Master Cylinder Bleeder: Galespeed 17mm VRC

I am doing some repair work after a lowside last weekend.
The reservoir nipple sheared off, so I replaced it with a spare I had.
While re-filling and trying to bleed, I noticed I couldn't get any pressure no matter what I did.

I finally did a sanity check by putting on the stock axial MC with no top bleed screw, and the system bled just fine. (Yamaha monoblocks with Stahlbus speed bleeders.)

I'm leaning towards a seal possibly being damaged in the crashed Galespeed MC, though there isn't a scratch on it.

Question:
When starting on a dry system, shouldn't I be able to bleed the top screw first and get fluid out of it?
I get nothing, which makes me believe it's possibly a damaged seal.
My process for bleeding it would be this, correct me if it's wrong.
Bleeder screw closed, reservoir full, pump the lever a few times and hold, crack open the bleeder, close the bleeder, and repeat the process until fluid flows from bleeder.

Now that the lines are bled with the other MC, I may try swapping back over to the Galespeed since perhaps there was a large air bubble trapped somewhere.
Any thoughts are welcome.
Thanks guys.

 

I have found, on a dry system, the best way to do motorcycle brakes is reverse bleeding. Thats where you push the fluid from the calipers up to the master cylinder. I don't think you'll be able to do it with the Stahlbus banjos, though.

After I get a solid lever, which is almost immediately, I then do a traditional bleed, using tygon tubing over the banjos to make an air type lock.

 

If you have Stahlbus fittings, do yourself a favor and get this.

https://www.stahlbus-us.com/bleedin...vacuum-filling-and-bleeding-device-150ml.html

However, it sounds like there's something messed up internally on the MC as you're not creating any pressure with it.

If the crash took off the bleed nipple, maybe the lever was pushed hard enough to rupture the internal seal. That's speculation though.

 

Thanks, I actually ordered some syringes to do just that next if this didn't work. The speed bleeders would probably not work, as the ball check valve would be pressed into the orifice in that direction.

 

Thanks.
Looks like even Stahlbus says vacuum fill, then switch to the speed bleeders.

With the MC on the bench; if I place my thumb over the line port and pull the lever, I get a good puff of pressure.
But I think we're both right about potential seal issue.

On that topic, I can't readily find a seal/rebuild kit for this thing. I'll keep looking though.

 

I'm pretty sure they are sold as non-rebuildable and therefore they don't sell rebuild kits for them.

You may be able to find seals that fit, but for the couple hundred dollars, I personally wouldn't take the risk.

 

It helps when the system doesn't have any fluid. The vacuum bleed device pulls the air and fluid from the reservoir through the bleeder, so no need to remove it.

A simple and cheap way to bleed, a very useful tool.

This.

 

Disassembled the entire MC just to have a look.
All the seals look fine. No debris, marks, or tears.
Cleaning it all up and reassembling to try again.

I ordered a backup Brembo RCS19 just in case.

 

When bleeding a dry system or a dry master cylinder I always fill the reservoir then get as much fluid into the master cylinder as possible by contantly pinching the reservoir tube, bleeding at the master cylinder bleeder, and bleeding at master banjo bolt. After bouncing around those 3 things enough to get the air out of the master, the rest of the dry system bleeds pretty easily.

 

I did notice the tiny orifice at the reservoir feed may have had some trash in it. I really cleaned that area out and will try again.
It's possible it was blocked and couldn't burp air, so I was just chasing my tail.

 

I reassembled the unit and did a bench bleed while flipping the unit nearly upside down. Got so many bubbles out of it this way.
The Galespeed reservoir feed is about 45° from vertical, and just wouldn't push the bubbles out as easily. Once I did that, it was ready to swap onto the bike. All done, and the brakes are back to normal.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

 

I know this is an old thread but does anyone know the size of the bleeder screw for the galespeed master? Im looking into buying the Stahlbus speed bleeders but dont know the correct size/length/thread pitch for this master, hoping to find the answer form someone here.

