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Soft brakes and ABS

jwquinn

jwquinn

Member
I had a brake issue this weekend and was hoping I could get some feedback before I have to haul my ride off to the dealer. I have a 2012 Heritage with ABS.
I had the front caliper lose the rear bolt that holds the caliper halves together, and I had to pull the caliper off and split it. I decided to replace the pads while I had it apart. I pulled the caliper pistons out of the inner caliper half, cleaned everything out, replaced the pads, and put everything back together and bolted it all back to the bike, thread-locked and torqued to specs. So far so good.
I went to bleed the brakes and the caliper filled. I purged all the air. No leaks and everything seems to be working.
The problem is, I still have to pump up the front brakes. When I test rode the bike, the front brakes worked, but only after pumping the lever a couple of times. They are acting if there is still air in the line somewhere. I am not getting any air when I bleed them. At this point I'm thinking it's an abs issue, but damned if I'm going to the dealer until I'm out of options! :D Does anyone have any experience with this? And does anyone have an idea what it costs to have the dealer do the ABS service using the DFII? Thanks in advance!
 
Are you using a vacuum bleeder, air can be trapped somewhere inside the caliper and manual pumping may not build enough pressure to remove it. These are available at most auto parts houses for ~$20.
 
While I know little about ABS, I do know that there is a ABS manifold (in front of R. wheel?) that connects front and rear lines. Almost any disruption of fluid requires bleeding of the module, yep, by the dealer. That's just what I think I have learned from reading of other's problems.
 
Pump up the front brakes and attach a bungee cord round the lever and handle bar, let it sit for a few hours, re bleed and see what you have. With ABS you may have air in the control valve if that is the case the solenoid needs to be activated by a scanner guess where yup the dealer
 
In the self help I posted they talk about using the Digital Technician II, and it gives a part number.
 
Hey thanks everyone for all the feedback. I ended up taking it to a local mechanic who found that one of the anti-rattle clips inside the inner caliper pistons had somehow come out of the groove that holds it in place. This was causing the pad to compress slightly resulting in the need to pump the brake lever as if there was air in the line. Weird, but good to know next time I do brakes.
 
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