04 R1150RT front brakes; Wrong Speed Bleeders?

[NHIronButt]

Based on the huge support I have found here (thank you everyone), I am swapping my stock brake/clutch bleed ports with Speed Bleeders. I have ordered and received all ten ports (2 front, 6 center, 1 rear, 1 clutch).

 

My problem is this; the two front 8 x 1.25's seem like they are wrong in that they don't want to start threading (I use a gentle touch). I compared the SB's with the stock ports. They seem like the same diameter and thread count (I think). The SB's are a little longer, but I can't even get them to begin to thread easily. For grins I placed the 7 x 1.00's and they did thread but they are smaller in diameter then the stock bleed ports.

 

Please confirm; The two front brake calipers use 8 x 1.25 speed bleeders? Has anyone experienced a different threading?

[philbytx]

8 x 1.25 is the correct size but they may be a little harder to "start" due to them having the SpeedBleeder sealant on the threads

[Godfather]

+1 on the thread sealant. I had the same situation...be patient,do not to cross thread them while you apply a little pressure when threading them in.

[JoeV]

I worked on bleeding my 2004 R1150r Rocksters breaks yesterday.

 

What I discovered was:

 

The front break bleed screws are not 8mm or 6mm. Believe it or not they are 7mm.

 

The Speed bleeder web site lists both 6mm and 8mm depending on the year BMW R bikes. All the research I did on line also reports either 6mm or 8mm.

 

I even called the dealer who told me they couldn't find any manual or parts list that stated the exact size but it was likely 8mm and maybe 6mm.

 

So I purchased two 8mm bleeders for the front. I also purchased 1 6mm for the rear, which fit perfectly.

 

In the process of attempting to replace the front bleed screws I drained the fluid.

 

I tried the 8mm bleeders but they were clearly too large. I hadn't yet installed the 6mm bleed screw for the rear so I tried it in the front and it was clearly too small. So the front calipers on my 2004 R1150r Rockster must require a 7mm bleed screw.

 

The other issue I had was the control circuit bleed screws require a 7mm box wrench and my Craftsman metric wrench set only goes down to a 8mm. So I need buy a single 7mm box wrench in order to bleed the control circuits.

 

I will report when I am finished how it worked out.

 

Joe

[Jim VonBaden]

Why not just attach a 1/4" clear hose to the stock bleeders and bleed it that way. I never bother with speed bleeders. How often do you have to bleed the brakes anyhow?

 

For the every other year brake bleed, stockers are fine.

 

Jim

[JoeV]

I'm sorry but I don't agree.

 

I did the front without the SB and the back with.

 

I think the SB makes it easier and allowed me to do the backs by my self.

 

If you don't take the calapers off you only need 1 hand

to open the bleeder. but if you unbolt the caliper you

will need 2 hands, 1 to hold the caliper and 1 to turn

the wrench to open the bleeder. Then you will need a

helping hand to pump the break.

 

Removing the caliper allows you to push the pistons deep

into the caliper so you can squeeze out every drop of

old break fluid.

 

Maybe if you bleed it frequently you can leave the calipers on and not worry too much about squeezing out the last little bit of fluid. ?

 

Either way I think using the Speed Bleeder does make the job a easier.

 

Joe

[KMG_365]

I suppose it's possible that they used a different caliper on the Rockster, but make sure you tried the 8X1.25mm SB and not the 8X1.0mm SB. The former will have finer threads than the latter.

[JoeV]

Huge thanks for the suggestion.

 

 

The label on the package could be wrong. I will confirm it.

 

But the tapered tip of the SB "labeled" 8mm125 was too big to fit into the hole so I don't think it is a thread pitch issue.

 

I will report when I get to the bottom of this.

[KMG_365]

But the tapered tip of the SB "labeled" 8mm125 was too big to fit into the hole so I don't think it is a thread pitch issue.

Thanks, well that pretty much answers that question!

