Gl1100 Front brake bleeding tip

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derrick woods

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Gl1000
So after rebuilding front calipers and putting new master cylinder on I tried everything to bleed the front bakes I've never had or seen a set of brakes this hard to purge .1st I gravity bleed didn't work 2nd I did the ol fashioned pump and release method didn't work, tried lifting front caliper to were bleeders were pointed straight up to alow air to escape didn't work lol . So I thought it's gotta be the brake lines bought stainless steel braided coated lines had them made up 120 bucks at Napa put them on did all the same methods as mentioned before nothing worked at this point I was mad and thought I had a bad master cylinder. So I tried something new while pumping the lever I took a small ball peen hammer and tapped the tee fitting at steering neck and opened bleeder,
IMG_20231204_191720868.jpg
then moved to the calipers I tapped the calipers with the handle end while pumping lever and releasing the bleeder
IMG_20231204_191710774.jpg
wow it worked finally have brakes. I've been working on bikes professionally for a long time and I have to say these are the hardest brakes I've ever had to purge air from
IMG_20231204_191720868.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sorry you had to go through all of that. Yes, the 1100 calipers can be a pain to bleed due to the air pocket below the bleeder screw and the angle of the caliper. The easiest way to bleed 1100 calipers (front or rear) is to push the piston all the way in, clamp it (both for front) in place, tilt the caliper up and then bleed. It is very important to keep the master cylinder near full the whole time. I have pulled 1100 calipers, brake lines and master cylinders and this method works every time.
 
Two things I've noticed while swearing at the new master cylinder...
1. Sometimes I have to remove the line to the MC and put my thumb over the outlet to prime the master cylinder.
2. I use the compressor from an air conditioner or refrigerator as a vaccuum pump attached to the bleeder with a separation tank (think mightyvac on steroids). The bleeder needs to be wrapped in teflon tape to prevent leaky threads.
And number 3 is to clamp the brake handle down with a strap to let excess air bleed back up through the return port over night. Works every time to get the last bits out.
 
mcgovern61 said:
Sorry you had to go through all of that. Yes, the 1100 calipers can be a pain to bleed due to the air pocket below the bleeder screw and the angle of the caliper. The easiest way to bleed 1100 calipers (front or rear) is to push the piston all the way in, clamp it (both for front) in place, tilt the caliper up and then bleed. It is very important to keep the master cylinder near full the whole time. I have pulled 1100 calipers, brake lines and master cylinders and this method works every time.
Click to expand...
I probably should have worded differently I had pressure on the the master cylinder it was just extremely spongy
 
kerryb said:
Two things I've noticed while swearing at the new master cylinder...
1. Sometimes I have to remove the line to the MC and put my thumb over the outlet to prime the master cylinder.
2. I use the compressor from an air conditioner or refrigerator as a vaccuum pump attached to the bleeder with a separation tank (think mightyvac on steroids). The bleeder needs to be wrapped in teflon tape to prevent leaky threads.
And number 3 is to clamp the brake handle down with a strap to let excess air bleed back up through the return port over night. Works every time to get the last bits out.
Click to expand...
Yeah I always strap the lever at night too still was just a painin the butt
 
mcgovern61 said:
Sorry you had to go through all of that. Yes, the 1100 calipers can be a pain to bleed due to the air pocket below the bleeder screw and the angle of the caliper. The easiest way to bleed 1100 calipers (front or rear) is to push the piston all the way in, clamp it (both for front) in place, tilt the caliper up and then bleed. It is very important to keep the master cylinder near full the whole time. I have pulled 1100 calipers, brake lines and master cylinders and this method works every time.
Click to expand...
I also just rebuild both master cylinders, all calipers, and replaced the brake hoses on my '83 GL1100. The hand brake was still very spongy. I tried this method and there was a noticeable improvement. Thanks for the tip.
 
