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Bleeding Breva Rear Brakes

R

RePete

Just got it firing!
Joined
Nov 18, 2024
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Location
Winter Park, Florida,United States
Good morning All
I could use some advice.
I'm sure this has been covered before and I did try searching the archives and didn't find what I was hoping for.
Is there a trick to getting the rear brakes to bleed?
I'm getting fluid out of the bleed, but just cant seem to get them to harden up. Pumping is getting tedious.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you
 
I could not determine from your question exactly which Guzzi year or model you have.

I had two: 2004 Breva 750cc "Small Block" and 2007 Norge 1150 2-Valve "Big Block." Along the way I collected a lot of reference material for both - some of which I hope may be helpful to you. The two text files are on-line at these links :

_V7_fyi.txt

Norge_2007_fyi.txt
 
My V7 I had to remove the calliper and hold it higher than the master cylinder. Low slung rear callipers can be a pain to bleed in situ.
 
Thank you. I have gotten it to a point that seems to be ok, but not as hard/firm as the front. I'm going to use as is for 50+ miles so the pads seat & break in" and then Ill see what I've got performance wise. I'll feel better if when taking a test ride I can get the rear wheels to "lock up" under heavy braking when the bike has some momentum.
 
On my vintage Laverda rear brake is very difficult to bleed as well. As said above remove the caliper from the swing arm. Stick a piece of plywood between the pads, hold it up high with bleeder pointing up. Bleed using short slow strokes. You can also try strapping down the brake lever down tap the m/c and any high points if any in the circuit to knock air possible air bubbles out. Leave it over night. Come back and do a final bleed.
 
I have found that after about 95 when Guzzi started using side by side pucks they got harder to bleed by hand. The 1st rebuild showed me why. The holes between caliper 1/2's got way smaller. I started using a hand vacuum tool. The shops had one that ran on a air compressor. I got one of those in 13. Before that I was putting caliper above the master & a wrench between pads, just like mentioned here. The air job I got is not used everyday anymore but it paid for itself being easy.
 
Thank you fellas
Exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.
I think that if what I've done isn't good enough I'll try one of those vacuum bleeders.
Road test (other than a one mile loop around the neighborhood) still pending.... I've away from home right now.
Next week I'll know more.
Happy new year
 
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