Brake System Flush

[AdamWebber]

I have the 2005 GS with Servo-Assist ABS. On my previous BMWs I have always had servo-assist brake maintenance performed by the dealer. But this time I want to do it myself.
There isn't a how-to on this forum for my type of brakes so I was wondering how many special tools I would require and what steps I need to take to get a good quality brake system flush.
I have done a ton of brakes on Japanese bikes and I really like to use the Speed-Bleeders. Can I use Speed-Bleeders on my GS? Can I do the bleed with the bike off? Does the servo need to run? So many questions. I'm just worried that I will screw it up and need to take it to the nearest dealer 200 miles away in Las Vegas.
Tell me what you know.

[Schtum]

Get the Jim Von Baden R1200 Maintenance DVD -

http://www.jimvonbaden.com/R1200_DVD.html

[pdxrmccgs]

I checked Haynes for you....

They say in no uncertain terms that for ABS equipped bikes
it must be done by a BMW dealer with BMW diagnostic tester.

In fact they are downright testy about it.

I know nothing, zip, nada about it.

[AdamWebber]

You won't believe what I've found. It's a link. And in that link is a webpage. And on that webpage is blah blah blah...

Anyway, here's the link:
http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/service_abs3.pdf

It's a bit more difficult than any non-ABS bike but looks simple enough.

[marc]

Originally Posted by AdamWebber

You won't believe what I've found. It's a link. And in that link is a webpage. And on that webpage is blah blah blah...

Anyway, here's the link:
http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/service_abs3.pdf

It's a bit more difficult than any non-ABS bike but looks simple enough.

Yep, that's the right doc. But there have been a few changes since it's been published. Well, one change, anyway. First of all, you do NOT need speedbleaders. I find the job quite easy without them. The change is that when bleeding the control circuits you do not need to bleed four times from three different points. You only need to bleed from the "control circuit" bleed point. You do not need to bleed from the metering and integral bleed points. That is from Bulletin # 34 002 06 (019) dated Apr 2006.

A few brake bleed can be found starting at http://www.snafu.org/pics/r1200gs/20...ice/page2.html
The wheel circuit bleed is at http://www.snafu.org/pics/r1200gs/20...ice/page3.html

[AdamWebber]

Marc,
That is a spectacular resource. Thanks for posting. It looks like the process is a lot easier than I had originally guessed (Or you make it look easy). Looks like I'll be replacing my brake fluid as soon as I get a little time. Thanks!

[marc]

The first time I bled the brakes was a comedy of errors, starting with a forgotten gasket at the end of the funnel which resulted in clean brake fluid running down through the center of the bike to wind up as a puddle on the garage floor. Luckily I spotted it soon enough to back the bike out of the garage and hose off the fluid before it had a chance to do any damage. I've since learned to a) make sure the gaskets/O-rings are in place; and b) add enough fluid to the funnel to just get over the cap and check for a good seal before filling the funnel up the rest of the way.

Besides that, it is an easy but time consuming job. When doing the wheel circuits you do NOT pump the brakes. You depress the lever/pedal until the servos start and let the servo pump do the work. The amount of pressure on the lever/pedal varies the speed of the bleed. Keep is slow and keep your eye on the funnel.