just two questions:

i changed my brake fluid and found that my brake is hard to pull in....i followed the bleeding instructions in the clymer.

i also found when trying to start the bike, my plug is oil fouled.....i believe this happened when i changed the leaking plug.  i didn't torque the bolts enough and some oil leaked through.  how do i get rid of the oil?.......i tried to start it this morning and didn't find any oil on the plug but just to be safe...

thanks all

well....bout the brakes.

when I did the whole bleeding the brakes thing i did it till i had no air left in the hose.  but i noticed that pulling the brake lever in was very difficult and when i rolled the bike forward, the brake felt like it was being applied.  I ended up letting out some brake fluid and it made it easier to pull the brake in and also let my bike roll freely.  

i'll prob end up doing the bleeding again to see if i can get it right.  i don't know what i did wrong.  right now the brakes feel right but i'm sure i have air in there somewhere.....

i think u may be right about too much brake fluid.  i didn't know that was possible tho.  but i took a test ride around the block after taking out a bit of fluid and there doesnt seem to be any rubbing and my brakes feel softer.  

i had to replace the whole brake lever/mastercylinder assymbly cuz the previous owner had stripped the screws on top of the cylinder.  i ended up getting a cylinder for a flat-bar which made it fit alot better on mine cuz i changed my pull back bar to a drag bar.  

i need to reupholster my pillion seat.  anyone have any tips....or how difficul this job is?  

im not really sure about the two pins cuz i never disassembled the caliper.

thanks for the help

I had the same brake problem on my klx250 dirt bike.  Lever hard to pull, front wheel dragging.  I figured I had a stuck caliper or too much fluid, turned out to be the latter.  Like you, I did not think it was possible to hydro-lock the brakes but I found out different. 

I removed the caliper and tried to compress the piston with a c-clamp, and it wouldn't budge.  I loosened the bleed screw, tightened the c-clamp to "burp" out some fluid, and that's all I had to do.  everything worked fine after that and the problem did not come back.  

Hope this helps.  Are you at GMU, ddiego1? What course of study?  I am one of the few GM engineers that did not go to GMU.

ok.....one more question

i was out riding and i accelerated pretty quickly to 45mph then i stayed at 45 for a couple seconds then started braking.  I heard alot of backfiring then the engine stalled and i coasted to the side of the street.  

i put it in PRI and it took a couple times for it to start.  afterwards i went home.

this has happened to me before at 60 mph.  my question is....why is this happening?  I'm positive i have gas.  is this a sign that i may have water in my gas?

I had several problems with the vacuum operated petc0ck - It didn't always work in the "ON" position, giving problems like you describe, and finally the diaphragm started leaking fuel into the vacuum port on the carb.  

I am too cheap to go buy another petc0ck so I converted mine to manual operation, just like a dirt bike.  Vac ports are blocked off at the carb and at the petc0ck.  The "PRI" is now the "OFF" position.  Still have normal operaton in "ON" and "RES".  I had to figure it out myself but it's not that difficult, and if there's enough interest I will post some instructions/pics on the technical page.

Other than that, check the vacuum line for leaks from the carb to the petc0ck.  The best way to check vac is with a mightyvac (mityvac?) like they sell at a car parts place.  It allows you to pull a vacuum and hold it to see if it's leaking down in your hose,diaphragm, device, etc.  (Also is very handy if you work on cars, to check vac advance, egr, etc.)  

If fuel comes out when you pull the vac line off, you've got the leak that drove me over the edge to manual-zone.

You basically disassemble the entire pectc0ck, delete the vac diaphragm and springs, plug the hole in the plastic valve that corresponds to the "PRI" position, and re-assemble.  You'll need to cap the vacuum diaphragm at the petc0ck to keep fuel from running out, and cap it at the carb to maintain vacuum.

"PRI" is now off.  ON and RES will no longer switch off when the motor is off, so you'll have to remember to turn it off when you stop riding or you'll likely fill the crankcase and airbox with gasoline.

This is a modification to the bike, and some folks would rather just buy a new petc0ck so everthing remains stock.  No problem with that, I'm just cheap and already used to manual petc0cks from many years of dirt bikes and ATVs.

Next time I've got that part of the bike apart I'll make a photo documentary.

Maybe you were lucky enough to get a bike that didn’t have the vacuum operated petcock. I would love to score one of those as I am not a fan of complicating a simplistic design. What year is your bike? Suzuki obviously felt that they couldn’t trust the operator to shut their own fuel off, so the designed a petcock that would eliminate the ability of the user to do so. In such a design, there is more inclination of mechanical failure. I am old school and like it the old way.