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Spongy front brakes

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BossMan

Member
Brought in my wifes 2010 Heritage for its 1000 mile check up. The front brakes would go all the way to the hand grip, real spongy. HD Tech bled air out of the lines & top off the reservoir. All seemed ok. Next morning, i checked the brakes, same issue, all the way to the grip. Pumped them a few times & they got better, but still not perfect. Wait a while & they seem to loose prime. No visible leaks. I will bring it back in to HD when I get home in 2 weeks. Anyone else have this problem? :(
 
Something does not seem right if you have that much travel. I have ABS on my 08 but never had that issue. When we went over the mountains out west the brakes get a little spondy but I don't get full travel on the lever.
 
I have the exact same symptoms and I took don't know what the problem is. I have bleed the brakes numerous times, flushed the whole system, and did a reverse bleed. The only thing I can think of is the previous owner put DOT 5.1 in the resevoir rather than DOT 5. From what I have read this turns the fluid into a mushy gel. If this is the case that means I would have to replace the whole brake system. Good thing your 2010 has a warrenty!
 
This might sound far fetched for a brand new bike but everythings made in China now and Ive had something like this happen on my truck.

Take a close look at the rubber lines going to the calipers.Could be one of those lines is colapsing when the brakes are applied.You wont notice it walking around the bike as they return to there natural state when not under duress.
 
I will be bringing it back in when I get home in a couple of weeks. I will let ya'll know what they have to say.
 
During some time of boredom, and for a first time, I read the directions on the bottle of Dot 4 brake fluid I use in my 08 FB.

It states: Discard unused portion one week after opening. That was a suprise as I have used brake fluids from containers, who knows how old!!
But with new technology (sic) could these new fluids really be bad after 8 days?
As mentioned the mixing of different fluids will be a problem.
Good luck.
 
Actually brake fluid has an excellent life...unfortunately the plastic bottles it comes in allows air to get in. So even if you store in tightly sealed container, after a year, I would toss it.

The old time tin containers could be tightly sealed properly. Sometimes new tech is not so great...ever hear of "home canning" using plastic containers?...those bottles are on step above Tupperw...you know!
 
It seems there are a lot of bad master cylinders out there bet there all made in China:s
 
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