Dumbass alert: Sucked air into brake reservoir. Now what?

[AndrewA]

Ok. So, I managed to violate rule A-1 of brake bleeding. Was finishing up on the right side & got so mesmerized at how well my Mit-E-Vac was doing that I kind of forgot to pay attention to the reservoir. Before long I was greeted with the sickening sound of air getting sucked into the #%&$;@!!! line.

I ran about 6-8 more oz of fluid thru, til I didn't see any more bubbles coming out. Then I went back & did the same on the left side. Then I completely refilled the reservoir & gently pumped the lever til it firmed up. After that I loosely covered the reservoir and put a clamp on the lever to hold it open - in hopes that any remaining air would bubble up.

I did NOT turn on the ignition at any point in this process, which I'm hoping is of some benefit.

So - although deserving your ridicule, I beg your advice... how F'd am I, and what else should I do?

Many thanks,
Andrew

Bike is a 2014 S10 ES.

 

[Sierra1]

I am assuming that the bike in question is a Tenere. It will take MUCH more fluid/bleeding. My tech told me that the ABS pumps really don't cause a bleeding problem.....unless you get air into the system. Then he has a tool that lets him get the air out of the system/pumps. There have been several guys that have posted how to cycle the ABS pumps so all the air gets out. For me, I'm going to let a tech make sure that the MOST important system on my bike is working correctly/safely. Of course that's ONLY if I mess up and get air in the system. Good luck.

 

[EricV]

It's not that big a deal. How does the brake lever feel? You're not going to damage anything, it just may take more bleeding to get the air out. If the lever feels firm, go for a ride. If it still feels firm, forget about it.

That air is naturally going to flow where the bleed path was. If a pocket gets trapped in the line, at a junction or the ABS block, you're going to notice a difference in the braking feel. If it feels bad, re-bleed and follow the directions to cycle the ABS pump. I copied this from someone else's post a while back and put it in a document on my computer so I could find it later. Here you go:

Super Tenere - Cycle the ABS pump when doing brake bleeding to flush the ABS valve block.

Which color wires do you jump with the paperclip? Light Blue & Black


Process:
Summarized:
Up on Center stand.
Make sure the side stand kill switch works.
Leave it in gear.
Make sure your battery is well charged.
Install the test adapter (Jump top two wires, Light Blue and Black) on the ABS test plug under the seat.
Confirm the side stand is down.
Ignition key ON (I waited for fuel pump to stop)
Press and hold the Starter Button for at least 4 seconds (doesn't start since it is in gear and sidestand is down)
Release the starter button.
After releasing the starter button, pull the front brake lever and press the rear brake pedal simultaneously and continue to hold both.
The front lever should pulsate for a few seconds, then the rear pedal will pulsate a few seconds, and then the front will pulsate again.
Release the brakes, ignition off, put it in neutral, remove the test adapter, etc....

 

[Pterodactyl]

Try letting the bike sit for a day with the front brake lever held tightly against the handlebars with tape or some other method. This may allow the air to escape, depending on how far into the system it has gotten.

 

[AndrewA]

Thanks, guys! So - here's what I did...
1. Left the reservoir cap off (but covered) and clamped the lever down for a couple hrs., during which time I went to buy more DOT4.
2. Did the rear brake. Man! It was a.) low, b.) FILTHY, and c.) bubbly! In short, badly needed it.
3. Did the clutch fluid - also filthy brown as hell.
4. Re-did BOTH fronts - and did not see any errant bubbles.

Pumped the lever slowly with the cap off, and didn't see any micro-bubbles come up through the pinhole. Capped it up, and pumped up the system. It got super solid in fairly short order, and felt like it should - nothing hinkey.

I did not ride it yet - just had too much other stuff going on this evening - so I didn't cycle the ABS pump & re-bleed, which I guess is the next step. Gonna take her out tomorrow (bank holiday!!! ::001:: ). Assuming all goes well, I'll do the final part tomorrow evening (if I'm feeling ambitious).

Thanks a ton for your replies! Will post an update tomorrow - hopefully not in the faceplant thread!

Andrew

 

[2daMax]

Do cycle the abs pump n valves. There is some oil fluid stuck in the valves n only actuating them will remove them. Re bleed another time and u get a fully clean lines.

 

[AndrewA]

OK - good weather and a bank holiday = 250 miles or so up around the NC mountains. Brakes were SOLID the entire way... Which just proves....
::021::

I will do the ABS cycle thing and get any remaining gunk out of there. Thanks to everyone for the replies and advice!!

Andrew