Spongy Brakes

What did I do wrong? Just replaced the stock levers on my Speed Twin with Pazzo shorty levers. Easy enough job, I’ve done levers on other bikes in the past with no issues. After doing these however, the initial pull of my brake lever feels slightly spongy. If I release and pull again it grabs like it should, but the first pull definitely has more travel than before I swapped them. Also, there is an occasional squeal when pulling the brake lever at low speed. Anyone experience anything like this before? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

I'm no expert, did the changes risk getting air in the hydraulics?

 

Yes, spongy brake feel usually means air in the system. I would re-bleed the brakes.

 

I finally dragged my ass into the dealership to ask, and they said I’ll have to bleed the brakes. I would have never guessed that just simply changing the levers would have introduced air into the system.

 

Glad you determined the problem. BTW, very cool bike you have.

 

How on earth could changing the levers introduce air into the brake system?!?
I’d be checking for a weeping union or caliper seal somewhere

 

Why thank you!! Of the bikes I’ve owned over the years, this has been my favorite. Just so much damn fun!!

 

I thought the same thing. Never considered it to even be a possibility. But the techs at my dealer said with this system when you take the pin from the rubber boot and reinstall it, it forces air into the system via the master cylinder. So...it’s bleed time!

 

Thought it was strange that changing levers could result in needing a bleed??
I have found taping or strapping the lever closed overnight does wonders to get any small air bubbles out of the system (even after bleeding )

 

I tried that prior to bleeding, but no success. May do it again after the bleed...

 

Ah, that’d explain it then. I’ve never had to remove the plunger when changing levers before.

 

Welp, brakes are bleed and are now rock solid! It was shocking how much air I got out of the system, wouldn’t have thought it possible. So ended up being a bit more work than just swapping levers, but still very much worth it. Shout out to EuroCycle Las Vegas for the help.

 

During...

 

On my Daytona I have found that cleaning the Pistons on the calipers and pushing them right back gets rid of the spongey feeling

 

I'm glad to hear you solved that problem. I recently changed the brake fluid on my 06 Scrambler. It made a world of difference, and that nasty looking stuff was probably the original fluid. I also let her sit overnight then the levers taped/tied to help with any remaining air.