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  Hilly

  20 days ago

  Glad you got it sorted Beages 👍

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  beaglebasher

  20 days ago

  I know I am getting fussy but isn't the back wheel  supposed be in the middle?

  

  

  

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  Hilly

  20 days ago

  Now this is a whole different kettle of fish, back in early twin cam days some had offset front wheels as well, my preference is both wheels centred to frame, HD did odd things to accommodate different tyre widths and weight distribution, so to answer......it depends lol

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  beaglebasher

  20 days ago

  Yeah, I think I've heard about that before Hilly. I remember looking at it before but when it's on the ground and the guards are on its not so noticeable so I won't overthink that one.

  One thing I will mention but is when I tightened up the axle nut after reducing the length of the spacer, when I went to put the split pin in I didn't have to line it up with the slots in the nut cos the hole in the axle is now clear of the nut. Another minor detail but I will probably get a thicker washer made up for peace of mind.

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  Hilly

  20 days ago

  The axel is supposed to be the right length, what about adding what you took off the disc side spacer to the pulley side one, that at least will give you back the same dimensions as before?

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  Stuart

  20 days ago

  Out of interest, Beages, what shape is the disc in? From experience, I'd expect it to be fucked if it was dragging like it appears to have been.

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  beaglebasher

  20 days ago

  Quoting Hilly on 17 Nov 2025 09:41 PM

  The axel is supposed to be the right length, what about adding what you took off the disc side spacer to the pulley side one, that at least will give you back the same dimensions as before?

  I was thinking about doing that but the spacers are now the standard sizes according to 408's numbers so I will leave it the way it is. Don't want to open up another can of worms with the belt and pulley alignment. 

  
  

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  beaglebasher

  20 days ago

  Quoting Stuart on 18 Nov 2025 02:04 AM

  Out of interest, Beages, what shape is the disc in? From experience, I'd expect it to be fucked if it was dragging like it appears to have been.

  That's what you would think but it is still within spec and it looks straight when I check it with a straight edge.

  It has Minumum Thickness 0.205" stamped on the disc and when I measured it it was 0.208"

  I am amazed it's not totally fucked because the disc is discoloured blue so it must have been getting pretty fuckin hot.

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  beaglebasher

  5 days ago

  Didn't want to hijack Hillys thread any further so I will put this here. 

  I went to change the brake fluid last night.  All good (old stuff was definitely a bit shitty) but when I went to put the master cylinder cover back on I noticed the writing on the cover and it says to use dot 5 fluid only.

  Of course I had just filled it with dot 4. 

  It's probably been covered here before but I can't remember the details.  Is it necessary that I use dot 5 and what is the difference between the two of them?

  Now I think about it I did notice that the new stuff didn't seem to mix properly with the old stuff in the master cylinder but at the time I just put it down to the fact the old stuff was probably fucked.

  I will go and buy some dot 5 today anyway but if someone can explain the difference it would be appreciated. 

  
  

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  Hilly

  5 days ago

  I presume the dot 4 has been in the dot 5 system for some time? 

  It's supposed to make your seals fail, I've not done it personally but everything I've ever read says don't.

  One is glycol based and the other silicon and they don't mix.

  Have a read of this ......

  Shoot Me: I mixed DOT4 & DOT 5, Now What? - Harley Davidson Forums https://share.google/pA4dVWYl4MxF1iWhS

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  speedzter

  5 days ago

  The simple answer is if you've mixed dot4 and dot5 you're screwed.

  You will need to fully flush  and clean the system, and refill.

  
  

  In a perfect world you should strip everything to clean it properly. 

  
  

  When dot4 and dot5 are mixed , they react chemically and turn into a mess that will likely fail.

  Stuart likes this post

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  beaglebasher

  5 days ago

  Thanks again fellas. Looks like I am going to have to flush it as best I can with the dot5. I will drain as much out as I can and bleed it a few times. 

  I might have to stop doing maintenance on the bike when I've got a dozen beers under my belt !

  obisteve likes this post

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  beaglebasher

  5 days ago

  Just spent the last hour bleeding the back brake.  The dot5 I bought was the Penrite dot5 fluid and it is a purple colour and the dot4 was green so it was easy to see when the new stuff started coming through. I flushed the best part of a 500ml bottle through it so it should be pretty good. Will probably do it again after a week or so. 

  I will be keeping a close watch on that calliper and disc anyway so if it starts doing anything funny I should notice it. 

  Won't be making that mistake again!

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  Hilly

  4 days ago

  Be careful mate, shit like that usually fails when you need it most, are the front brakes compromised at all?

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  beaglebasher

  4 days ago

  Haven't touched the front brake yet. 

  If the new dot5 fluid looks even slightly suspicious next week when I flush it again I will have no choice but to pull it all apart and clean everything thoroughly. 

  When I flushed it today I kept a sample and it looks the exact same as the new stuff out of the bottle so I'm hoping I will get away with it. 

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  beaglebasher

  4 days ago

  Quoting Hilly on 03 Dec 2025 07:30 AM

  Be careful mate, shit like that usually fails when you need it most, are the front brakes compromised at all?

  You've got me thinking now Hilly.

  The dot4 that I put in by mistake was in the system for roughly 16 hours before I flushed it with the new stuff.
  

  What I am going to do is mix up a 50/50 sample of dot4 and dot5 fluid in a jar and see what happens. If it turns to jelly before lunchtime tomorrow then I might have to have another think about it. 

  I will take a couple of pics.

  
  

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  beaglebasher

  4 days ago

  They certainly don't mix.

  Don't know if you can see it in the photo but the dot5 is the purple stuff and it floats on top of the green dot4.

  I will take another pic in the morning. 

  

  Hilly likes this post

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  speedzter

  4 days ago

  Glad to hear it's not the front brake system. 

  Back brakes not so much of a big deal. 

  Dot5 is not exactly cheap stuff these days, compared to dot4.

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  beaglebasher

  4 days ago

  Yeah the dot5 was $31 for 500ml but if that's all it costs me I will consider myself lucky.

  

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  Stuart

  4 days ago

  I've done this once. I used DOT 5.1 instead of DOT 5. I don't recall how long the DOT 5.1 was in the system, but it did turn to jelly. And my belief is it also fucked the rubber seals on the brake pistons. I ended up pulling the system apart and cleaning it out. And put a kit through the caliper. Won't fall for that again.

  
  

  My mistake entirely, but don't get me started on the decision(s) made to name a silicon based fluid DOT 5, and a glycol based fluid DOT 5.1 :-)

  B0nes likes this post