Roadie said:
I also just rebuild both master cylinders, all calipers, and replaced the brake hoses on my '83 GL1100. The hand brake was still very spongy. I tried this method and there was a noticeable improvement. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
You are welcome! WAIT.....you are the master guru here! I could not have rebuilt two sets of 1100 carbs (with no issues on start-up) without your tutorial. I bow down to you sir!
 
I think you may have me confused with someone else. Although I did rely on my early years wrenching on British cars with multiple side draft carbs to reseal and synch the carbs on my GL1100. It runs like a champ.
 
Pretty impressive tutorial. That's what makes forums like this so valuable for us more "mature" people and our mature Goldwings.
 
kerryb said:
Yup, brakes are my least favorite job due to the fluid ending up everywhere it shouldn't be!
Click to expand...
I changed everything to DOT 5.0 Silicon based fluid years ago - partly for that reason. It actually makes a good concrete driveway sealer LOL. Other reason was just life expectancy of the fluid as it is hydro phobic
 
Well I understand everything that has been said about how hard bleeding the GL1100 front brakes are. I am fighting this issue now with the project I am working on now. It had sat so long that I had to replace the master cylinder, hoses and rebuild the calipers. I have some brake if you pull the handle as you can not move the wheel but it is so soft you can pull it to the grips if you tried. So guess what I get to redo today. Wish me a pile of luck. JohnB
 
John, you have to get the air out, that is why the brakes are soft. Clamping both of the calipers into the fully closed position is the first place to start. Follow the instructions above and I assure you the brakes will tighten up. Tilting the caliper up to be sure the bleed screw is facing straight up is an absolute requirement or you will never get the air out. I have been through the whole process of replacing the master and brakes lines with no issue getting the air out and I did not have a vacuum bleeder.
 
JohnB1953 said:
Well I understand everything that has been said about how hard bleeding the GL1100 front brakes are. I am fighting this issue now with the project I am working on now. It had sat so long that I had to replace the master cylinder, hoses and rebuild the calipers. I have some brake if you pull the handle as you can not move the wheel but it is so soft you can pull it to the grips if you tried. So guess what I get to redo today. Wish me a pile of luck. JohnB
Click to expand...
Good luck they can be pretty resistant to improvement but with patience you will make it
 
Well, another frustrating day with no positive results. I have decided that after taking the system apart and testing each caliper directly connected to master cylinder and trying to bleed and nothing changed,
IMG_1212.JPG
I feel that I got a faulty master cylinder. Because with all the bleeding I did there was no way any air could have been left and the handle feeling never changed during the entire process never got firm.
 
JohnB1953 said:
Well, another frustrating day with no positive results. I have decided that after taking the system apart and testing each caliper directly connected to master cylinder and trying to bleed and nothing changed,View attachment 50260 I feel that I got a faulty master cylinder. Because with all the bleeding I did there was no way any air could have been left and the handle feeling never changed during the entire process never got firm.
Click to expand...
You need to try bleeding the master cylinder by itself with nothing connected to it get a bleeder kit and attach one of the clear lines to the master cylinder and put the loose end down in the reservoir make sure fill reservoir up and keep end of line below fluid level and pump away sounds like the reservoir needs a goodd bench bleeding. Did you rebuild master cylinder?
 
No I rebuilt the calipers but the master and lines are new. I contacted the company an they admitted that they have had issues with some of them. Waiting to see what they come up with I may try to isolate the master today and see if that builds pressure but I don't hold out much hope just by the way it feels
 
JohnB1953 said:
No I rebuilt the calipers but the master and lines are new. I contacted the company an they admitted that they have had issues with some of them. Waiting to see what they come up with I may try to isolate the master today and see if that builds pressure but I don't hold out much hope just by the way it feels
Click to expand...
I have an aftermarket master cylinder that is bad, I didn't buy it so I don't know where it came from. I got it on a bike that was given to me. By what I can see in your pic it looks like that.
 

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