No pressure in front brakes

[TexanGSXR]

Hey guys, I just recently layed down the bike and now my front brake's wont keep a pressure. I have gravity bled both the front calipers and the master cylinder, and it will hold pressure if it is sitting in the same position, as soon as I turn the bike up and roll it a few feet the brakes pressure is almost nothing. I checked for leaks and there doesn't appear to be any leaks anywhere. I have steel braided lines from the master cylinder to the calipers... im not sure exactly what is up... If there is just a tonnn of air in the lines and the calipers or if there is something wrong.

The bike sat for about two weeks with no fluid in the resevior, but Ive bled the brakes for about 10-15 minutes for the past two days. My buddy has a bleeding tool that pushes the fluid up the lines from the caliper that im going to use tonight but for some reason gravity bleeding isnt working.

It also seems like the calipers don't have any air cause when I bleed them they don't seem to have any air in them.

[MotoMummy]

if you don't roll it you have pressure? Make sure your rotors are not bend and pushing the caliper pistons in.

[TexanGSXR]

I ran a few tests I learned in auto school to find leaks, I threw some baby powder on all the major parts where a leak could occur and it looks like my master cylinder is leaking from a few places and also the banjo bolt connecting to the master cylinder is leaking.

I just looked at the rotor and yeh... its bent too. Im going to replace both those parts this Saturday probably and get it all back together and hopefully it will fix all the problems.

[Moto_Joe]

You didnt lay it down.

You crashed.

And you bent a rotor. When you roll the bike it pushes the pads back, which makes you lose brake pressure.

[1/4milecrazy]

Originally Posted by Moto_Joe

You didnt lay it down.

You crashed.

And you bent a rotor. When you roll the bike it pushes the pads back, which makes you lose brake pressure.

You beat me too it.


I wonder if he had to lay it down because he ran through some gravel?

[1/4milecrazy]

Originally Posted by TexanGSXR

I ran a few tests I learned in auto school to find leaks, I threw some baby powder on all the major parts where a leak could occur and it looks like my master cylinder is leaking from a few places and also the banjo bolt connecting to the master cylinder is leaking.

I just looked at the rotor and yeh... its bent too. Im going to replace both those parts this Saturday probably and get it all back together and hopefully it will fix all the problems.

Whoever taught you to use baby powder to find leaks is a moron.


Seeping would look like a leak using baby powder. Seepage is totally normal for certain parts. The only time you should be using baby powder to find leaks is for interior water leaks.

[TexanGSXR]

ahah damn yall are straight rippen me a new one, Before you jump to conclusions ill let you know the whole story. I layed down my bike going about 30 miles an hour because a car cut me off... I saw this ladies bumper within inches from me and grabbed the brakes but put the bike down cause I didn't want to hit the car and cost me more money, and injuries. The bike slid on one side and had hardly any damage... problem is the tires caught and flipped the bike causing most of the damage to the bike, hence the bent rotor and other damage.

On a side note, would the banjo bolts be one of those parts that seep normally?

[1/4milecrazy]

No, but stop using baby powder to find leaks.


Clean the area properly and then just hold the brake lever. If it is leaking you will see it plain as day, without the baby powder.

And, you dont crash to avoid a crash. You just crash.

We love ripping new ones around here. But hopefully steer you in the right direction by doing so.

[Moto_Joe]

You crashed. you didnt "lay it down to avoid the crash". Im sorry dude, but that is one of the biggest jokes on most any motorcycle forum on the net .

If you had time to think "I need to lay the bike down to avoid the crash" you had to time avoid a crash, especially at 30mph. And she was inches from you when you decided to lay it down to avoid hitting her, but it had room to flip and still not hit her?

come on son

And ponder this. What do you think slows down faster. Tires, with good traction, and HUGE dual brakes applied as they are designed to slow a bike down.... or plastic and aluminum sliding on pavement? If the bike didnt hit the car when you "laid her down to avoid crashing" you absolutely could have avoid her WITHOUT crashing.


Listen dude. Most of us have crashed. Ive crashed more than a dozen times in my career on a race track. It happens.

You dont have to lie to kick it . You crashed. It is ok. It doesnt make you less of a man. Learn from it and move on .


Banjos dont normally seep, but after a heavy hit it could happen and not keep seeping. Clean them up and see if it comes back.

[Moto_Joe]

PS: My original post was just about the term "layed her down" Unless you gently laid the bike on its side in your yard... you didnt lay it down. If you were moving, you crashed.

[TexanGSXR]

I understand and my feels aren't hurt to easily, I made a mistake and I am owning up to it. I was riding down a dangerous street where a ton of stuff is happening. I looked back to make sure the person merging into my line wasn't going to hit me and as soon as I look back I grab both my brakes, all I could think is don't hit this lady.... Which caused me to use my instincts and lean away from the car which made me lay down the bike. Saying that I layed it down purposely makes me feel much better about the situation.

My mistakes lay in a few spots, First off I should have been riding in the outer section of the lane rather than the middle where I was. If i was on the outside I could have just counter steered around her and been fine. Second is that I took my eyes of the most important thing on the road, what is happening in front of me to look at something that I shouldn't have even worried about much in heavy traffic.

worst thing is that I wasn't even wearing any gear except a helmet so I lost a TON of skin... I'm sure everyone here that has some riding experience knows what I am talking about. My hand had no skin on it in a few places... It even tore some muscle... but like I said I own my mistake unlike some people who run and make excuses for it.

[Moto_Joe]

The largest mistake was probably target fixation as much as anything. It is a fairly natural human instinct. We instinctively focus on what we deem a threat.

The problem on a motorcycle is often our instincts are WRONG.

When a person panics control goes out. You freeze and can only do one thing if you are lucky. For most that is grab fists full of brake, and fixate on where you think you are going to hit.

Unfortunately... that ISNT the threat. You just think it is. The real threat is beyond the car you think you might hit, as that is where you want to go, and you need to be sure what is there so you can react accordingly there too.. after reacting to the car.

It takes time and LOTS of experience to train out those natural human panic instincts.

Those are reasons rider training and trackdays are so highly touted here. It helps. A lot.

Get yourself some gear... bet you wot make that mistake again . (FWIW we havnt all done it. Ive never had road rash due to lack of gear).

Glad you are mostly ok, and good on ya taking the critisism well .

Turns out some of us have been around this a long time and know the truth without you having to say it .

Feel free to ask. We like to help, just with a hint of asshole to it

[Moto_Joe]

At least you didnt blame it on Gravel too...... combinethe famous" laid her down to avoid the crash," and the famous" It was gravel" line and I may not be able to save you

Nobody ever just crashes on the internt. It was either deliberate lay down, or gravel