Brake fluid reservoir

I cannot tell from the sight glass how high/low the level on the front brake fluid reservoir is, I suspect it's fine though as the pads are good, no leaks, good braking operation etc. 

However, I've noticed that the two screws at the top are near enough rounded out. I've had a go at loosening them (anti-clockwise?!) And cannot get them to turn at all. Why the hell they've been tightened so much I don't know, I mean I'd never do a thing like that... wasn't me, but I will have to get that lid open at some point. I've tried some gt85 to loosen them but no luck. Other than fitting a new reservoir, where can I go from here?

I've had it on other bikes (on my CRM last week funnily enough) where the heads were rounded off.  I had to carefully drill out the heads (use small bits and work your way up, and dont drill too deep), then you can remove the M/C lid and wind the remains of the bolt out with a pair of pliers.

Have you tried a torex bit to turn them on a slight angle?

jim157 wrote:I've had it on other bikes (on my CRM last week funnily enough) where the heads were rounded off.  I had to carefully drill out the heads (use small bits and work your way up, and dont drill too deep), then you can remove the M/C lid and wind the remains of the bolt out with a pair of pliers.

 I can see that in my future. It sounds painstaking but I don't have too many options . Thanks.

Jameshambleton wrote:Have you tried a torex bit to turn them on a slight angle?

No, they're really getting round now after I've been at them too. Not a bad idea, even with the nice Proxxon screwdrivers I have they didn't even budge, not a millimetre. I'll give it a go, nothing else for it. Cheers.

Gently hammer a flat head screwdriver in, and try to turn that. If that doesn't work,carefully drill the heads off.

i had to dremel a deep grove on the bolt head so that i could use a big flat head screw driver, and then replaced them with allen key bolts which work a bit better imo.

You may not have done them up too tight - they have a habit of seizing up solid, even if well treated. A *tiny* amount of copper-slip (or any grease, at a pinch) smeared on them before re-assembly (once you've got them out!) might aid future removal.

Good luck!

sullivj wrote:Gently hammer a flat head screwdriver in, and try to turn that. If that doesn't work,carefully drill the heads off.

Oh man, I'm not sure about drill bit at all. I'll drill the hell out of it, no doubt. Cheers.

geewhizz wrote:i had to dremel a deep grove on the bolt head so that i could use a big flat head screw driver, and then replaced them with allen key bolts which work a bit better imo.

I don't have a dremel but I'll maybe drill them out. Good idea about Allen key replacement though.

eternally_troubled wrote:You may not have done them up too tight - they have a habit of seizing up solid, even if well treated.  A *tiny* amount of copper-slip (or any grease, at a pinch) smeared on them before re-assembly (once you've got them out!) might aid future removal.

Good luck!

Im not guilty of tightening them, I haven't touched the reservoir since I got the bike. But I have to deal with it now, that's for sure. 
If I replace them with screws I'll def copper slip em. Cheers. 

Had that problem on the old bike, didn't have confidence drilling out, so went with the slot method after all other options were exhausted. Didn't have a dremel, which made things difficult, so ended up using a combination of hacksaw and triangular file. Did a little bit of damage to the top of the reservoir though, which I wasn't personally worried about but is worth looking out for.

I ruined one of mine taking it out, I knew by the feel when I started going at it that it would strip if i continued.

I used the rubber band trick where you get a nice thick one to place over whatever you want to turn.
It helps spread the force within the screw and lets you put in a little more power.

Luckily I found a compatible screw to replace it in a pile of dirt in the corner though haha.