Getting down to the bottom line here. I was beginning the wiring and hooking up hydraulic brake lines from ISR controls, from LA Chop Rods to Brembo brakes. These controls are slick and mechanical looking. Gard told me right up front, “Use only DOT 4 brake fluid.” I was blown away. I thought DOT 5 was the answer to all custom applications. Seems it messes with some of the Tephlon internal components. Gard supplied me with a jug of DOT 4 and I was good to go.

Since I had a black throttle cable and clutch cables, I slipped ½-inch shrink tubing over the pre-made Goodrich hydraulic cables and used a heat gun to shrink 'em.

The V-Bike kit comes with a complete set of hydraulic brake line fittings and copper crush washers. I tried several options before I got serious. The Brembo Calipers come with interesting knobs that catches chromed hydraulic fittings and prevent them from pivoting during the tightening process. If you’ve ever marred a fitting trying to hold it still, you’ll relate.

There comes that time when a builder scours his list of options and concludes that he’s made all the goddamn adjustments needed and it’s time to bleed the brakes. I thought I reached that delicate spot then discovered several loose fittings. With everything tight we added DOT 4 and began the bleeding process.

The key to bleeding is gravity. If it’s working for you, like this front ISR brake job, you’ve got it made. If not, you’re fucked, no matter how many bleeding tools and tricks you know. Some builders inject the fluid from the bottom up on front brakes to speed the process. I filled the master cylinder, and pumped until it was empty, allowing the bubbles to release. When I sensed the lines were full, I let it set over night after refilling the reservoir. It sorta bled itself in the ghetto moonlight. I pumped it a couple of times, topped it off and was good to go in the morning. LA County Chop Rods owns the exclusive distribution rights for ISR in the western states and we’ll show you more of their components over the next couple of months.

The rear brake line was a breeze to install, but proved my gravity point. After we bled it, the conventional way, a couple of times, I removed the caliper, shoved a file (about the same thickness as the Brembo rotor) between the pads, lifted the rotor so gravity hauled the air toward the bleeder screw and went to work. In a couple of pumps it was bled and tight. I removed the file, replaced the caliper and the job was done.

Next I started back on the wiring. After laying it out I decided that I could still use the goofball, machine turned panel I built for the ignition switch. I decided to use Gard Hollinger’s ISR switches on the bars for the High/Low beam and the starter button and ignition switch on the right.

I drove over to the local Marine store to find the toughest, most durable toggle switch and they didn’t have shit. The guys at LA Chop Rods have turned me onto a couple of fantastic hardware stores and I discovered an electronics supply that kicks ass.

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