ABS brake bleeding?

[beuleux]

Hi all
I got an advisory on my latest mot to change the brake fluid, can anyone tell me is bleeding ABS any more of a pain in the arse than regular brakes, also I was thinking of adding some braided hoses but it seems a lot more expensive than regular brakes, not sure exactly what needs replacing

[Grahamm]

I'm not familiar with the ABS setup on the FZ1, but I've replaced the brake lines on my FZ6 with HEL braided ones (I also cleaned and refurbished the calipers with new seals which is easy to do at the same time).

The main issue was that there were hard pipes going from the side of the fuel tank to the ABS controller which were a PITA to remove (mostly because they'd never been touched since new). I don't know if the FZ1 has the same setup?

Once I'd got all that sorted out, it was just a matter of re-priming the system with new fluid. I'd recommend getting one of those "suction" systems to help you fill the pipes with as it's much easier to avoid getting air trapped in the extra pipe work.

Also I found the best way to bleed the brakes was to take the calipers off (loosen the bleed nipples first!) and hang them from the roof of my shed with the bleed nipple uppermost.

Leave them for 24 hours so all the air bubbles up to the top, then it's dead simple to let it out and you're good to put them back in place and enjoy much better feel and response

[beuleux]

As far as I can see without taking the fairing off, the line from the abs unit goes to a union with hard lines going into rubber hoses which go to the calipers, there are no banjos to the union only on the caliper end, so I'm guessing there will be a replacement unions in the braided hose kit which cost around £300 for the abs version as opposed to £90 ish for non abs, I'm trying to find out as much as I can about it so i can do it in an afternoon instead of having the bike laid up for a fortnight while I figure I out

[Stainy]

A mate of mine bought an FZ1 with braided hoses on and the seller said his mechanic had refused to ever do another after that one 


One of the braided hoses failed shortly after purchase and I can confirm two things - routing/working on the frame under the fuel tank is a bastard and HEL customer service is amazing - they replaced it without quibble.


One final thing. It put me off enough not to do it on mine 

[beuleux]

A mate of mine bought an FZ1 with braided hoses on and the seller said his mechanic had refused to ever do another after that one 


One of the braided hoses failed shortly after purchase and I can confirm two things - routing/working on the frame under the fuel tank is a bastard and HEL customer service is amazing - they replaced it without quibble.



One final thing. It put me off enough not to do it on mine 

Yes I see what you mean there is always a risk when doing any modifications, this is why I'm mulling it over with some foccers first, I have faith in my own ability and I'm aware of my limits and I also need to have faith in the parts involved too especially where brakes are concerned, I thought HEL were a reliable brand and I was considering their build a line option, if anyone knows of any good or bad brands please chime in I'm open to all opinions.


There is no working under the tank on the faired gen2 that I can see, just under the fairing as everything going to the abs unit from the first union from the master cylinder are all hard lines.


I will post some pics shortly and outline what I think needs doing.

[Grahamm]

I thought HEL were a reliable brand and I was considering their build a line option, if anyone knows of any good or bad brands please chime in I'm open to all opinions.

I contacted HEL because I wanted a set of braided ABS lines for my FZ6-SA (04-06) and they said "sure, they're on our site".

I replied that those were for the S2 (07-09) and probably would not be compatible with mine.

They replied, "If you send us the old lines and let us keep them for reference, we'll send you a set of braided lines for free."

Result!!

[beuleux]

Result indeed 👍


How do you find the brake lines, big difference, small difference, still holding up OK?

[Grahamm]

How do you find the brake lines, big difference, small difference, still holding up OK?

I replaced the OEM lines during the first Lockdown after about 14 years(!)  They were still working fine, had been through many MOT tests without a problem, but I decided to replace them and upgrade.

I much prefer the braided lines, they're more positive and have a much better feel.

[beuleux]

Here are some pics of what I can see, on the left side of the frame there is the union with hard lines going to the abs unit with rubber fittings on the opposite side from the master and to the caliper union, one question I have is what's under the rubber sleeve, can they be unscrewed and new braided lines fitted or is it molded into the union?


Underneath the headstock is the caliper union with hard lines joined into the rubber caliper hoses, another question I have is would I need to get a new union with either banjos or olive fittings? Presumably the abs braided kit would have all the necessary banjos and unions.


It all seems easily accessible and if I take the fairing of there will be loadsa room.

[Grahamm]

Here's what came off my FZ6 (I put plastic baggies over the ends just in case any brake fluid was likely to leak out).

If you notice, the rectangular blocks are permanently connected to the rubber hoses, but there's a nut that secures them to the hard pipes.

I didn't replace the hard pipes, so I just got the braided hoses which were the same as what you see there. I think they came with new banjo bolts and washers too, but you'd be well advised to check before you chuck the old ones out!

NB undoing the connections to the hard pipes was a major PITA as they'd never been removed since the bike was made. Eventually I put some aluminium foil and a wet cloth between them and the rest of the bike and used a blow torch so I could unfasten them without rounding off the nut.

[beuleux]

Thanks I will defo research the nuts off this to make sure everything is ready to go in one hit.


You can't really see from the pic I took but on the caliper pipe union block there are no nuts just pipes seemingly fixed directly to the block, I see on your fz6 union block they have nuts, if I have to buy some shiny new blocks I'm sure they're not expensive

[Grahamm]

If you look at the Y-shaped pipe (second from right) it looks to be similar to the one in your top picture.

IIRC that's the one that goes to each side of the front wheel.

Also in your bottom picture there's nuts to the hard pipes just visible under the two blocks that are bolted together.

[beuleux]

I've taken another pic of the headstock union from behind this time which gives a clearer view of the hardlines coming out of the union block, there are no nuts anywhere that I can see.


I have emailed HEL customer support to find out exactly what comes in the kit, not heard back as yet.

[beuleux]

I've found my answer, you do away with the union block, the kit comes with a double banjo 😄