How To Bleed A Hydraulic Motorcycle Clutch | The Shop Manual 

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More shop manuals please! These tips and tricks really are very informative!

I get the old fluid out the res with a paper towel or hydro syringe, before filling up with the new stuff. It saves pumping the old stuff through the system.

4:20 you gotta clean out the bottom of that reservoir!

Buy a very small bottle of the hydraulic fluid, because once opened it starts absorbing moisture and so degrades, as such don't plan on using it again in 2 years time.

On the water bottle, I use a punch to make a hole in the cap it holds the hose securely. Also putting a piece of plastic wrap on the painted parts under the reservoir save on headaches.

You should discard the old fluid from the reservoir using a syringe or turkey baster and then fill with fresh fluid before bleeding.

excellent. The cut into the bottle and insert tube, so obvious, yet I never thought of it once. Cleaning brake fluid off off the ground will now be a thing of the past. Great stuff Ari , thank you.

Never owned a bike with hydraulic clutch, but this was certainly informative. Thanks!

By far the best explanation of this process.

Good, simple and informative for those with hydro clutches. Me? I'm interested in Ari's diet and exercise routine. Total calories consumed... Dude stays lean so well!

I've never owned or rode a motorcycle with a hydraulic clutch but it's always interesting to watch something informative.

Ari is a legend. Thanks and keep this stuff coming.

God blessed Ari Hinning. Love your trip and tricks man.

One of my all time favorite bikes being used for the demo

All my bikes have a cable clutch. But I still can’t keep from watching Ari when there’s a new Shop Manual video!

Very timely as I am in need of servicing the hydraulic systems on my ride. Thanks, Ari!

Love The Shop Manual.

Another great video from Ari, thanks buddy. Another one of those pro tips: since that reservoir gets opened rarely, I like to immediately remove all fluid in the reservoir (either very carefully with a rag while avoiding spills or with a MityVac) and wipe out the sediment in the bottom. Always use a clean lint free rag and if necessary some brake cleaner type fluid of your choice, just make sure whatever you use it leaves no residue. The fresh fluid will stay fresher longer and probably not look as bad when the next change is due.

I don't even have a hydraulic clutch but listening to Ari Henning talk about motorcycle components is cathartic.

would love one about steering stem bearings, unless you've already done one and I've missed it! thanks for the continued videos, they're helpful!

Thanks much. The Shop Manual is very helpful! Please keep it coming.

"generally offers a light and consistent feel" I guess Ari has never ridden a Honda with a hydraulic clutch, they're the heaviest I've ever felt!

I've done a bunch of brake bleeds and so thank u for this, never done clutch before

Ducati 1000DS!!

haha that's the weekend project. Thanks for the reminder

Super easy thanks!

Idk about using it in clutches, but it was common on the farm to use standard mineral oil in the brake and hydraulic systems if they ever needed a top up and we didn’t have the appropriate fluid.

Thanks Ari! That Duc is 😅ne stunning bike👌🏻

Incredibly helpful, thank you!

Thanks for posting. It makes this job look easy and I'm ready to tackle it on my own.

CRKT makes really good, affordable knives. SOC makes really good knives as well, if you have the $$. Keyshawn is good also.

recently picked up a first gen vmax. this'll come in handy

to this day I'm amazed that only a handful of flagship superbikes come with hydraulic clutches.

One more pro tip: I have a dedicated plastic Pepsi bottle with a proper hole drilled in the cap for the hose, which reaches the bottom of the bottle and protrudes enough where I can set it in the ground and the hose doesn’t want to jump off of the bleeder nipple. When you’re done, just properly dispose of the used fluid in the bottle and save it for the next job.

Thank you, very clear instructions

Great video, thanks!

Great Instructions nice & clear well done 👍

Never flush the old fluid through the system! Suck it out and clean the tank. Fill with fresh fluid. You really don't need to do the pump method. I just gravity bleed my brakes and clutch. i will close the bleeder and pump one or twice to flush the M/C piston, then i just leave it open. Gravity will do the rest. Takes a little longer but you can't get air bubbles like you can with the pump method.

Thanks

Bravo Ari 👏

I used to add a 1/4 water inside the bottle, it makes vaccum chamber so when I bleed out the old oil the hose wont let air to going back to the system..

