new to harley's and recently purchased a 2004 sportster. i've just checked my rear brake fluid and it looks a bit low and the fluid itself looks a bit dodgy. is it time for a change? and if so, is it something easy for a novice to do? pics below

while we're on brakes, i've taken a couple of pics of my front and rear brakes. i figured there's no point in topping up the fluid too high if the pads need replacing etc. please bear with me, i'm learning! can you let me know if the brakes look ok and how much life there's left in them from the pics below?

thanks

 

Pads look good, I wouldn't worry about those. Just top off the brake fluid and ride your new harley!

 

I would NOT top off the fluid.
The brake fluid should be replaced every 2 years, and your bike is 10+ years old.

BTW, your bike (2004) uses DOT-5 brake fluid, be sure and get the right stuff. Never mix fluid types.
DOT-5 is purple in color when new and turns amber/yellow as it ages.

 

ok thanks

is it an easy enough job to drain the old fluid and replace it?

 

Clean out (sop up with a clean rag) what's in the reservoir.
Add the new fluid till the reservoir is about 3/4 full.
Bleed the brake until the new (purple) fluid starts coming out of the bleeder valve. Keep an eye on the reservoir level and keep refilling it as you go.

The bleeding IS a tedious process and takes time.

 

If you reverse bleed from the caliper, it should purge all the air in a few seconds.
the process does not have to be tedious.

 

When flushing old fluid, reverse bleeding will push the old fluid you're trying to get rid of back into the master cylinder reservoir where it's harder to deal with. With forward bleeding, the old fluid can easily be directed out of the system using a piece of tubing inserted on the bleed valve and into a container.
IME, reverse bleeding work best when you're only trying to bleed air from the system, which the OP may want/need to do after the flush is complete.

Just my 2¢

 

The back pads, second pic, look good.
For the front, if you're gonna go through the PITA of changing fluid, change the pads at the same time. They appear to be getting thin and there's no sense in bleeding the front, twice. Front pads aren't that expensive.
DOT 5 brake fluid is silicon based and won't hurt your paint. The top of the master cylinder reservoirs should have the type of brake fluid written on the reservoirs' caps.

 

thanks for all your advice so far

the weird thing is, the rear brake actually feels very poor, i assumed this must be down to the fluid needing changing rather than a fault with the pad?

i've taken on board harleyscuba's comments about swapping the front pad and doing the bleed at the same time. can anyone recommend a replacement pad? or are they easy to find on ebay by searching "sportster 1200 custom brake"?? i don't wanna get the wrong one

are there any decent guides to replacing the rear brake fluid? i've found a good one online for the front, but not the rear. i'm a complete novice but willing to learn!

thanks

 

You have the service manual? If not, stop here, get it, then continue. Its definitely worth it

There are a bunch of video guides on various servcie activities out in the community, try a search.

Finally, when maintaining brakes, be sure you know exactly what you are doing. It's your butt!