How To Bleed Your Motorcycle Brakes | MC Garage

Replacing your brake fluid and bleeding the system of air bubbles is regular maintenance that your owner’s manual will likely suggest doing every two years. Brake fluid needs to be replaced because it degrades with use. Water gets absorbed out of the air and reduces the boiling point, and air bubbles can sneak past the seals and make the lever spongy. Replacing the fluid solves both of those issues. Here’s how ya do it.
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Replacing your brake fluid and bleeding the system of air bubbles is regular maintenance that your owner’s manual will likely suggest doing once every two years. Brake fluid needs to be replaced because it degrades with use-water gets absorbed out of the air and reduces the boiling point, and air bubbles can sneak past the seals and make the lever spongy. Replacing the fluid solves both of those issues, and we walk you through the entire process in how to bleed your motorcycle brakes tutorial from MC Garage.
Remove The Cap And Diaphragm
Before you start removing bolts and flushing fluid, take a second to wipe down your brake reservoir, calipers, and brake lines with a clean rag. This will ensure that you aren’t contaminating your pads or getting dirty fingerprints all over your bike. When everything is wiped down, go ahead and turn the handlebar so the fluid within the reservoir is level. Then carefully remove the cap and diaphragm and set both aside on a clean towel, taking note of the condition of the diaphragm. If it is worn, cracked, or torn order a replacement.
Prepare The Bleed Nipple On The Caliper
Pump the brake lever to pressurize the system and-with the lever still pulled in-crack the bleeder screw just loose enough to allow the pressurized fluid to escape. Allow the lever to come almost back to the bar then close the bleeder bolt. Don’t release the lever until you’ve closed the bleeder bolt. Keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir as you repeat this step.
Top Up The Reservoir As Needed
Repeat the previous step until the brake fluid reservoir is almost empty. Refill it with new brake fluid until fresh, clear fluid is seen in the hose; it could take dozens of tries so be patient. Do not let the reservoir go empty if you do allow it to run dry it will introduce air into the master cylinder and the bleeding process will take a lot longer.
Finally, tighten the bleeder bolt, remove the hose, fill the reservoir to the proper level, reinstall the diaphragm and cap, and you’re done. Brake fluid does nasty things to paint, so make sure to wipe up any spills with a damp rag. Before you set out on for a transcontinental adventure, take the bike out around the block, testing the brakes and lever feel. If the lever feels spongy, you introduced air bubbles into the line and need to start over.
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[@tom24gr46]

Additional tip: place the bleeder bottle above the bleeder valve so air more easily migrates out of the lines. Keeping the bottle below the valve defeats that.

[@DaBawski]

it literally doesn't matter...

[@dimitarvokata4412]

That's how all tutorials shoud be. Only the important info, simple and well explaned!

[@A6Legit]

Yeah, I just wish I didn't have to watch ads for the 50 times I come back to check a step in these tutorials lol

[@LonelyHeat]

Yes but very hard to do any big fix’s

[@jarminben]

Just a tip for easy flow from the brake fluid bottle. do not remove the foil top under the cap when you first open the container just pierce with a pen or phillips head at 6 full size hole and 12 o'clock smaller air hole to slow the rate it comes out at to reduce the chance of a big spill.

[@ChasingContours]

Good suggestion

[@cfltitan]

Another great little tip that I learned several years back to get those last very few stubborn bubbles out is to zip tie your brake lever back and leave it set overnight. All the little fine bubbles left in the system will float up (air always rises) and pop into the fluid reservoir leaving your lines completely air free! It works great!

[@jourdan2047]

Do you know what you would do if the reservoir is completely empty ?

[@xthesketcher610]

@@jourdan2047 same. Im wondering this too

[@xthesketcher610]

@@jourdan2047 I think just add the fluid, thats it.

[@x-man5056]

It doesn't work that way. Only with the brake handle or foot pedal all the way out (not compressed), is the passage for air open to the reservoir. As you first start to compress the fluid, the passage is closed in the master cyl.

[@dabbinghitlersmemes1762]

Do not substitute duct-tape! I did this but I left it twisting the throttle, it stretched the throttle-cable and I spent my next few communtes trying different adjustments to get it back working right.

[@oscarleon3008]

I can't get enough of MC garage videos. I had to rebuild my forks recently, and your tutorial saved me a LOT of money. Please keep up the great work!

[@carnafillian113]

Same! I just rebuilt my forks last week with the help of their vid!

[@SyedObaidullah555]

same here Ari !

[@carnafillian113]

Fork seals went bad. And by that I mean I dropped a wheelie really hard and they started leaking haha. Only one was leaking--there was fork oil slowly coming out of the top of the seal and getting all over the silver part of the fork (I have standard, non-inverted forks on my F4i). Only one seal was bad, the other fork was fine, but after a few days my bike was sitting noticeably lower, my front suspension was super soft, and i could bottom out the bike just by jumping up and down on it. Rebuilding just refers to taking something apart and replacing components. In my case i rebuilt them because something was broken, but some people will rebuild their forks every year or two (or more often) simply to give everything a good clean and replace the fork oil.

