Aftermarket Levers CSC TT250?? - Page 2

Thumper · 07-21-2022, 06:01 PM

You don't have to have a vacuum pump to bleed them. It would help to have a helper open/close the bleed valve on the slave cylinder. Also will need a fresh bottle of brake fluid. Dot 4 should handle any heat this caliper will generate

Find the bleed port on the slave cylinder (down on the caliper that clamps the rotor). It is probably an 8mm nut with a rubber cap over the bleed valve. Find the right wrench and if you can, connect a rubber hose (tygon tube or something) to the nipple so you can bleed it into a jar on the ground. Less messy.

Basic process, after you get the banjo bolts reconnected to the master cylinder (the lever assembly), is to fill the reservoir, have helper ready to open when you compress the lever. They should open and then close. You release the lever to refill the master cylinder, then repeat this process... squeeze the lever, open/close, then release the lever. More pressure on the lever will compress air bubbles and force them down the brake line to the slave cylinder.

Once you have nice clean fluid getting ejected and see no bubbles, refill the reservoir on the lever/mastercylinder and cap the reservoir...DONE

You only asked if vacuum pump was necessary, probably knew all of this. I don't mean to insult at all... I described it all just in case.

flopsweat · 07-22-2022, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thumper

You don't have to have a vacuum pump to bleed them. It would help to have a helper open/close the bleed valve on the slave cylinder. Also will need a fresh bottle of brake fluid. Dot 4 should handle any heat this caliper will generate

Find the bleed port on the slave cylinder (down on the caliper that clamps the rotor). It is probably an 8mm nut with a rubber cap over the bleed valve. Find the right wrench and if you can, connect a rubber hose (tygon tube or something) to the nipple so you can bleed it into a jar on the ground. Less messy.

Basic process, after you get the banjo bolts reconnected to the master cylinder (the lever assembly), is to fill the reservoir, have helper ready to open when you compress the lever. They should open and then close. You release the lever to refill the master cylinder, then repeat this process... squeeze the lever, open/close, then release the lever. More pressure on the lever will compress air bubbles and force them down the brake line to the slave cylinder.

Once you have nice clean fluid getting ejected and see no bubbles, refill the reservoir on the lever/mastercylinder and cap the reservoir...DONE

You only asked if vacuum pump was necessary, probably knew all of this. I don't mean to insult at all... I described it all just in case.

Actually... I knew none of this. So it sounds like I all I need to get is a bottle of brake fluid and some tubing if possible? And just so I can run this through in my head, once everything is installed, I fill the reservoir up on the brake lever, wifey will open the bleed port down on the front caliper with a wrench, I squeeze the lever, she closes the port, I release the lever, refill, and repeat until the sight glass is full with no bubbles? I think I may have some tubing laying around somewhere as well.

Thank you so much for the info, I know it's a pretty simple job once done, but being a minor thing like stopping makes me a little wary.

Thumper · 07-22-2022, 09:08 AM

Yup. That's it.

One more comment...To avoid getting air in from the slave cylinder side while you do this, make sure the lever is squeezed hard before the open/close step, and it only has to be open for a moment (lever compresses the cylinder). Ejecting the fluid through the port on the slave cylinder "with force" also helps drive air bubbles through the system and out the bleed valve.

The hose helps prevent air from getting back in down there too since there is typically fluid at the tube connected to the bleed valve after a couple of pulls.

flopsweat · 07-25-2022, 12:08 PM

Well yessir, this turned out quite well over the weekend. The clutch lever took me a little bit to figure out how to adjust the cable on the engine side to give enough slack to remove the lever, but once I had an aha moment I had it completed in no time.

Amazingly, the little bit of tubing that I had left over from a dehumidifier was a perfect fit on the bleeder port. I squeezed out the old juice, removed the lever assy, and installed the new one. The bleeding process was indeed very easy, I could see the tiny bubbles forcing through the tubing with each refill-squeeze-open-close-release cycle, got it looking good, topped off the reservoir, and she was good to go.

