I have the Calif Friendship III on my 89 Yamaha Venture Royale project just about done. On the Venture the braking for the bike alone works with the foot brake working the rear and the left front and the hand lever working the front right. When I hooked up the quick disconnect from the sidecar to the work with the front right, I have to screw in the lever adjustment screw all the way in to get any braking. I've bleed the calipers 3 times using a Mityvac and twice using the old fasion, pump the lever, and get the same results. Checked for leaks and the obvious. Just seems like the master cylinder is'nt pushing hard enough, yet the bore size is 11/16". Any ideas on tricks to fix this??????
I suspect that you have trapped air in the vicinity of the master cylinder banjo fitting(s).
Turn your handlebars all the way to left and if necessary jack up the sidecar with a floor jack so that the banjo fitting(s) are slightly below the master cylinder bore. After you achieve this, tie the brake lever to the handlebar. Letting it set overnight like this and gentle tapping on the master cylinder should dislodge the trapped air.
Out of curiosity, what brand / model of brake caliper do you have on the sidecar wheel?
Ken
1990 Yamaha Venture / Champion Escort
It's a Bemco, like you'd find on a dirt bike.
I did get the air out by back feeding fluid from the sidecar caliper through the line out the caliper on the front wheel. Something I learn in school. What you described is what we called diddling. Except instead of leaving overnight, you continuely, lightly tap on the brake lever while tapping the brake line to work the bubbles up to the master cylinder. Quik fix while on the road.