 

It's good to know this and add it to the database for other Rockster owners--otherwise the assumption would likely be they used the same calipers as the R1150RT's.

 

For your visual reference, here's what the R1150RT's use:

 

 

L-R: 6mmX1.0 (1 qty) rear brake caliper, 7mmX1.0 (short, 4qty) control circuit, 7mmX1.0 (long, 2qty) control circuit, 8mmX1.25 (2qty) front brake caliper, 10mmX1.0 (1qty) truncated Speed Bleeder used on the clutch, 10mmX1.0 stock Speed Bleeder unmodified.

[Jim VonBaden]

I'm sorry but I don't agree.

 

I did the front without the SB and the back with.

 

I think the SB makes it easier and allowed me to do the backs by my self.

 

If you don't take the calapers off you only need 1 hand

to open the bleeder. but if you unbolt the caliper you

will need 2 hands, 1 to hold the caliper and 1 to turn

the wrench to open the bleeder. Then you will need a

helping hand to pump the break.

 

Removing the caliper allows you to push the pistons deep

into the caliper so you can squeeze out every drop of

old break fluid.

 

Maybe if you bleed it frequently you can leave the calipers on and not worry too much about squeezing out the last little bit of fluid. ?

 

Either way I think using the Speed Bleeder does make the job a easier.

 

Joe

 

OK< I see what you mean. If you are doing it alone you have a point. With the servo brakes it is not nearly so easy to do alone anyhow.

 

Still, having done several sets of brakes without speed bleeders, and two with, I'll save the $80 and buy some gas!

 

Jim

[jfremder]

I've done my control circuits and my wheel circuits 3x without the benefit of speed bleeders, or a helper. What's so difficult that you can't do it by yourself?

[Jim VonBaden]

I've done my control circuits and my wheel circuits 3x without the benefit of speed bleeders, or a helper. What's so difficult that you can't do it by yourself?

 

I never said it COULDNT be done, just that it isn't nearly as easy as having a helper.

 

I have reasonably long arms which helps.

 

Point is, Speed Bleeders are not worth the funds to me.

 

Jim

[JoeV]

Good point.

 

I did the bleed without the Speed Bleeders because I

had ordered the wrong size.

 

My wife helped me for 15 minutes and ya know what

it was easy and it gave us some time to uhm... "bond"

 

On a side note the folks at Speed Bleeder are being

very good about sending me the correct size and taking

back the wrong size even though the packaging was opened.

[NHIronButt]

UPDATE: The Speed Bleeders are the wrong size - longer than the OEM port. I believe that JoeV is correct.

 

Long story short, I replaced 7 of ten bleed ports. I left the front stock and one of the control circuit ports (the front-most) stock (after I tried a SB too long and stripped the first two threads from the port).

 

I also found that thread dope (Locktight) is essential to prevent air from entering the threads.

 

The SB's are longer and don't seat fully. Even with my gentle touch I made mistakes. Hind-sight; I would prefer an OEM sized SB.

 

On the flip side; I dialed in the engine perfectly this time! At 6k RPM I feel the same vibration as I do at 4k. The down side is I miss that tickle.

[KMG_365]

UPDATE: The Speed Bleeders are the wrong size - longer than the OEM port. I believe that JoeV is correct.

 

Long story short, I replaced 7 of ten bleed ports. I left the front stock and one of the control circuit ports (the front-most) stock (after I tried a SB too long and stripped the first two threads from the port).

 

I also found that thread dope (Locktight) is essential to prevent air from entering the threads.

A point of clarification: DO NOT use "loctite" on Speed Bleeders or regular liquid teflon sealant ("pipe dope"). SB sells a special thread sealant that you "bake" on until it's dry. That said, there is NOT enough thread coverage towards the end of the SB and it bottoms out before enough threads make contact which makes the sealant even more important. I found the 7mm ones on the control unit so loose that it was more of a pain than an advantage and I just used the SB's like regular bleed screws.