squishy front brakes

[MrN2OBelvedere]

1999 yz400

The rear brakes are nice and firm...the fronts are super squishy. I can squeeze the lever straight to the grips without much effort. Now mind you that the bike would endo if I squeezed the brakes that far. I just prefer to use two fingers on the brakes and clutch at all times and I can't quite do that with these brakes.

The pads are new, and today I bled a bottle of fluid through the system. I followed all the normal procedures for bleeding, I used a tube with two full turns to catch air bubbles, and I would build pressure on the lever and loosen the bleeder. I've bled a lot of brake systems in my time and I am pretty sure that there is no air in the system.

Are the brakes from this bike just squishy or is there anything else I can do to make them a little stiffer?

[cantpassthis]

look to see if the rotor moves when you squeeze the lever. if the caliper takes a hit it can bend things out of shape and cause that effect

[timmyp8823]

I had a 98 WR that I spent what felt like a week bleeding the front brake. I don't know if they are all that big of a PITA,but I had a hell of a time getting all the air out of mine,so you aren't alone. It did firm up eventually though.

[Chickenhauler]

Is the brake line swelling under pressure? Seen this happen before.

If there's NO air in the line, and the line isn't swelling under pressure, and your rotor is true, then it may be time for a master cylinder rebuild.

[941MXVET]

What Chickendude said. First look at rotor for trueness, then try maybe replacing your break line with a bradded Stainless steal one. If these don't work maybe you can find a newer unit on the bay or other online resources.