Hope more vids will be done on that multistrada

Til some bikes use a hydraulic clutch

How do you clean the reservoir without introducing air? Is it ok to leave the reservoir dirty?

What happens if you overfill the resoviour, wouldn’t that make the clutch engage more?

One question, you don't need power on to do this procedure, right?

Great video 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧

Thanks good video

me casually looking at the most likely 30 year old fluid in my 1994 cb 1000, telling myself that it has been change at least once by the previous owner, but knowing very well it has not been.

Thank you

That’s a pretty handsome Multi, I can’t say I love the screen but the bike is rad. 1100S DS?

Thanks for that 👍

great tips...have you ever used the syringe reverse bleeding technique?

that was great and really nice, thankz

Everytime i think of bleeding the brakes or clutch its always Ari that comes to mind. But for some reason, its the Ari Henning with the dreadlocks wearing shades from Motorcyclist Magazine that pops in my head. 🤔

You did not mention when you add the new liquid into the system? Is it only in the end or all the time when the chamber is getting almost empty?

Can use Shimano / magura / baby oil for mineral fluid.

I have a BMW K1300S with mineral oil for the hydraulic clutch, Im told that there’s no reason to flush this fluid because it does not absorb moisture like brake fluid. What’s your take on this, the dealer told me this.

An old whiskey bottle works well because it doesn’t tip over easily.

The easiest thing to do , made my clutch 100% more easy to pull

I have changed my brake fluid (dot 4 recommended) for dot 5.1. Can i do the same with my clutch fluid (dot 4 recommended as wel)

My master cilinder keeps spittibg bubbles and after 15 mibutes of bleeding, nothibg comes out of the nipple. After a rebuild master- and slavecylinder. So with a dry system. Stuff sucks.

more advanced tutorials please!

I got VERY curious about that Ducati. What model is that? And thanks for another Shop Manual! Always great tips in excelent videos!

Can I do it without a bleeder nipple idk where to find one

3:54 - might wanna clean the reservoir first and remove all the debris in there...

When I last bled my RC51's clutch, each time I first pulled the lever after closing the bleeder valve, it wanted to squirt some brake fluid up and out of the reservoir. Had to clean up a couple spills. I had to pull the lever really really slowly to keep the fluid in the reservoir. It only happened on the first full pull, it wouldn't do it on any subsequent pulls. Not sure what's wrong, the master cylinder would probably like to be rebuilt due to age but the clutch works fine when I ride. Is this something that can just happen on some bikes, or could there some weird issue it could have that makes it want to squirt fluid like that without necessarily affecting performance during regular use?

Sorry for the ?. How hot 2016 CBR 1000 supposed to get. That you for your time..

When I tried this method on my 17 SDR I got an error message. Found out it requires to be pressure bled.

Vacuum bleeders are so much better and easier.

Hey Ari, I've bled my clutch many times but am curious, Is there a difference between the auto parts DOT 4 (i.e. Prestone) & say Motul? The latter is twice as much but if I get better engagement I'd definitely go there. Thoughts??? Thanks

Until I find out one of those bolts are rung out on my vtx1800

Just be careful with the reservoir open she doesn’t spit back on you!

I see that even old Ducati reservoir covers are shit as the new one.

Speed bleeders!!!!!!! Tue best $7 you can spend!!!!!!

Is clutch and break fluid is same????

pneumatic brake bleeder is so much nicer

"Recycle the fluid" Hahahahahahahahahahhaaha

Uhm, Ari, the KTM manual says to reverse bleed the clutch. Is there a difference?

I just rebuilt my clutch master cylinder and now I can't get the air out of it

On a Ducati you would never need to change it as within two years it will all have leaked out through the OEM slave cylinder 🙂

What happens if you fill your reservoir to the top in stead of 75%?

Meh missed the most important part. Drain and clean the reservoir before putting in new fluid. Otherwise you are just pulling crap into the lines.

Pretty smart, not showing the front end of that Multistrada. That would easily distract viewers away from the maintenance job. Talk about one ugly Duc, those were some dark times :P

No more mineral oil in these bikes

Code does not work for kershaw

Damn wish I had waited to the end of this video before dumping old fluid down the toilet 🚻 😕

Damm

5th comment hehe

Wait wait wait , is this the first comment !?