absent.canadian

On the top of my Ducati’s front brake master cylinder are the following words:

“Use only DOT 3 ÷ 5 Brake Fluid”

And as the following post will demonstrate, this does NOT mean DOT 3 or DOT 5.

First, a brake fluid primer.   There are three commonly available brake fluids: DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5.  One would presume that the higher number means that it’s “better” vluid, but this is not necessarily so.  DOT 4 does have a higher boiling point than DOT 3, and most mechanics will not hesitate to substitute DOT 4 for DOT 3.  The two also mix just fine, so there’s no problem topping up a DOT 3 system with DOT 4 fluid.

DOT 5 is where things get complicated. DOT 5 is silicon based.  It is not hygroscopic.  It does not mix with DOT 3 or DOT 4.  In fact, mixing DOT 5 in a brake system that is currently filled with DOT 3 or DOT 4 is nearly catastrophic.

You can guess where this is going.

See, the Europeans are crafty, and what they really meant was DOT 3/5, which is the European way of saying “DOT 3″.  To make things worse, the service manual calls for DOT 4.

And you guessed it: I topped it up with DOT 5.

I realized my mistake almost immediately, when the purple DOT 5 fluid combined with the DOT 4 fluid already in there to make these odd creamy-colored globuoles.  And if you’ve ever had that light-headed tingly feeling when you know you’ve really fucked up – well, you’ll know how I felt that afternoon.

What followed was 10 excrutiating hours of disassembling every single component in my bike’s brake system.  I’m talking about caliper pistons removed from calipers, delicate rubber O-rings from the deepest corners of the brake system, and even a disassembled master cylinder that took about ninety-six fingers to hold together when I had to re-insert the final spring clamp that holds everything together.

No, fair reader, it was not a fun job at all.  The odor of aerosol brake cleaner still fills my garage, and the only good thing is that I now have the cleanest front brake system in North America.

At least, until the next poor sod dumps DOT 5 fluid in his decidely non-DOT-5 brake system.

I turned 4000 miles on my new scooter today.  Well, that’s what the odometer says; I’ve only contributed 600 of those miles.

600 miles still represents 20 hours in the saddle and 15 fill-ups.  The average fill-up is costing me $1.60 (yes, one dollar and sixty cents), and while my mileage has dropped to about 90 mpg (I think I need a new spark plug), I’m still enjoying a weekly commute to work that only costs me about $7.

It’s funny how a little red scooter has me rethinking my entire vehicular strategy.

For reasons that will soon be known, I’m thinking about selling the Ducati.  Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s a wonderful motorcycle, and a mechanical work of art.  3 years and 20,000 miles later, I still get a shit-eating grin on my face every time I ride it.  But it’s not the kind of riding I want to do anymore … and to replace it, I’m seriously thinking about this.

No, I haven’t lost my mind.  There’s some serious scheming going on in the absent.canadian household, and I promise I’ll tell-all soon.