from the Kawasaki service manual. I have the Clymer manual and it states that for the bolts (also known as union or banjo bolts) that attach the brake hoses to the master cylinder and calipers the torque is 18 ft-lbs. Would someone please let me know what the factory service manual says?

Thank you in advance,

2.5 kg/meter or 18 ft-lb, all banjo bolts are same. per Kaw manual.
beavis

beavis,

Thanks! I thought this may be the cause of my sinking brake lever problem but Galfer says that their lines are to be torqued to 12-15 ft-lbs.

Sinking hugh? do you mean spongy, or that after holding it a while it actually goes down intil the lever touches the stop? if so, and you dont have any fluid leak, I wouldnt blame torque on that, provided it is not leaking, you may have a bad master cylender. If it is just really spongy, but doesnt sink when you hold it, you probably just need to bleed the lines, I bleed mine as follows:

get a person to pour fluid and operate the lever.
you get a 10 mm wrench and screwdriver.
put something over gas tank
remove cover on mastr cylender and inspect, clean out as needed.
fill with clean fluid dot 4 type
sit cover back on to prevent splashing out.
have person pull moderatly on brake lever while you open the bleeder valve on caliper allowing it to sink toward the handlebar until it stops, you can start with either caliper, we will only do one at a time.
when they cant pull any farther, whitch will occur immeadiatly after the fluid squirts out, re-tighten the valve, only then, allow them to release pressure.
check fluid level, add as nececary
repeat this several times until you get nothing but clean fluid coming out, then move to next caliper and begin again.
This is a proven scientific method and should do the job..

beavis,

Yep, that's what I did. I've been bleeding brakes for yrs (cars and bikes) but have never run into a problem like this: After the traditional "pump and release" bleed method I tie back the lever, tap the calipers and lines to disslodge air bubbles and end up with nice firm lever in a day or two after I untie the lever. The brake lever then slowly gets mushy and keeps coming back further and further during a 30 minute ride and then doesn't seem to get any lower. Everything was ok before I installed the Galfer stainless lines, except for the mushy feeling brake lines that are so common in most older bikes with the OEM rubber lines. So I can't imagine the Master Cyl is suddenly bad. I did remove it and disassemble it to check the seals and look for bore corrision - all apperared ok. I did replace one seal for the hell of it because I had the rebuild kit. I ripped the other new seal - it's a bitch to get on. Removing that piston's circlip is a bitch too! I reinstalled it and bled it last night, then tied the handle back once again (3rd time). I think I'll pick up a Mityvac brake bleeder - that's what Galfer recommends. And no, I don't have DOT 4 leaking out anywhere.

Note: I have bleed my VN750 brakes 3 seperate times before the SS line install and never had a problem.

-Bruce

Interesting. I have heard of this method tossed around, but am skeptical of its effectiveness, my thoughts are the pressure difuses the air into the fluid by compressing it in much like carbonating a soda, however, after time, the air may re-emerge much like the bubbles coming from your glass of cola when the pressure is released. This may account for the description of the mushyness returning at a later time. The heat may even help the gases to difuse from the liquid as well. maybe that bleeder will help, I suspect from your description that you have air in the lines that will not make it to the bottom to make it to the bleeder. too bad you cant just flip the bike over to bleed the lines-lol

anyway one think I learned helps is to have a partner pressing the brake hard and quickly open bleeder to force suspended air "down" the line. as it is trying to float back up to the top after each pulse so sucessive quick operations may be in order. you may want a hose to go into a bottle and bleed then that way where you can rapidly apply and release them?

Hope you get it going.

Well my front brake lever is nice and firm! I rode around today for 1.5 hrs and it didn't sink as it had done twice before. I used a Mityvac ($35.00) to bleed the Master cyl and the calipers. It did seem as though there were some pesky trapped air bubbles that came out. Man is it nice to ride my '96 Vulcan again and with great brake feel/control. The next step is installing decent (sintered metal) brake pads.

Good to hear that worked. how does a mityvac connect/work how do you use it, what is it exactly.
beavis

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38053

Yep that's it. The container is actually a vacuum chamber and the brake fluid ends up in there. You squeeze the handle on the pump about 24 times and that provides enough vacuum in the chamber to draw out a good 4-8 oz of brake fluid. It fills rather quickly even with the bleed valve barely open. The nice feature is to be able to watch what comes out of the calipers - I was surprised that even with a firm lever there were still air bubbles that came out. You quickly become familiar with the types of bubbles, and the rates at which they can and do flow out. Just when you think your good to go you might get a few more which is why it's good to probably run at least half a bottle of DOT 4 through the master cylinder (that's 3 oz through each caliper). The kit includes different rubber fittings to accomodate different size bleed valves. I don't think I could have fixed my brakes had it not been for the Mityvac. I did call my local Kaw dealer before I spent $35 for the Mityvac and found out they charge $84.00 to bleed the brakes on a VN750!!!

I am far from a brake expert. However you might want to research sintered metal brake pads some before you install them if you haven't already. I looked into them and decided against them.

Why?:
- my current organic pads work fine
- sintered metal ones will wear the roter faster, and that is not a cheap thing to replace
- they will grab more/quicker than the oem organic pads, and in my book this is not a good thing. If you lock your front brakes up, there is a 99% plus chance that you are going down. Thanks, but no thanks.

Just my $0.02

RB

Well my front brake lever is nice and firm! I rode around today for 1.5 hrs and it didn't sink as it had done twice before. I used a Mityvac ($35.00) to bleed the Master cyl and the calipers. It did seem as though there were some pesky trapped air bubbles that came out. Man is it nice to ride my '96 Vulcan again and with great brake feel/control. The next step is installing decent (sintered metal) brake pads.

I'm under the impression they last almost as long as stock pads with the same or less rotor wear. Motorcyclist raves about them for just about every road bike. Maybe your thinking of the old style semi-metallic pads, they do cause more rotor wear. Hell, the entire DP line-up is sintered metal pads which also have many other compounds incorporated into the pad material. I've ridden many late model bikes with way more inital bite and prefer the feel because you can stop faster while also being easier to NOT lock that front wheel because of better modulation. The Victory I recently test rode had a single rotor front brake setup that inspired so much confidence and worked so well it made our much lighter VN750 feel like it had a front drum brake. I'll post up when I get the new DP pads in. First I need to heal up from yesterday's get-off.