Just swapped out cables and reverse bled the front brakes. Run a whole can of silicone 4 thru it. Not a single bubble in sight.

I have front brakes but the brake lever goes all the way back to the grip. Definitely not the norm. Usual is only about an inch of travel.

Any ideas?. I'm going to try conventional bleeding tomorrow. I also have a vacumn bleeder I may try out.

 

Cable tie the lever to the grip overnight. If the bike is inside, leave the master cylinder cap off. Turn the bars to the left so the master cylinder is as high as possible. It's worked for me before.

 

thanks for the tip, I've give it a try.

 

I did the cable-tie-the-lever-open for a while & lightly tapped on everything with the rubber handle of a screwdriver to 'vibrate' the bubbles into moving.

 

I had a similar problem that my brake lever was very spongy, even though I bled all the air out of the line. I found a solution on one of the boards that fixed the problem.

I took the right side caliber off the rotor, and took the brake pads out. I used a small piece of 1 X 2 lumber and a c-clamp to keep one side of the brake pistons in while i pumped the brakes forcing the opposite side pistons out a little bit. (Note: Do not force them all the way out.) I took an old toothbrush and thoroughly cleaned the pistons. There was a little bit of brake dust buildup on them that prevent them from operating correctly.

Once those are clean, I pushed them back in, clamped them down and proceeded to force the other side out for cleaning. You don't have to force them out very far to see the buildup on them. Once clean, force them back in, reinstall the brake pads and reinstall on the rotor.

If you have a caliper on the left side, proceed to clean just like the first one. Now my brakes operate without any play at the lever. I don't have ABS brakes, so I don't know if this procedure will work with those or not.

Next time I change my back tire, I will be sure to clean that caliper the same way too.

 

sounds like you still have a tiny air bubble clinging to banjo fitting on your master cylinder and bleeder valve. Try this, it worked for me (read near bottom)
Reverse Bleeder

 

Thats the way I always do mine now it works great

 

Buy a set of speedbleeders. Best money I ever spent on my brakes. I can bleed my front brakes in just a few minutes. http://www.speedbleeder.com/Motorcycle%20Sizes.htm

 

1. Go to parts store and buy cheap oil can
2. Use rubber hose that fits bleeder screw and oil can
3. Put teflon tape on bleeder screw threads
4. Pump brake fluid thru bleeder screw and close.
5. Drink beer and feel your now rock hard brake lever

 

i vacum bleed my brakes, with a vacum bleeder i picked up at Canadian Tire, never a problem. but Speed bleeders are an excellent investment