possibly fatal technical issue (brake fluid)

[wrightme43]

No I disagree. Moisture, road grime, and brake dust does get past the seals. I have done a insanely large number of brake jobs, with fluid changes. However I will go now and find data to back up my statements.

[wrightme43]

Nope you know what. I'm not going to. If you would like to ride like that have at it. I know whats right, what works, and why. I am not going to spend my time arguing about it.

[lonesoldier84]

ok. i have functional front brakes. i took the bike around the crescent i live in and up and down non trafficed roads braking from increasingly higher speeds. rear brakes seem VERRRRRRY weak though as compared to before. the rear tire wont even skid if i stand on the rear brake.

i am taking the bike in anyway to the dealership in a day or two to install a handful of lighting mods (if they have an opening and if they dont then within the week anyway). ill have them look at everything from my brake pads to fluids to a handful of other question marks ive had about the bikes functionality.

in the meantime i wont be riding as my brakes have been called into question.

thanks to everyone that replied. ALL of it was extremely helpful for things to be aware of either right now or down the road and this is a very important area i was unsure of beforehand.

THANKS TO ALL!!!

[lonesoldier84]

p.s. front brake does seem to be weaker though. either way, ill be extremely gentle on the way to the dealership and its a pretty non-hazardous route there no intersections or anything really except for two...but you have ample opportunity to engine brake way before hand if worst case scenario and no-brakes!

[wrightme43]

Hey man, do you have tools? Like say a 1/4" rachet, and some deepwell metric sockets. I will be more than glad to walk you thru, (most anyone here would be) a brake inspection and fluid change. Its amazingly easy. Bikes really are pretty simple critters.

[sportrider]

you can look at your brake pads they have a wear indicator on them. but if you're having a noticable drop in your brake performance a fluid change is a good idea.

if it was already posted I missed it but, how many miles are on your bike?

[VEGASRIDER]

Originally Posted by wrightme43

Hey man, do you have tools? Like say a 1/4" rachet, and some deepwell metric sockets. I will be more than glad to walk you thru, (most anyone here would be) a brake inspection and fluid change. Its amazingly easy. Bikes really are pretty simple critters.

Hey Steve, it seems you are very knowledgeable in this area than the average person as well as having the confidence to change the fluids. How bout creating a "How to" thread on changing the brake fluids?

[lonesoldier84]

I bought it at 3,999km

she now has just over 9,950 km.

For maintenance i had done nothing brake related although twice during this phase i had the bike in a shop and they checked brakes one of the times while it was there that was closer to the 8,000km mark though when they did that.

i based the fact I had no brake fluid on the fact that i could not see the fluid. I am VERY confident that it used to be yellow. Did it change colour?!? I cant see it with a flashlight right now but thats cuz theres lots of reflection when i hold it close. when i hold it further I am not sure if it is a clear liquid or if it is empty. I have not opened anything to check.

And as for checking the brakes and such myself. I will be doing that tomorrow if you say it is not in fact that difficult. I have purchased a magical amazing book written wonderfully with tons of very helpful pictures. It is about moto-maintenance and such. Also ive got the yamaha manual for the 2006 fz6. Armed with all of this I will surely succeed. If I have any questions, do not fear I will not hesitate to post (as I am a spam-bot anyway why stop now?!? mwahaha )

thanks again all. this forum never ceases to amaze me with how wonderful it is. and i dont just mean for getting info. It is just amazing. I am on a handful of other very large forums. and they all get blown away by this one to the point i rarely visit the others anymore.

[wrightme43]

Ok you dont have a centerstand.

You will need a garbage bag. cut the bottom open and put it around your handle bar under the resivoir with tape. Brake fluid is caustic to paint. Wipe the resivoir off with a paper towel wet with windex or just dry. Its got to be clean around there.

Get a quality screwdriver phillips that fits tight. Not a old junky one, and nice one. Loosen the two screws and remove the metal plate. Wipe it clean. and set it on a clean rag or towel. Remove the rubber boot and see how much fluid you have.

Assembley is the opposite of removal. Dont strip the screws or jam them to tight just tight is right.

[lonesoldier84]

i edited my last post and added some stuff to it (after the red)

but i will use your mini-guide there before the others and use them to supplement that bit you just posted.

thanks guv'nah!!