[@autosneed6738]

Great Tutorial indeed

[@tmulpagano]

If you're using a one way valve, the crack and the close aren't required, just be sure to keep the reservoir topped off to avoid sucking air into the system. The check valve will keep the old fluid and any purged air bubbles from getting sucked back in...if you're gonna pay for the convenience of the valve, then use it!

[@strictlyJDM]

Another Tip - siphon out old brake fluid before you pour new brake fluid into the master cylinder. That way you don't mix older/newer and its obvious when you get the new fluid coming out on the caliper end.

[@keyworksales6241]

Just do the job right and flush the whole system.

[@donziperk]

Tony he was just pointing out its a good idea to clean out the reservoir before starting. Why pump a whole reservoir of dirty fluid through the brake system.

[@alangriff1]

Yes I agree...I don't get mixing new with old. You could suck the old fluid out with a syringe and then add the new fluid.

[@arnab_d9]

That's the point i was wondering

[@pikapikacool]

@@alangriff1 you can get the old oil out using syringe, but not the one in the brake hose, and it's not a good idea to bleed it without adding new oil first, as it will add air to the hose.. so you need to add new oil anyway in the reservoir while bleeding the brake hose..

[@PANTYEATR1]

I fill my bottle with a small portion of old brake fluid and let the end of the tube submerge in it. that way no air can get back in the tube once it comes out. you will also see the air bubbles leaving the system better. another trick I read (but I don't know how good it works) is to zip tie the brake lever to the handle overnight. that's supposed to let any air rise to the top of the reservoir through the system.

[@offroadoverlords]

Chiming in 5 years later for passers by, the zip tie works wonders on stubborn lines where you can't quite get the last bit of air out of the master cylinder bore area. ziptie the lever, leave the master cylinder cap on but loose so that air can escape. I've had it take up to 48 hours before, but usually overnight does the trick.

[@hay829]

By far most helpful video I’ve found. I’m going to bleed my motorcycle for the first time, brembo calipers and master so I just wanted to make sure I got the right info. Yours was clear, loud and informative. Thank you!

[@BlockCylinder]

These videos are the best. I've been putting this job off for weeks because my manual is poorly written and it's overwhelming to keep all of the steps in order in my head. After 5 minutes with Ari I'm feeling quite confident.

[@mattcozine9630]

Great tutorial. Sweet, simple, straight to the point with no unnecessary fillers. Thanks Mc garage. Couldn't have done it without you guys.

[@FunWithAJ]

Ari this is legit the best most accurate how-to you guys have made to date. I signed up for a $40 course to learn this in SoCal like 8 months ago and they taught us the same thing verbatim.

[@mariobondanza5149]

For bikes with ABS, after doing the regular bleeding, you can ride the bike in a safe place (parking lot or similar) and force the ABS to activate doing some really nasty brakings (be careful, since most of the times parking lots are full of nasty gravel: brake ONLY when the bike is perfectly vertical). This way, part of the fluid trapped into the ABS module is mixed with the fluid in the circuit and you can then proceed performing a new bleeding cycle. Clearly, as you smartly said, Hary, the quantity of fluid trapped in the ABS module is negligible: this is something more for meticolous riders, but it makes no really significant improvements on the brakes' efficiency.

[@fk3321]

Great video again! I used to do this before I bought a MightyVac, zip tie the lever and vacuum out the fluid as u refill the reservoir. It's worth the money.

[@kanthmclaren]

You people are the best guys...no one can put up a video this small yet with full details....

[@dannybeard2861]

Ari, Just wanted to say thanks for the video. Just finished changing my brake fluid using the tube in the bottle trick. Works well. Thanks!

[@redshiftit8303]

Greatest motorcycle channel on KZbin! Love your work guys, keep it up!

[@theranpan_]

I knew it still watched it. There is something about you Ari. Love watching MCGarage! #dontbejealouszach

[@funkymonkeylovin]

RanPan #bromance

[@MrNipperz]

Got to do my brakes this fall. My Honda is still on the same pads after 18k.Even though they aint on the wear bars i think the material actually degrades with time. Caliper clean, flush and new pads all at the same time! She's gonna love it !

[@MrNeilg71]

Great teacher! Thanks Ari - that's all I need as I change my VFR brake & clutch fluid for the first time.

[@hikerrobot]

Great video. I've not bled brakes for a few years, so this was very helpful. Also the comment at the end about ABS was informative too. Cheers

[@Andieelizabeth73]

Cheers dude, just replaced rear hose on the R1 with a new braided one, your video really helped bleeding it through, never done it before, Thanks for the vid :)

[@_d_h_]

I'm starting my motorbike training and these videos are so on point. Easy to understand, no bullshit. Thanks from Germany!

