Hydraulic brake issues...
 

The brakes on my KTM don't grab until the lever is basically on the bar. Is that necessarily air in the lines or is it something else? It grabs fine, not spongy at all, just way late.

I'm supposed to go ride today and I don't have any brake fluid so I'm hoping it's something else but I can't find anything :/

sounds like air in the lines, or a MAJOR problem. I'd go buy some brake fluid, and begin looking for the cause. not safe to ride until problem is fixed IMO.

Sounds like a mechanical issue w/ the lever/pivot/plunger, if it's not spongy at all.

Agreed on not riding until identifying & correcting.

Such as?

I'm an pretty pathetic with tools...I'll go bleed 'em and see if it fixes anything, but beyond that it's likely going to a shop. The plunger looks ok /shrug

Well bleeding made it grab in the normal spot, but when I bled it it was mostly air that came out. I think there's a leak around the bleeder. It grabs earlier now but it's super grabby and doesn't have much modulation.

Maybe there's been an air pocket slowly forming there for a while & you've gotten used to it, making it feel 'grabby' now in comparison?

I'd still do a good check to make sure nothing is amiss. a brake system shouldnt let air in, at all.

Does it ever firm up?

The brakes you F'in homos!

thats what SHE said!

Did I have a post deleted? Yes, it gets firm, but it becomes totally grabby. It never bleeds clean though, it constantly coughs up a ton of air.

So it does pump up firm?

Are you rolling it when it becomes spongy again?

this indicates you either have a HUGE air pocket, or you need to take it to the shop to be repaired due to a major air indtroductory point somewhere.

Plus one to Bob. Be careful, hate to have you seriously injured over this.

if it isn't bleeding out clean then you aren't done yet. The air pockets can be quite large and sometimes frustrating to get out. Keep trying.

i think what gas is saying is when the lever goes to the bars can you pump it a few times (this is not while bleeding, but while riding) and it begins to feel more normal?
kind of like a car, when the brakes are spongy you "pump them up" same thing. if this is the case and the lever remains firm as you squeeze it after pumping it up then you probably just have an air pocket.
if you have a leak the lever will most likely not firm up from pumping.

Well it stops fine now. But it's still coughing up a ton of (mostly) air when I bleed it. I wonder if I'm just doing it wrong but I sure don't think I am.

Check the slave cylinder down near the engine to see if it's leaking fluid.

Hrm? Cable goes from the handlebar down the forks, nowhere near the motor...were you thinking the rear brake? This is for the front...or am I missing something?

I think he was thinkin hydro clutch.

Yeah as soon as I heard hydraulic, I thought you were talking about clutches.