I realized my fluid was actually a bit low prior to this, not at the "LOW" indicator, but maybe only 60% of the sight glass. After filling it completely, I'm astounded at getting maybe 15-20% more braking power. Makes perfect sense as to why.

upload

flopsweat · 07-25-2022, 12:19 PM

I also wanted to add two things. This first one is more of a question.. The way the brake line fits around my handguard brackets prevents me from fitting it into the little keyed notches on the reservoir. I have it butted up against the side, but I wanted to ask if anyone thinks there might be an issue with this banjo bolt loosening over time. As it stands, I'll for sure be checking it here and there, cuz something tells me if it starts to loosen up then I might have a hard time making it home, cuz I'll be flying past it with no way to stop.

The other part is that my hands are a touch small (maybe 7" from bottom of palm to middle finger tip), and even with the lever settings at the closest, it's just barely useful for me. It's still a better ergonomic fit for me, but I wanted to share in case anyone else with small hands was looking at these.

Thumper · 07-25-2022, 01:17 PM

That's a huge gap between the clutch lever and left control cluster.

I can see the lever housing doesn't clear the left controls (turn signal switch). Bummer. This is an important consideration for anyone looking at these.
Getting it closer would center it better in front of the hand grip, which wouldn't get it closer to the handgrip but might make it a little easier to grab the clutch lever (and get your brush guard centered better).
Any way to rotate the turn signal switch to allow you to get the clutch lever clamp moved closer? It might mean cutting off, grinding down the post that holds it in place on the handlebar via the hole in the handlebar. I did this, used loctite to keep the screws tight. It does not rotate or move on mine.

Thumper · 07-25-2022, 01:25 PM

On the potential leak from the banjo connector... Those slots hold the thing in place (keyed notches) conveniently for tightening, but they are not necessary. You can shave one off if you prefer the hose to come out at a different angle.

And, if you develop a leak, it will be a small leak and you will make it home. Plenty of fluid in the reservoir to leak before air gets to the master cylinder. No problem there.

flopsweat · 07-25-2022, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thumper

That's a huge gap between the clutch lever and left control cluster.

I can see the lever housing doesn't clear the left controls (turn signal switch). Bummer. This is an important consideration for anyone looking at these.
Getting it closer would center it better in front of the hand grip, which wouldn't get it closer to the handgrip but might make it a little easier to grab the clutch lever (and get your brush guard centered better).
Any way to rotate the turn signal switch to allow you to get the clutch lever clamp moved closer? It might mean cutting off, grinding down the post that holds it in place on the handlebar via the hole in the handlebar. I did this, used loctite to keep the screws tight. It does not rotate or move on mine.

Yea that was a concern at first for me, but I think due to the brush guard frame I wouldn't be able to move it further left. In the first pic, what prevents that is the lever itself is also as close to that guard frame as it can be. Although I hadn't thought about seeing if I can adjust the left controls, I may fiddle around with this thought in mind and see. I've gone about a hundred miles with how it's set up and am pretty pleased with how it feels, so if I do make changes it'll probably be pretty minor. Regardless, everything already feels better than the stock levers.

Good to know about the banjo bolt. What's nice about these is that the sight glass is facing inward instead of outward like before, so at least I'd be able to see if it was getting low probably before noticing an actual leak.

