My rear break fluid is brown. I don't recall it being so dark previously...seems to have gotten dark in the past week or so. I have 2,200 miles on the Hyperstrada. Do I need to change the rear break fluid and if so, wouldn't this be covered under warranty, and why would it go dark?
Hi Petrey,
If you use the rear brake, the brake fluid will change color. From light yellow, it will turn dark and darker and eventually will turn to brown. It's normal after 2200 miles. It's not covered under warranty.
Brake fluid on my Monster turned brown after only 2500 km... cause I use the rear brake all the time in slow moving traffic. When it turned brown, I changed the brake fluid. It's only a 5 to 10 minutes job with vacum pump like MityVac. Slightly longer if you don't use mityvac.
If you use the rear brake, the brake fluid will change color. From light yellow, it will turn dark and darker and eventually will turn to brown. It's normal after 2200 miles. It's not covered under warranty.
Brake fluid on my Monster turned brown after only 2500 km... cause I use the rear brake all the time in slow moving traffic. When it turned brown, I changed the brake fluid. It's only a 5 to 10 minutes job with vacum pump like MityVac. Slightly longer if you don't use mityvac.
Joined Dec 2012
304 Posts | 0+
Bossier City, Louisiana
I bled mine today and refreshed with new fluid. Doesn't take but about 8 or 10 pumps on the brake lever to empty the reservoir. I pulled the caliper off and stuck it through the wheel to get the bleeder on top so the air would come out. Good to go now.
I have 5242 miles. Had some brake, but the pedal went way down, now it works like it is supposed to.
I have 5242 miles. Had some brake, but the pedal went way down, now it works like it is supposed to.
Joined Nov 2013
1K Posts | 1+
Inland SoCal
That brown color is from oxidation and/or contamination. It is definitely not normal, and indicates a loss in properties such as heat resistance. Check your front reservoir, I'll bet it's brown too. Mine turned dark by 2000 miles.
I don't know why Ducati uses such an inferior grade of brake fluid. It's only DOT 3. I've never seen it change color so quickly on any of my other bikes. They stay clear for years and years.
I'm flushing mine with Motul DOT 5.1.
I don't know why Ducati uses such an inferior grade of brake fluid. It's only DOT 3. I've never seen it change color so quickly on any of my other bikes. They stay clear for years and years.
I'm flushing mine with Motul DOT 5.1.
Joined Apr 2013
804 Posts | 22+
uk
No advantage of 5.1 in your hyperstrada, unless your going to race it.
Waste of money unless you can get it for the same price as DOT 4 which would be just as good an upgrade. (although it will absorb water quicker than DOT 3) You will still see the colour change as quick too. Only difference is mainly the boiling point. All will absorb water as they are hydroscopic except DOT 5, which is a NO go unless you want to flush the system and replace all the seals. And then it's still not recommended.
Just changing regular once a year or 4-5K miles should be fine.
The clutch fluid reservoir on my 996 discolours very quickly as does the rear brake reservoir, it is a characteristic of the bike.
Waste of money unless you can get it for the same price as DOT 4 which would be just as good an upgrade. (although it will absorb water quicker than DOT 3) You will still see the colour change as quick too. Only difference is mainly the boiling point. All will absorb water as they are hydroscopic except DOT 5, which is a NO go unless you want to flush the system and replace all the seals. And then it's still not recommended.
Just changing regular once a year or 4-5K miles should be fine.
The clutch fluid reservoir on my 996 discolours very quickly as does the rear brake reservoir, it is a characteristic of the bike.
My brake fluid got dirty/discolored fairly quickly too. Changed fluid to Motul RBF 600 Dot 4 and it works great and at 6k miles now it has stayed considerably cleaner looking than the original fluid.
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