That's a great story-- and I'm glad the video helped out!

Just what I want to hear, that's great!

Stealers charge that much, but honest dealers charge only $180 to bleed your brakes on a BMW GS or RT, I know, cause sometimes I just don't have the time and let the dealer make some money.

Thank you!

Interesting tip. I should also have mentioned that finding the right size tubing is important. I like to have a pretty tight fit, but lately it's been tough to find options.

I've done more brake bleeding using that method than I care to remember. When the tubing seals against the nipple it should bleed without drawing in much air. Sure, some air can get past the threads too, but generally you only have to crack the bleeder slightly. In this case maybe there was a little more resistance in the hydraulic system and maybe the bleeder was looser than is typical, so air was leaking in by the tubing, threads or both. Ultimately it doesn't matter as long as you close off the bleeder before air can get back into the caliper.

You may be describing a marginal or failed seal in the master cylinder. When the seals are on the way out (or when there is excessive dirt causing a bad seal) you can often pump the lever or pedal and get a firm brake. Then it will slowly fade. Or, if you pull hard it may seal, but pull normally it may not. The seals can get worn or torn, the bore can get out of round or dirty. That said, you could also still just have air in the master cylinder. Despite your efforts, it's sometimes tricky to get it all out of that area. Some of the RTs have a bleeder valve right at the master cylinder. If you do, you might try sending some clean fluid through that bleeder to clean it out and get any remaining air. Try experimenting with how you pull the lever and see if you can discern a difference. If it is the seals, I'm not actually sure if you can purchase them from BMW or if you have to source a new master.

The point of flushing the ABS pump is not because there is a huge amount of fluid in there, but that you want to make sure it continues to function and doesn't seize up over time. Since we don't normally use ABS braking very often, it may sit unused. So, yes, you can skip the ABS pump cycling and the world won't end. You'll still get a benefit from pushing out the older fluid in the calipers, which is where the heat and other issues can occur.

Speed bleeders are great, but I do have trouble locating them locally.

I'm not sure I follow your description, but you don't need to start with fluid in the cup to bleed the brakes. When you connect a tube to the bleed screw and use the pump to create vacuum in the container, the brake fluid will come to the container after you open the screw. The fluid will drop down into the container rather than be drawn into the hand pump.

The clutch fluid is mineral oil and should not need changing unless there is a problem. One thing to make sure you understand is that the clutch fluid RISES in the reservoir as the clutch wears. So, you may need to actually remove some fluid over time. If the reservoir is overfilled it can lead to clutch problems.

@@tinderboxarts , thanks. Never heard about rising level. From now on I will watch the level of fluid more carefully.

To get fresh fluid into the ABS pump, you'll want to first bleed the system to clear the master cylinders and the lines of old fluid. Then activate the pump with your scanner or computer, then continue to bleed to clear out what the ABS pump exchanged.

@@tinderboxarts Thank you for kind reply. As far as I know my bike (R nineT) has an ABS module that is linked both front and rear brakes. So what I need to do is bleeding front and rear brakes completely, and then I activate the ABS pump with my scanner, and then bleed the complete system again. Is this right?

Right. In other words, you are going to clear the system first, then cycle the pump to refresh any fluid in the pump, then clear the whole system again to remove whatever came out of the pump. Is this overkill? Yes, probably. You might also choose to just flush the system and then cycle the pump without a second bleed. There is very little fluid in the pump.

I don't know that error code, but I suspect your issue is within the ABS pump itself, or else air in the lines. I think the pump has pressure sensors contained within the unit. You may be able to find real time live data on those pressures using your GS911 unit. It's possible that the sensor or the wiring to the sensor is faulty, or it's possible you have a problem such as air in the lines or the pump. I would bleed one more time, and use the GS911 functions to cycle the ABS pump. If the problem remains, you may need to take a look at the ABS pump and pressure sensors, as well as the wiring to them.

@@tinderboxarts First of all thanks for answering. OK, I'll follow your advice, of course the complexity and sensitivity of this combined braking system and ABS is undeniable. Thanks again.

This is a 2012 RT. The GS 911 will allow you to cycle the ABS pump to remove virtually all of the fluid from the system, but it isn't strictly necessary. The small amount of fluid in the pump will work it's way out in time, and that will get changed as you flush the overall fluid.