Thanks in advanced!

 

If memory serves me they are the same as Brembo.
Call Stahlbus and talk to Thomas, very knowledgeable and east to work with.

 

Thanks, will do!

 

I'm pretty sure it'll be an M10, just not 100% certain the thread pitch w/o taking it out to measure.
I had some M8 stahlbus bleeders left over (I buy 4 packs), I figured if it fit the MC that'd be a nice bonus. But no, the bleeder for the MC is larger.
Update me when you get yours, and I'll probably order one too.

 

Thanks Brent, for what its worth before I heard back from you guys I ended up calling Graves to see if they knew the size since they are one of the most notable dealers for Galespeed in the US and also run them on their race bikes, they also said it should be the same as the Brembo RCS system. They switched to Galsespeed from the Brembo RCS system, so he seemed confident about it but not 100% sure. He said they like Galespeed at Graves because of the build quality and close R&D relationship they have with the company because it is smaller.

What I found interesting was when I mentioned the Stahlbus bleeders to the guy I was speaking with, he first asked me why I felt I needed them and then once I said I was just doing research on them he began advocating against them as well as all speed bleeders in general. They apparently run standard bleeders on all the Graves bikes. The guy I was speaking with (forgot his name) was a brake specialist with Vesrah for a long time before moving to the Graves team, he said with proper bleeding technique theres really no reason to use them.

So naturally this information got me wondering if anyone has ever had issues with their Stahlbus bleeders? Ive never used them so just curious.

He was also telling me how these Galespeed masters are designed to be used with 5.1 fluid not 4 and that they tested about 20 different brake fluids when switching to these masters and said the Active 5.1 fluid preformed the best. The Active fluid is not proprietary, it is actually manufactured by a company called Golden Cruiser which is based in Japan and re packaged for Active, he mentioned the container is metal with a sealed cap which minimizes how much air can get to the fluid which is why it can be re sealed and re used after opening (he didn't say for how long though) unlike plastic bottles which should be discarded after each use.

He also assured me that 17.5mm piston was correct for my stock R6 calipers and that is what they run on their super stock setups in combination with Vesrah XX pads, he said this combination is basically bulletproof for most 600 riders but some do prefer a 19mm piston but that it's rare. He said it works but its very touchy and on/off with little brake feel so most prefer a 17.5mm setup.

All in all a very informative conversation, figured some people may benefit from this relay of the knowledge I gained so thought I would share.

 

It's M10 1.0 for the banjo

I agree that the speed bleeder is not needed.

Brake preference is completely subjective. The only way to know what you want is to try different combinations. The above combination sounds like a very good setup, but might not be what you are looking for feel wise.

Last year, I tried five different pads on three different types of rotors, with two different types of pistons in the calipers. This year, I am changing the bore size on the master cylinder and trying more combinations of pads and rotors. As your riding style changes, what you are looking for in brake feel will change.

 

Yup, M10x1.0 is the correct size.

 

I use the Stahlbus bleeders on my r6. They are great. I refresh my brake fluid often; it makes life a lot easier.

I’m not sure how you can compare them to other speed bleeders. I’ve never seen any others that work the same way, and they have a patent. The issue with normal speed bleeders is that air can still get in through the loose threads even if there is a one-way valve. The Stalbus are two pieces, so the threads leading into the brake system / caliper are never loosened.

The only issue I have with the Stahlbus on my 17+ r6 is that because they are longer and stick out further than OEM bleeders, I can’t get the top caliper bolts out without taking the protective cap off the bleeder. Not really a big deal.

Did he explain what is proper bleeding technique? Before the speed bleeders, I’d pump the brakes, loosen bleeder, close bleeder, let go of lever. Was I doing that wrong? Is there a way to not keep opening and closing bleeder?

 

I do all my own mechanical work and some machining on my bikes and have for decades. Stahlbus bleeders are one of the best upgrades I have ever done for ease of brake maintenance. I have no experience with other speed bleeders. I put the Stahlbus on all my bikes.