeks ago and I have a conservatory to dismantle and replace and a gable wall to remove the render from this week too.
You clearly don’t have enough to do John.
if when you get the Master cylinder back try it on my caliper first before you put it on the bike if ok then put it on the bike
Came across a caliper that would not bleed, turned out one of the bleed screws had been overtightened causing a hairline crack which allowed a slight amount of fluid to weep out and allowed air in on the return stroke, could the caliper be the problem?G.
Who knows! mind you, Ray’s master cylinder is working ok at the moment, so that might rule that possibility out. But, I am still totally in the dark as to what is the cause. The master cylinder will be back from Gutsibits shortly so I will give that another go. I would dearly like to find something wrong, so that I know.
This is a bit of a long shot but is there a problem with the fit of your lever to Gutsibits mastercylinder? (assuming you are fitting your own existing lever)
Could it be possible that the piston in the brand new m/cylinder is not being allowed to fully return by the lever and thus not allow the cylinder to draw fluid from the reservoir? not likely but possible and it might explain why Ray’s cylinder works and the new one doesn’t.
could be as mine was sent complete with lever etc
I did check that there was a clearance gap, but it is something I will definitely double check next time. The new master cylinder doesn’t feel as smooth as Ray’s and the spring is not as strong.
I had a problem with my Cali EV front right brake, could not get any pressure at all at the caliper end, ordered new master cylinder, but still no pressure, took the caliper and braided hose of the bike and connected it to the V65 SP master caliper which I knew was working fine, not a tiny bit of pressure at all, split the hose from the caliper and not a drop of fluid ran out, so I ran a length of Thinwall cable( available from Vehicle Wiring Products) up the inside of the braided hose, hit a bit of resistance but carefully carried on, connected it all back up and success!, I did notice a small amount of black stuff coming out of the bleed nipple tube which I do suspect are bits of the black paint from the master cylinder cap which had got into the fluid area and worked their way down to the braided hose and blocked the flow of the fluid.if you want to run a cable up the inside of your brake hose by all means do so, but in keeping with the ‘sue them, or screw them’ attitude these days you do so at your own risk, so there!!.,
Good mention!
That sounds like a good plan.I am stuck building house stuff at the moment, but as soon as I get the chance I will have a gentle poke!
You could just take the hose off and try blowing through it.
Spent two days chiseling render off a stone wall, with another to go, a lot easier now I have proper scaffolding up. A real sphincter twitcher on a scaffold tower 8m up! Builder here on Tuesday, so in two weeks from then, maybe I’ll get to play. Bikes aren’t the only things bodged, I discovered one of the windows was under sized and gobbed in with a mass of render with gaps behind and no visible signs of any fastenings, good job I want to replace it anyway.
Check the bleed nipple is not full of rust.And check its’ through-holes are clear. hook-nose hicks2013-10-11 22:19:33
Buddy it is about time you considered doing what someone else did and taking the front brake as a whole unit to someone who knows what they are about, not being 'orrid but it would have saved you a fortune in time and money and the whole hassle mate.
Easy to be wise in retrospect but another club member had a problem, figured it a but of a pain, had the master cyl stripped, swarf inside Ordered parts got it refitted by a Guzzi specialist all done sorted back on and working within a few days…WITH the knowlege that is IS right.
You really do NOT want to find out that it is NOT correct as you 'urtle down a road at 70 mph in the wet and pull the lever back to the bars with NO front brake now do you?
I know my V1000 actually has a Honda front master cyl, it is round very much like the round Brembo one the Guzzi lever fits and it works, never, yet (hussshhhh ) needed any sort of rebuild. I only found out it was NOT a Guzzi one when I ordered braided hoses over 20 yrs ago
Have to say IF it does fail I would just go out and get a 2nd hand jap one, but then I am not at all bothered about the originality, for me it is what is practical, works and affordable.
Guzzi build a brilliant engine etc BUT the 70’s bikes compromised on many ancilliaries and upgrades are often available.
as it is the front right brake master cyclinder it is a easy job to do as Dave Richardson suggests in Guzzilology which is to remove the whole lot from the bike and lay it flat on a worktop or whatever, I did that with mine and it did get the fluid moving,I have a Gutsibits supplied new front master cyclinder (2-3 weeks ago) and at the start it just did not want to build up any pressure at all but keep going and you will get there.not sure re taking it to a dealer as I have found in the past that just because someone wears a 'Mechanic’s badge it dont mean that he or she knows anything about Guzzis!, like the one who infromed me that as they had no 85/140 oil in stock for my V50 drive box it “will be ok to use 80/90 oil”, um no it wont as 80/90 is too thin and in time would work its way onto the rear brake disc.
northwest2013-10-12 10:54:02
I made up a pressurised brake bleeder…pump-up garden sprayer, 5 litres, spare Master Cylindertop, drilled the top, bonded a tube in with metal-set araldite, attached a hose from the pump-up sprayer, held on with clips…pressurised the sprayer with a litre of brake fluid in it…tightened cap, opened bleed nipples, locked trigger to ‘on’, and the whole thing was bled in a minute, and rock-hard at the lever, no air bubbles. Works just as well for the linked system, too. Ideal for that.
Nothing from jmee since “chiselling render” ~ so we dunna know where he’s at now
Still chiseling! I have started, so have to finish. I have blown every penny of my savings to, hopefully, sort the worst bit of the house out for my (our) dotage. My bike is surrounded by various implements of destruction and I can’t get to it to play, even if I wanted to. Hopefully the worst will be over this coming week. I still think I’m going to open the master cylinder up before I start - don’t like the thought of swarf washing about in there!
Done his back!