[@chasezas]

I've been watching these videos for a long time. They're all amazing! Thank you so much for putting them all together - they're an amazing reference.

[@shemsuhor8763]

Thanks guys, this was a great, quick, to the point little tutorial. Much appreciated!

[@ghendricks001]

ANOTHER BRILLIANT MC GARAGE VIDEO ! These folk really know there stuff and know how to impart there knowledge to the audience. More videos please...gerhard from Australia.

[@taterlysaladman9377]

Yep only 23 folks so far have worse problems after following the video. Probably because several ways that cause air to be in the lines were not properly explained.

[@fhhfgj]

another great video thanks Ari! I'm learning so much from these five minute videos you guys are the best

[@frankpeutz9106]

Thanks Ari, really love your MCgarage video's. Would love a little more detail sometimes and do/don'ts (wouldn't mind a 10 minute video). Keep up the good works! Frank (Netherlands) ... have been reading Motorcyclist since 1978 - you remind me a little of Art Friedman 👍

[@leighton2202]

Thank you thank you thank you! I had to change the hose and couldnt for the life of me work out why it wasn't bleeding properly. The "pump, open, close, repeat" was what I was missing. Kind of obvious now but thank you!!!

[@myuseek]

Your video tutorials are a very big help to me. Please do keep it up!

[@MonsieurClaville]

Great content as always! Keep up the good work guys💪🏻

[@MrGzwx]

Fantastic! Short, simple but still covered all the important points!

[@Lawbooks2050]

This is by far one of the best tutorials.

[@SouperAsH]

This dude knows how to select a good knife. With that comment out of the way, the rest of the content in the video is cut, dry, defined, and precise. This is what every tutorial vid should be.

[@yigi4593]

great vid i knew i need to do it soon cuz its been 2 years already and if you ride/break fast its important.

[@recpro7847]

Great job. Careful on some rear calipers folks since some have the bleed nipple on the bottom. This means the caliper has to be removed, a wrench or something in between the the pads to act as the rotor, then make sure the nipple is turned to the highest point, then bleed as described.

[@chronograph83]

I love these instructional videos! You do a great job of teaching maintenance skills that help us keep our kickstands up and keep us more in touch with the experience of owning and maintaining our bikes. Thank you and keep up the great work!

[@NederlandGuy]

Very helpful! Simple, to the point and concise. Well done.

[@danielwood7550]

Always look forward to your new videos keep up the good work fellas

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

This guy Ari is a badass! Tremendous clarity, succinctness, and logical thought flow. Don't mess with a smart guy with guns like those!

[@taterlysaladman9377]

Hi Ari's mom.

[@briarfox637]

I’m about to change my lines to steel lines and add some levers. Thanks for your vid.

[@carswithsonduren]

One of the best motorcycle channels on KZbin

[@RobertPalmer13]

Great video, I definitely needed a quick refresher before setting out on my brakes today!

[@chadtabudlo5045]

Great stuff as always from MC Garage! Please make a video on repairing or finding out if the master cylinder is faulty or starting to fail.

[@END30000]

Omg I was scared ASF but thanks to this I know how to bleed my brakes !!! Successfully

[@KlipTastiC]

Great video and tutorial. How ever this did not work for me, I have checked around with many other videos explaining the same process as well. But when I checked on the forums they were saying to open the valve and then to squeeze the brake lever, and close valve while then releasing the brake lever. I have found that this option has worked very well for my bike. I have a 2007 cbr600rr. Not sure if ABS would make a difference or not but mine does not have ABS brakes

[@michaelmurata]

These videos are incredibly helpful!

[@sti4lif]

Great informative video.👍👍

[@Peter-976]

Good video but I`ll take the 2' hose at $1.00 vs the $30.00 thingamajig.

[@yeh.80]

I didn't even use a hose, so much crazy gadjects now a days

[@taterlysaladman9377]

@@TheJoesenOne93 I just bought a one way check valve for $31. Thanks!

[@gadilending2200]

I used a urine catheter bag, fits great, no mess

[@chriscs9080]

@@gadilending2200 me2.. fits exactly haha for less than a dollar !

[@Xiph1980]

Loving your instructional videos! They are clear and concise! Just watched a lot of them, including this one, caliper mounting style, and the brake pads one. A thing though maybe for a future video: what's the actual difference between fixed, floating, and fully floating rotors?

[@AAA-bh3zw]

Doing it right away! Thanks for the concise explanation

[@danielmcgrath9369]

Love you many how to vids,great work mate.Friends and I give you 10+ outta 10..

