Brake/clutch fluid change

[Adirondack Bill]

I bought my Valk new in May of 2014, but I only have 6000 miles on it- I have 2 bikes.  My question is regarding the changing of the brake/clutch fluid. Should the frequency of the change be based on the age of the fluid or the miles on the bike?  When I look through the little windows on the reservoirs, the fluid looks to be light brown, the color of some motor oils.  I have only have done this maintenance once or twice before on previous bikes. Is it hard to do on our bikes? It seems that in the past,  I wound not  change the fluid for 5 or 6 years. Anyone know what a dealer would charge for this service?

[Robert]

With 30k and 2.5 years worth on my bike I have changed the brake fluid once. Its not really as necessary as they say and its a time issue more than mileage really. Some bikes and cars go their whole life without the fluid being changed.

To change the fluid is easy just dont get any on the finish of the bike. Open the reservoir cover by removing the 2 screws and taking off the top. Then remove the foam float, then suck out the fluid and refill with new fluid. Open one caliper bleed screw and apply the brake and hold it, close the bleed screw then release the brake. Repeat until the fluid that comes out is the same color as what you put in. Always keep the brake fluid in the reservoir full and dont be to quick to squeeze or let off the brake lever. Since you have the bleed screw open the system will not build pressure so squeezing the lever will be easy. On the last time squeeze the brake lever hold it and then slowly open the bleeder. This final step will ensure that any air that is in the system will get expelled out under pressure.

Dealer cost is a guess at under a 100.00 since I never go to the dealer.

[Valkyrie0002]

I have been using a vacuum pump to bleed and flush auto and bike brakes for about 30 years now.  Much easier than squeeze/ press and open/ close bleeder.  I just flushed all the fluids from my 2000 Valk and the 2014 I just bought only has 8,600 miles on it but the brake and clutch fluid is dark brown so that one will get a flush very soon.

Be sure the top of the reservoir is level before opening the lid.  Turn the bars and loosen the lever clamps if needed to get them level.

[hubcapsc]

I had to totally drain my front brakes to put on a longer custom brake line.

I remember nothing about it other than it was no problem... 

I don't have anti-lock brakes, and haven't worked on them, I suspect tearing
into them is different...

-Mike

[Adirondack Bill]

So, can we say the frequency of change should be based on the color of the fluid??  Clear is good, brown or dark brown is bad?

[ledany]

Exactly ! And when you look at the level, it's too low.

My Valk is almost 4 year old now, I ask the dealer to fix it even though I could do it myself. But the bikes here have the ABS and I guess it's not as easy as the traditional process Robert describes 
And more : I am an ancient beemer and my current Honda dealer is 30% cheaper ! So why bother ?! 

[bscrive]

I have abs brakes and I have changed all my brake and clutch lines to stainless steel. All I did was open the bleader screws until the fluid flowed out. I only pumped the handles to make sure that the brakes were pumped up.  As long as the master does not go dry, you don't need to pump the brakes/clutch levers.

[Jambriwal]

I bled the brakes and clutch on my 2014 blue Valk non ABS
At 14,000 miles. Vacuum bleeder. Easy. Had to remove cowl and charcoal filter and loosen a bracket to bleed clutch. Fluid was dark  so it was due. Time well spent

[Valkyrie0002]

The fluid looked real dark in my clutch and front brake reservoirs so I new I needed to flush them and likely the rear brake too.   

I start the process last night and immediately notice how loose the screws on the front brake reservoir cap are.  I vac the fluid out of the bowl, add fresh and then start to vac from the left caliper.  All I get is clear fluid.  I ran 3 full bowls of fluid thru and get noting but clear so I move to the right caliper and just get clear fluid there too.  I check the rear reservoir and it is clear so I leave the rear brake alone.  The clutch reservoir cap has loose screws too so I just vac'd it out and added fresh. 

I don't know if these screws were that loose from the factory or if someone had done a service but the lesson is tighten those screws down to keep atmospheric contamination out of your sealed hydraulic systems.  I was very surprised that the only dark fluid was in the reservoirs but also very happy I didn't have to flush everything.