| Author | Message | ||
     Danny_h__jesternut |
Old X1 tuber, speck calls for DOT-4, front & rear. Are all brands of DOT-4 created equal or are some better for hi-proformance aplications? Anyone know of or use the DOT-5.1 fluid? Susposed to be compatable with DOT-4 systems? Better charactoristics for proformance braking of the DOT-5,little or no water absorbsion like the DOT-4? Anyone??? Comments/Opinions??? | ||
| Djkaplan |
My opinion is to use the specified grade of brake fluid and change it often. Once a year probably wouldn't be too much. As far as one brand being better than another... I'm not touching that one. Use whatever company you want to support. | ||
| Bomber |
I'd use DOT-4, as I'm hesitant to find I screwed up my own brakes -- 5.1 is supposed to be compatible, but I know no one that's tried it brand? I'd stick to one I recognized -- discussions of fluid brands tend to border on religious in their fervor round here, but I think I'll be safe to suggest you buy some from a company you've heard of, at least I've run the stuff the bike shipped with, STP, and Castrol with no ill affects | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
DOT-4 Auto partz and department store el cheep "o" fluid, jest as good as, packaged for bike use name brand DOT-4 fluid??? | ||
| Bomber |
dunno, sir - never seen a comparo | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
I'm realy more intrested in the DOT-4 vs DOT-5.1 debate/comparo. Whats the true low down on that? | ||
| Swampy |
I've put in DOT 5 in the Sportster, a quick drain, flush, and refill, and its been working fine for years. The reason I switched was I was afraid of what DOT 3 does to paint! Many years ago I had a Shelby GT 350, and I got some brake fluid on the fender....I saw that spot for a looong time! | ||
| Henrik |
Careful swithching between DOT3/4 and DOT5. Entirely different animals and will not mix. Bad JuJu. I switched from DOT 4 to DOT 5.1 on my SV and on the S2 as well btw. On the S2, since I was coming from DOT5 I rebuilt both master cylinder and caliper with fresh seals and thoroughly flushed the brake line with alcohol. So far so good. DOT 5.1 (really poor choice of naming IMO) is supposedly similar to the DOT4 in it's lack of compressibility but has a much higher boiling point = good for lots of hard braking. It's also similar to DOT 4 in that it will absorb water - quickly in an open container, and while I haven't tested, my guess is it eats paint like DOT 4 as well. We had a similar discussion awhile back where I pulled up a few links describing the differences. Do a search. I've only been running Motul RBF600, which some sites now call DOT 4 ??? I'm fairly certain it's not: http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Motul_RBF600_R acing_Brake_Fluid--38-MOT-3.html http://www.buybrakes.com/store/MOTUL-8069HC I think the main issue in getting good brake performance is good bleeding getting *all* the air out and then change fluid at regular intervals. Henrik |