[@InsectSpray]

You guys are seriously the best. Love all your videos. Coming from Melbourne, Australia! I especially liked your Great Ocean Road video :D

[@mrthomas394]

Very clued up these guys and always give clear easy to follow instructions. Great video

[@taterlysaladman9377]

While leaving out just a few critical items.

[@kopan14]

great as always looking forward to more tips from MC garage !

[@TheFireblade1000RR]

Rode one of those bikes yesterday, very impressive...

[@PapodeArmas]

I just did this job along with the clutch fluid ( 2006 cbr100rr has a hydraulic clutch) and now i got a killer deal for steel braided lines so i guess ill be replacing fluid again but i actually enjoy doing this job so hell yeah lol

[@Speedytrip]

great tutorial as always.

[@troywalsh3119]

Sweet, simple, and direct. I love MC garage presentation.

[@taterlysaladman9377]

No details. Just like someone that has no idea what he is doing!

[@saltzisch3182]

you guys need to upload more frequently. Any type of videos you guys upload makes my day! or very informative! Thanks

[@saltzisch3182]

Ari Henning thanks ari! :)

[@luiscaceres983]

Thank you,very informative and simple!!!!!

[@freeman3061]

You guys rock!!!

[@RRRRefuelRideRace]

Great. Very well explained.

[@korpacz9912]

another awesome video. keep up the good work!

[@kbearpro]

Some really great advice on brake bleeding. One thing I like to do first is remove the old brake fluid from the reservoir, clean out any dark or dirty residue from the reservoir put new fluid in then start draining the brake lines. This way I don't need to keep replacing the fluid in the reservoir so much. In effect I'm flushing the old fluid out of the brake lines and backing it up with new fluid much faster. Remove the fluid with a syringe or a good turkey baster, making very sure you do NOT get any fluid on your machine.

[@robmitchell716]

I've often wondered about bleeding ABS, now i know. Thanks. 😁

[@donziperk]

Great Videos watch them all. Respectfully like to add that you should start bleeding the brakes at the bleed fitting farthest from the brake leaver based on the brake line distance away from the the leaver.

[@marcoscaetano398]

Great tutorial and well explained as well...cheers bro

[@thommykent7785]

Great idea on cutting a cross in the bleed bottle for holding the hose. It always pops out of the top!

[@sandrayamiedertrap3700]

very helpful i did know how to bleed my breaks thank you sr

[@tylermallay1197]

thank you for making this vid will try it out tonight just threw on some new steel braided cables and didn't know how to bleed brakes haha

[@GETUPANDGO]

Great timing, was thinking about doing this to a couple of my bikes soon

[@marcsteel7284]

Always a good review of how to bleed and refill brake fluid.

[@taterlysaladman9377]

Can be found elsewhere.

[@xZENxSAMURAIx]

Love the MC Garage videos.

[@taglagable]

Awesome video! Quick and concise!

[@skateborg]

Great instructional video - thanks!

[@paanfarkhan4677]

i literally have the same setup for the bottle, right down to the cross where the small tube goes in hahaha great video as always

[@mouradmodh41]

You made it so easy, thanks a lot for sharing.

[@DanioKenio1]

Great tutorial! Thanks guys!

[@ANILTV82]

Limp lever scene nice 😁

[@user-ww4ww6ne4k]

You are great!. I've learned a lot from you. Thank you so much.

[@walduc16]

Great tips Ari!

[@richardburns9772]

Great tutorial! Thanks!

[@varma_s]

Wow right when I needed it! ♡ MM

[@smartbikers4550]

After 1year Should Chage Your Braek Fluid😉

[@mrs.g2741]

All of your Videos are big help thank you

[@allisonsailsandcanvas]

reservoir bib out of paper towel=brilliant! great video!

[@Mike-vs4vs]

Very informative thank you.

[@GeordiLaForgery]

Great guide thanks

[@jakedean7340]

Thank you so much bro helped ALOT!

[@imgooley]

Also, let it be known, I'm buying Bel-Ray fluids because of you guys. Keep making stuff.

[@imgooley]

Also, speed bleeders are amazing.

[@christopherpom61]

Thax for a simple way to do the job.

[@av8dr]

Great tip on the bib. Thanks.

[@MyFavoriteLine]

Thank you for the video. It was very helpful.

[@andy42x]

He makes it look so easy. if i gave this a shot, i'd have brake fluid all over my bike and my driveway, and my brake levers would squish all the way down to the handlebar.

[@Mr.Be93]

I don't understand the 40 no likes? Every video I've watched from this channel has been helpful if not a reminder/refresher of something I already know.

[@wanfarok]

Wow i just bleed my brake couple of days ago and then this video appeared . Very nice

[@philippebleau4809]

Another excellent tutorial.

[@donmiguel0143]

Extremely great video

[@JennieDreamWeaver]

Super helpful! Thank ya!

[@danielleanderson752]

excellent video! easy to understand!