Got a letter today from the mother ship with a reminder brake fluid must be changed every 2 years.

"If left unaddressed it may eventually lead to a loss of brake function".

"We strongly reccomend that you visit your local authorized Harley-Davidson dealer to have your brake fluid changed right away unless you can confirm (with service records) the fluid has been changed within the last 2 years. Your brake fluid should also be replaced every 2 years thereafter. Factory trianed Service Technicians have the necessary tools, specifically Digital Tech II (which is critical to ensuring a thorough fluid flush throughout the ABS unit), and knowledge to replace your brake fluid is recommended".

 

I have no idea what you are talking about with regards to heat in the kitchen.

Flushing brake lines/fluid is part of normal maintenance and is probably the most neglected maintenance item on a bike. It was necessary on old bikes, and with the advent of ABS, becomes even more important. Also with ABS comes the necessity to cycle the abs pump which is done via computer.

If you are referring to litigation, it is a case of people not performing maintenance then wondering why crap doesn't work right. The letter is to get people to do what they are supposed to do as specified in the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual. Then again, we live in an age where if you spill hot coffee on yourself you can sue the place that sold you the coffee for an obscene amount of money.

 

+1 for post # 2.

(I personally dislike the trend that a computer is needed for basic maintenance these days with most vehicles... brake fluid change, tire TPMS rotation, even ignition keys and radios)

 

Every bike is different on how its keep and maintained..


ours is keep in a heated and cooled garage.. so I'd think the Brake fluid would last longer than one that always outside...????


I just changed/flushed my brake lines last yr at 50k and its 9 yrs old,, my INDY said the fluid still looked fine...


BUT,, he said he's also seen some fluid that was really bad that was only 3-4 yrs old..???

 

Brake Fluid is Hygroscopic - that means it attracts water. Even though you have the lines sealed with caps, moisture gets into the fluid over time. What that then does is lower the temp rating at which brake fluid boils.

We have DOT 4 brake fluids in Harleys. The "Dry" boil point when new, from an unopened can is 446 Degrees. After 2 years, there will be 3.7% water saturation in the fluid and drop that boiling point (referred to as the "Wet" point) to 311 degrees.

Why does that matter? Every time you use the brakes the fluid gets hot. Repeated/frequent use makes it hotter (such as doing some aggressive canyon riding, etc). When the brake fluid boils then you have no brakes, you will pull the lever or push the pedal and there is nothing there. And that can be disastrous. Even if you are just going down a long mountain and not riding aggressively, but on the brakes for several miles you are heating your brake fluid up.

Changing ever two years is DOT recommended. When I was racing cars, I changed it every three months during active race season, for example. Can't have brake failure on the race track - really bad things happen when you hit the pedal at 140 mph for a hairpin and there is nothing there.

You can even buy a brake fluid tester if you like, they're not expensive - just $ 12 on Amazon, here's the link to one that I use in my garage:



So yes, be smart and do the fluid changes. You can do them yourselves even with ABS, you just won't get a 100% complete change without the special machine, more like an 80% to 90% fluid change, and that may be good enough.

 

FWIW older Harleys run DOT 5 which isn't Hygroscopic.

 

Sorry friend, DOT 5 is silicone-based and is Hygroscopic. Dry Boil is 500 degrees and Wet Boil is 366 Degress on DOT 5.

You can't use DOT 5 in an ABS system and it is not compatible with DOT 4.

 

Lawyers brought up in court on someone suing them caused by a crash that was blamed on brake failure and said Harley failed to give the proper warning in the service manual.

They said to change it. What they failed to say was their system was so sorry if you did not change it, your brakes are going to fail and not having brakes that will stop you may lead to property damage or even a head bobo.

 

Just not sure how we have made it all of these years? Good thing we have someone looking out for us.

 

You are correct that DOT 5 is not compatible with an ABS set up. It ( DOT 5 ) will aerate under the cycles encountered through the ABS processor. DOT 5 fluid can be ( and has been used with much success ) in a DOT 4 system when the system has been properly flushed and cleaned prior to the inducement of the DOT 5 fluid.

More info here ....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fluid