XmisterIS Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 My brake fluid is getting pretty yellow (presumably because it's old). When should I change it? The bike has 12500 on the clock, I don't know if it's had a brake fluid change. The brakes work fine though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 every two years or so many thousand miles check in your service book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XmisterIS Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Ah! A good ol' case of RTFM ... Why should it need changing anyway? Presumably, it's just a sealed hydraulic system, with some liquid in it, why does the liquid ever need changing at all? I'm just curious to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 it lososes its boiling point and soaks in moisture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugworth1987 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 the system resivour isnt a sealed unit it breaths much like a fuel tank or any system with liquid. with air comes moistouras the fluid absorbs water it looses it boiling point as stu said dot 4 will last upto 2 years in ideal conditions but should be changed when it starts to yellow once its brown/coffee colour it should defentaly be changed. same as clutch system if its dot 4.to save money people have converted to DOT5.1 which lasts longer under water, has a better more efficant boiling area. DOT 5.1 isnt silicon based like DOT5 so is safe to super seed DOT3/4 systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvin Kevin Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 You're supposed to change it every two years as it absorbs moisture and other contaminants from the braking system reducing the effectiveness and boiling point of the fluid. TBH if your brakes are working fne and you're not experiencing any brake fade, excessive lever travel or spongyness don't worry about it too much. However fluid is relatively cheap as you don't require much and it's easy to change too so it wouldn't hurt if you really wanted to change it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XmisterIS Posted March 3, 2009 Author Share Posted March 3, 2009 to save money people have converted to DOT5.1 which lasts longer under water, has a better more efficant boiling area. DOT 5.1 isnt silicon based like DOT5 so is safe to super seed DOT3/4 systems My brake fluid reservior on my handlebars says "DOT 4" ... can I just chuck DOT 5.1 straight into it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvin Kevin Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Don't bother with DOT 5, DOT 4 is all you need, I use competition DOT 4 fluid and it's fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 to save money people have converted to DOT5.1 which lasts longer under water, has a better more efficant boiling area. DOT 5.1 isnt silicon based like DOT5 so is safe to super seed DOT3/4 systems this is wrong 5.1 absorbs water and needs changing more often have a read here http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/brak ... types.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugworth1987 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 sorry my bad i was told 5.1 was the new thing to use and dot 5 was the wrong stuff for road use lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.