Pull the clutch lever with two fingers, accelerate a bit, shift down a gear, now the bend, now engage, lean the bike further into the curve, the footrest screeches against the asphalt – ahhh, the begin of the riding reason. But before the driving fun really begins, the pro will of course make sure that the bike is 100% reliable. Steering and suspension, lights and tyre pressure, clutch and brakes. And especially when it comes to the brakes, there should be no slip ups …
Did you know that brake fluid, even though it is inside a closed circuit system, slowly dilutes with water over time? And that already a 3% water content in the brake fluid can lead to brake failure? The explanation is relatively simple and yet new for many motorcycle fans: Brake fluid is hygroscopic, which means it attracts and absorbs water, such as the moisture from the air. Although it only absorbs small quantities of this moisture in a closed circuit, yet the brake fluid continuous to dilute further and further – until you suddenly squeeze the brake lever. And squeeze. And squeeze …
Already a 3% water content could lead to brake failure!
If the water content in the brake fluid increases to 3%, things start to get really precarious for the motorcyclist. Because the boiling point of the brake fluid slowly decreases – it overheats under heavy loads, forms vapour bubbles and the brake lever fails completely.
This life-threatening situation can be avoided with a careful check of your bike – and with the BW05 brake fluid tester from Trotec. With this measuring device you can quickly and accurately check the water content in the brake fluid of your motorcycle, and naturally that of vehicles in general, both in the car repair shop and at home in your garage.
The BW05 brake fluid tester works so ingeniously
The compact BW05 measuring device is used to check the three most important kinds of brake fluid, DOT3, DOT4 and DOT5.1, and is extremely easy to use. After selecting the test mode for the respective kind of brake fluid, immerse the sensors of the digital measuring device into the brake fluid. Within a few seconds, three colour LEDs signal the resulting water content, which are based on the three-stage spectrum of a traffic light: Green here, too, means you are free to go, since the water content is below 1.5%. Yellow stands for keep going but with frequent checking, since the water content is already between 1.5 and 3%; and red means, at a content of more than 3%, that the brake fluid should be changed immediately, as there is a risk of failure of the hydraulic brake system.
Once the check is concluded, switch the BW05 off, clean the sensors with a dry cloth and store the measuring device in a dry as possible place for next use. And if you forget to manually switch it off – no problem: the tester shuts itself off automatically after 20 seconds.
