First I have read hours of posts on dual calipers on the road king. Poor performance

Use the lindell method of cleaning, have not tried that yet.

One harley guy told me to install a 2004 - 2006 road king master cylinder to get more brake pressure on 2000 road king. Have not done that


I was thinking on taking all the brakes apart - road king 15,000 miles.
Clean it all and only replace if rubber seals look bad.

Drain all the fluid out because I just took the calipers off the brake lines.

Use rebuild kit or not

New pads

Bleed some how. There are so many methods.

I like the reverse method but need to find one that has a good seal on the bleeder, without letting air in.
will explore this


Will keep you updated on and good fixes, on the methods I use.



Straightleg

 

Why not buy some take off Brembo calipers, rotors & master cylinder & be done with it. It's all bolt on & a very substantial upgrade, if you shop around you should be able to do it for $300 or $400.

 

Hmmm....I think my 2000's brakes are great.

 

I had the same issues,very soft lever...it would come 2/3rds of the way to the grip...Had several mechanics bleed them,tell me I needed a new master cylinder,new fluid but none of them cleaned the calipers...Get you 3 or 4 cans of brake cleaner and pull off the calipers and clean the **** out of them...Have someone pull the lever before you start and you will probably see only two of the pistons even moving...also use a toothbrush to get in there and scrub them good until all four pistons start moving all the way in and out freely...I also installed some new pads,bled them up and now they lock down with a 1/2in of lever travel.

 

This is the first thing I was going to try with new pads.
I allready installed aftermarket stainless rotors so was going to do this before the brembo upgrade.

My lever was 1/2 inch from the grip , so will post my results when I get done.

Great forum to learn from



Straightleg

 

About that master cylinder swap a guy told you about....I don't think there is a difference in yours and '04-06. The aftermarket chrome kits fit 1996-2006.
http://www.cyclesupplywv.com/HANDLEB...l-Kit-p79.html


Swapping pad brands isn't gonna make a difference in the amount of pull you have at the brake lever.

 

He was the mechanic that switched out my lowers after I took them off the bike.
Maybe I heard him wrong, but he seemed pretty sure about it and he has worked on them for 30 years.
If they sell the same one that fits the same bikes, then maybe there is more pressure on the new ones verses the original equipment
Who would know that?


But it seems the cleaning of the calipers has worked for many so that is what my next project is.


Going to experiment some with a reverse brake bleed.


Will post the results


Straightleg

 

I bought my bike new and later put on the chrome kit...I can't tell any difference in the lever travel of either master cylinder. Both had good pressure....I don't think the OEM has an updated version for the last two years they used this system...You could always confirm that by comparing the parts manuals of a bike from your vintage and a '04-06 model.

Perhaps you simply need to rebuild your master cylinder. They kits are available both from HD and the aftermarket and don't cost much. It is a very simple process.

 

When I first bought my bike used the brakes were great; initial bite, firm lever, great over all power. After the accident and the front end was rebuilt I would pinch my fingers when I pulled the brakes (using 2 finger pull and ring/pinky still on the grip). Had a few close calls where I had almost no power in the front brakes. 3 hours in the garage cleaning the pistons of the caliper and its back to normal.

What you need:
2-3 cans of brake clean
toothbrush
cotton shoe lace (yes, really)
small piece of plywood
small pry bar (screw driver, etc)
Brake fluid & catch bottle to bleed brakes
Tools to remove calipers & pads (don't remember the socket sizes, but they are 12 point)
Blue lock-tight
Some towels to cover the bike from brake clean spray is always helpful

What to do:
*You only work on one caliper at a time, the other caliper will remain mounted to the bike.

*Remove caliper and brake pads

*Pump brake lever and see how many of the 4 caliper pistons move freely (on my bike I was lucky if 1 per side moved freely and a 2nd moved at "1/2" speed).

*Use brake clean and tooth brush to scrub built up brake dust from the caliper piston, you will need to use the pry bar to push the piston all the way back in

*Repeat - pump brake lever and clean piston again. Soak the shoe lace with brake clean and wrap it around the backside and scrub like you're flossing your teeth. Use the scrap plywood as a spacer to keep pistons from coming completely out of the caliper, and also to hold the "free moving" pistons in and move the stuck pistons out to clean.

* Repeat - Repeat - Repeat until all pistons in the caliper move freely.

* Push pistons back in, reinstall calipers, make sure to lock-tight caliper mounting bolts

* Remove the other caliper and begin cleaning process again.

 

Good write up, but I moved a part of it.