07-21-2022, 06:01 PM	#16
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,382	You don't have to have a vacuum pump to bleed them. It would help to have a helper open/close the bleed valve on the slave cylinder. Also will need a fresh bottle of brake fluid. Dot 4 should handle any heat this caliper will generate Find the bleed port on the slave cylinder (down on the caliper that clamps the rotor). It is probably an 8mm nut with a rubber cap over the bleed valve. Find the right wrench and if you can, connect a rubber hose (tygon tube or something) to the nipple so you can bleed it into a jar on the ground. Less messy. Basic process, after you get the banjo bolts reconnected to the master cylinder (the lever assembly), is to fill the reservoir, have helper ready to open when you compress the lever. They should open and then close. You release the lever to refill the master cylinder, then repeat this process... squeeze the lever, open/close, then release the lever. More pressure on the lever will compress air bubbles and force them down the brake line to the slave cylinder. Once you have nice clean fluid getting ejected and see no bubbles, refill the reservoir on the lever/mastercylinder and cap the reservoir...DONE You only asked if vacuum pump was necessary, probably knew all of this. I don't mean to insult at all... I described it all just in case.
	1

07-22-2022, 09:08 AM	#18
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,382	Yup. That's it. One more comment...To avoid getting air in from the slave cylinder side while you do this, make sure the lever is squeezed hard before the open/close step, and it only has to be open for a moment (lever compresses the cylinder). Ejecting the fluid through the port on the slave cylinder "with force" also helps drive air bubbles through the system and out the bleed valve. The hose helps prevent air from getting back in down there too since there is typically fluid at the tube connected to the bleed valve after a couple of pulls.
	1

07-25-2022, 12:08 PM	#19
flopsweat Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: The burbs of Chicago Posts: 235	Well yessir, this turned out quite well over the weekend. The clutch lever took me a little bit to figure out how to adjust the cable on the engine side to give enough slack to remove the lever, but once I had an aha moment I had it completed in no time. Amazingly, the little bit of tubing that I had left over from a dehumidifier was a perfect fit on the bleeder port. I squeezed out the old juice, removed the lever assy, and installed the new one. The bleeding process was indeed very easy, I could see the tiny bubbles forcing through the tubing with each refill-squeeze-open-close-release cycle, got it looking good, topped off the reservoir, and she was good to go. I realized my fluid was actually a bit low prior to this, not at the "LOW" indicator, but maybe only 60% of the sight glass. After filling it completely, I'm astounded at getting maybe 15-20% more braking power. Makes perfect sense as to why. upload
	0

07-25-2022, 12:19 PM	#20
flopsweat Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: The burbs of Chicago Posts: 235	I also wanted to add two things. This first one is more of a question.. The way the brake line fits around my handguard brackets prevents me from fitting it into the little keyed notches on the reservoir. I have it butted up against the side, but I wanted to ask if anyone thinks there might be an issue with this banjo bolt loosening over time. As it stands, I'll for sure be checking it here and there, cuz something tells me if it starts to loosen up then I might have a hard time making it home, cuz I'll be flying past it with no way to stop. The other part is that my hands are a touch small (maybe 7" from bottom of palm to middle finger tip), and even with the lever settings at the closest, it's just barely useful for me. It's still a better ergonomic fit for me, but I wanted to share in case anyone else with small hands was looking at these.
	0

07-25-2022, 01:17 PM	#21
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,382	That's a huge gap between the clutch lever and left control cluster. I can see the lever housing doesn't clear the left controls (turn signal switch). Bummer. This is an important consideration for anyone looking at these. Getting it closer would center it better in front of the hand grip, which wouldn't get it closer to the handgrip but might make it a little easier to grab the clutch lever (and get your brush guard centered better). Any way to rotate the turn signal switch to allow you to get the clutch lever clamp moved closer? It might mean cutting off, grinding down the post that holds it in place on the handlebar via the hole in the handlebar. I did this, used loctite to keep the screws tight. It does not rotate or move on mine.
	1

07-25-2022, 01:25 PM	#22
Thumper Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Kansas City Posts: 2,382	On the potential leak from the banjo connector... Those slots hold the thing in place (keyed notches) conveniently for tightening, but they are not necessary. You can shave one off if you prefer the hose to come out at a different angle. And, if you develop a leak, it will be a small leak and you will make it home. Plenty of fluid in the reservoir to leak before air gets to the master cylinder. No problem there.
	1