@@tinderboxarts thank you 😊

When you say "nothing is coming out" do you mean nothing at all? If so, the answer is about your master cylinder and reservoir. When you drain ALL of the fluid from the system you also drain your master cylinder and reservoir. Have you ever opened a new hand-pump spray bottle of cleaner and despite pumping the handle, no cleaner comes out for several minutes? This is the same problem. The master cylinder needs to be primed in order for the valve in there to work at all. One trick is to hold the brake down or the handle in for an extended period after filling the reservoir. This can allow gravity to help you fill the master cylinder chamber and get some of the air out because it pushes the piston in to allow fluid to drain from the reservoir. . Once you have a "prime" you should be able to pump fluid through. However, I prefer to just use a vacuum pump and basically suck the fluid from the reservoir through the master cylinder and the rest of the system. Once you create a vacuum with the pump down by the caliper (through the bleeder) you can squeeze the brake a little to allow the fluid to get started from the reservoir. If you don't have a vacuum bleeder you can get one at any auto parts store or at Harbor Freight. They aren't expensive.

@@tinderboxarts First off, thank you for the prompt response. I just begun bleeding the rear ABS line on my R1150RT, after replacing all the brake lines and draining all the fluid from master cylinders and all reservoirs. The rear ABS reservoir is lower than the ABS nipples. I was trying to use the vacuum pump but it probably did not have ample vacuum to pull the brake fluid up. The "gravity method" wouldn't work, since the fluid needs to pulled up. I tried to pump the brake pedal while pumping vacuum, but the pedal felt no resistance at all and despite the vacuum, nothing appeared to come out. Two questions for you: 1. What is "hand-pump spray bottle" you mentioned. I do have a manual vacuum pump for brake bleeding. 2. Should I try to fill the fluid from the top ABS nipple using gravity?

Sorry, I got busy and didn't have time to get back to you sooner. So, I was referring to a vacuum hand pump, that's all. Just like you see in the video with the cup to catch the fluid. The master cylinder has a piston with flexible seals. The seals push against the cylinder walls to allow the hydraulic pressure to occur. But, if the master cylinder is dry, then the air will just compress with a pedal push and nothing will happen. When you fill the reservoir, that fluid should be drawn through the whole circuit by the vacuum hand pump connected at the caliper bleeder. However, with a totally dry system it can take some effort. What I was suggesting is to hook up the vacuum pump at the caliper, open the bleeder, and try to keep that vacuum pressure up. You'll probably have to keep squeezing the vacuum pump handle. At the same time, push the brake pedal (for the rear) slightly downward to see if that helps fluid from the reservoir make it through. If you can keep the vacuum going it should pull the fluid through. Gravity feed can sometimes work overnight, and you might need to tie the brake pedal down. I just find that method too time consuming. Some BMW master cylinders for the front brakes have a bleeder right at the master cylinder, which is hugely helpful. But I don't think that's available for the rear. It is also possible to push fluid up from the caliper to the reservoir, but that requires a means to pump under positive pressure. When you purchase a new master cylinder for a car, there is a bench-priming procedure to get fluid into the cylinder before you install the master. I suppose if you really got stuck you could try that, but I would hope the vacuum will eventually do the trick.

There will likely be minor differences in the way things look, but the concepts are identical. If you don't have a way to force the ABS pump to cycle, don't fret. There's a very small amount of fluid in the pump and it won't harm anything to leave it alone.

Good question. ABS brakes require a pump to automatically apply the brakes in a rapid pulse fashion when needed. That pump is part of the hydraulic system, of course. To completely flush your hydraulic system you need a scan tool of some sort to cycle that pump and flush out the fluid contained in the pump itself. However, that amount is quite small in relation the system as a whole. It's perfectly acceptable to flush your system using standard methods, even though some small amount of the old fluid will remain in the pump. As the system runs in the future, that small amount will be mixed in with the new fluid. If you do have the scan tool for your bike you can cycle the pump and get that fluid flushed too. All that said, you shouldn't NEED the scan tool to work the ABS pump unless you introduce air into the pump by draining the system completely. So, go ahead and flush your system even if you have ABS.

As you squeeze the brake lever or press the brake pedal you are sending the piston outward in it's cylinder. Without the brake pads in place you could potentially send the piston completely out of the cylinder! So, no, you should not remove the brake pads to bleed brakes. Even if you are using the vacuum or gravity methods there would be no point to it. Now, if you want to take the opportunity to remove the caliper, clean the piston seal, and work the piston back and forth to make sure it moves freely, that's fine. But, then you would replace everything, including the pads, and bleed as I showed in the video. Or, you could leave the caliper off, insert a block of wood to prevent the piston from coming out, and then bleed the system with the caliper off of it's mount. Either way, there is no reason to have the pads removed while you bleed unless you happen to be doing this other work at the same time.

Yeah, I know, I'm using the words loosely. There is a reservoir and there is the master cylinder itself. On many vehicles this is an integrated unit so I'm just used to referring to it that way.