Well, we're impatiently waiting too. You have to remember that at least one of us is an idiot.
We tried to bleed the front brakes but, although we hear air coming out, there's no fluid coming down out of the line. (And I mean we pumped on it for 3 or 4 minutes.) Makes me think we might not have put everything back together perfectly in there so that might have to come back off and try that again. We'll see...
Ron, the first fill of an empty brake system can definitely be a minor PITA. Here are a few things to try:
For starters, take one of those thin stretchy supermarket bags, poke your finger through it, then stretch that over the master cylinder and make a containment vessel for the fluid. Loosen the MC clamp bolts and rotate it so the reservoir is the highest point and level.
Next, loosen both bleed screws 360 degrees and push a couple of feet of tubing on them, to a catch jar. I like peanut butter jars with plastic tops. Poke a hole with an awl just big enough to get the tubing through, and a teeny one for a vent. Side note - two wraps of teflon tape on the bleed screws will help a lot when you are really bleeding the last of the air bubbles later.
Next, fill the MC, leave the diaphragm off and put the cap on a little loosely.
Next, don't be so delicate with the lever. Fan it several times fast, let it snap back in between. You're trying to jar the air pocket in the MC and the upper banjo to let fluid displace it. WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP. Pull the MC cover off, see if the level went down. Add more fluid, repeat. WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP. Etc. Keep an eye on the peanut butter jar - before long fluid will start to run down the tubing. Bravo, progress.
Once you get the big mass of air out of the MC and the upper banjo, you will feel that it is starting to pump fluid. Good. Now fill the MC to the brim, cap it loosely again without the diaphragm and just leave it for a while, keep an eye on it. Gravity will prime it most of the way from here. Once you get to this stage, take the handle of a screwdriver and TAP TAP TAP along the brake lines, the splitter, and the upper banjo, to dislodge air bubbles in the lines.
When you've got fluid coming out of both bleed screws, close one and do a few bleed cycles of each calipers. Nevermind the MightyVac, just pump, open the bleed screw during the pump stroke, close it just before the end of the pump stroke. Repeat for the other side.
Got most of the air out? Great. Top up the MC just to the upper fill line this time, cap it, and then pull the brake lever about halfway to the grip, strap or tape it there, and leave it overnight. Repeat the bleed the next day, strap it again overnight, and you should be good to go.
The last bit is crucial. You can pump a pint of fluid through bled calipers and still have a spongy lever. Strapping it halfway lets the tiny bubbles that are in the fluid make their way up to the atmosphere (the reservoir) through the return orifice in the MC. Tapping the lines and splitter while the lever is strapped is a good idea too.
Good luck with starting it tonight. Nervy stuff, I remember each one after a big project. Have the fire extinguisher nearby, just to ensure you don't need it :-).
