I recently had the dealer replace my handlebars, and he also replaced the front brake line with stainless steel braided line. Before the change it took very little movement of the brake lever to compress the pads. Now it takes more and feels odd. I've talked to the tech and he said he made sure he bled the brakes well. Is this normal? I figured the steel line would have much less give than the old rubber one.

 

Try cleaning the pistons. Either dirty pistons or a "not totally bled" brake line will make the front brake pull spongy and have to pull it closer to the bar to get it to engage.

 

If theirs a spongy feel to them he never got all the air out. There a trick you can try by pulling the brake lever on and hold on with some string overnight. This works on some bikes but not all.

 

Thanks, that's what I suspected. What's the best way to be sure you get all the air out, or better said, how do you know when you've gotten all the air out???

 

I've used those brake bleeding kits and attached one of those large syringes on the end of the plastic hose to pull the fluid (and any excess air) through the system, rather than try to 'push' the air out with the brake lever. Just remember to keep checking the master cylinder so you don't run low on fluid and have to start all over again....