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'01 Softail brake fluid

martin14

martin14

Active Member
Oh-oh, not sure what's going on here.


Just finished changing the brake fluids on my bike, 2001 Softail Standard

Front master reservoir cap said DOT 5
Manual said DOT 5
Indy said DOT 5

So I used DOT 5.


While cleaning up the rear reservoir, I noticed the rear reservoir was stamped DOT 4 :shock

So, my questions are:


What came out of the rear was clear fluid, like old DOT 5
What does old DOT 4 look like ?


Is it possible the front brakes would be DOT 5 and the rear DOT 4 ?
I don't think so, but I guess everything is possible.


Have a made a boo boo ?
 
Are you the original owner? If not, could the rear reservoir have been replaced at some point?
 
I'd think it more probable that the rear master cylinder cover had been replaced, than the whole rear system. I'd be confident with following the service manual.
I may be remembering wrong, but I thought DOT5 was purple-ish?? Is there a European/US difference I wonder?
 
I'm not the original owner, so it might be the cover.

Using Bel Ray DOT 5 straight from the US, nice and purple.

The old stuff was clear.
I had not changed the rear fluid for 3 years, no idea when it was done before that.
 
Dot 5 is indeed purple, over time it will crystallize in our motorcycles, if the fluid is doming out clear or slight yellow in color it is dot 4. If you were to mismatch fluids by mistake a total flush of the system should be good to go
 
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