Motorcycle Repair: Bleed the clutch, clutch slave cylinder, vacuum brake bleeder


Question
QUESTION: My 85 Honda Shadow VT700C ran out of clutch fluid(hydraulic clutch). I put fluid in it but the clutch will not engage. I found the bleeder valve and tried bleeding like a car to no avail. How do you bleed the clutch?

ANSWER: These are not fun The only good way I have found to bleed the clutch is with a vacuum brake bleeder. Your local auto parts store will have one Sears also.

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QUESTION: Can you be more specific; please describe the process. Thanks for tour help!

Answer
place the hose from the vacuum pump on the bleeder screw on the clutch slave cylinder.Open the screw about one turn and start pumping.Make sure the reservoir that holds the fluid NEVER goes dry.Do this until you get a good flow of new fluid. Close the bleed screw and give it a try.Repeat the process until you get a good clutch.The reason you use a vacuum pump is that the master cylinder on the bars pushes only a very small amount of fluid.If you try to bleed it as you were trying it is almost impossible to get all the air out.