front brake reservoir glass replacement?

I've looked long enough for a cheap front brake reservoir in good shape, so I decided to fix mine. The only thing wrong with mine is that the glass is about to give way. Are there any tricks to replacing the glass? Can the glass piece be purchased? I have seen others fixed with an alum. plug glued in the hole and it worked fine, just couldn't see through it. That's my plan unless I find that the glass piece can be replaced just as easy.
Thanks, Doug

 

The sight glass, by itself, is cannot be purchase seperately. Be patient and continue your search. Not knowing what year you have, I looke up a front M/C for an 84 500 and an 84 700. It looks like for the first gen, the master cylinder is discontinued. There is the option of going aftermarket, or maybe converting one from another bike if you intend to replace the M/C itself.

 

Site glass replacement - SabMagFAQ

BTDT - actually I wrote it...and have contacts if you just need two...

 

Thanks masonv45 but I cannot get to that site here from work. Is there information that you can post here? I would be very interested in purchasing 2 glass pieces and whatever adhesives are necessary, if possible.
Thanks, Doug

 

Have you tried salvage yards? Seems like the MC should be intact even on most wrecked bikes.

 

Site Glass Replacement
Over many years, the OEM site glass can get cloudy, soft and may unnoticeably start leaking. The solution is to replace the site glass with a durable watch crystal.

Use BLACK RTV It's the only one I know that will stand up to brake fluid.

-Using towels or turkey baster, remove all brake fluid from the MC and dry.
-Remove existing lense by poking with a sharp instrument and pulling/pushing it out.
-Remove any glue/debris and dry the area the sight glass covered. You want a smooth clean surface.
-Clean the new sight glass and the MC sight glass area with alcohol.
-Take a piece of masking tape and wrap it around your finger with the sticky side out. You will use this to hold the sight glass.
-Take a toothpick and apply a smooth, thin bead of rtv around the sight glass area.
-If I remember correctly, there is a groove machined into the MC that works as a good guideline. The bead needs to be really thin, but make sure you don't leave any area uncovered.
-Smoothly and gently apply the sight glass to the MC. Once applied, shift the sight glass as little as possible.
-Using a flashlight, inspect the edges of the sight glass for spaces where the rtv does not seal. Shift the sight glass if necessary.
-The bead will not form a perfect circle around the sight glass, but it should not interfere with looking through the metal slit in the MC. If it does, remove the sight glass, clean and start over.
-Another bead can be run around the outside edge of the site glass as a precaution
-Leave alone to cure for 48 hours or according to the RTV instructions.
-Fill the MC with fluid and check for leaks.
-If none, gently squeeze the lever until no bubbles appear. Burp the banjo and you should be done. No more bleeding should be necessary

Watch Glass Source (there are others):www.ofrei.com

Size needed: 16.7 mm lens of either glass or mineral glass. .8 mm thickness recommended

 

I got replacement sight glasses off an ebay seller for my 700 CC magna (1984) just look around on ebay. They are new glass ones and you just permetex glue them in.

 

If you want you can send an email to billycarrjr@earthlink.net he can set you up.

 

i may have one laying around....

 

wish i'd have found this forum a long time ago... i've seen alots of tricks for Jeeps, which is where 90% of my knowledge is.

i got lucky and found a good clutch m/c, hose and slave cyl on ebay two years ago when i first tried to buy the bike i have. couldnt find a site glass.... my ideas were short, so i used JB Weld. butch... but it works. just have to resort to pulling the cover to check the fluid. i'll eventually replace it. the original is already in rough shape with some dings and scratches.

 

I replaced both of mine with non-tempered window glass out of a picture frame. Simply start with a square slightly bigger than you need, use a good glass cutter (I used a sapphire tipped rapidograph from my manual drafting days) to remove corners until it's close, then use a dremel or grinder... carefully (I actually used a rock, but it took forever) until it's the perfect shape, then JB weld it in place.

A Qtip dipped in acetone works very well for cleaning the glass and bevelling the seal.

 

New Glasses

Had to replace these Crazed Sight Glass pieces.
They are Plastic from the Factory.


I found a decent place to get the Glass only.


The price was great, and the 5x7 Bubble Envelope delivery was cheap and fast.
These guys (http://www.ofrei.com/) were crazy,,.. minimum order of $15usd, minimum International Shipping is $45usd.
That's almost $80cdn at current exchange rate, for the first part.

I ordered the 16.8mm 1mm thick Mineral Glass ($1.25 each). There is a little bit of movement still in there, so next time I might get the 16.9mm and splurge for the 2mm thick ($2.00 each).
Such a Deal!

 

Another option is to swap both master cylinders for later model units. I found a pair of 97 CBR1100XX master cylinders from a low mileage, garage kept bike for about $75 shipped on ebay. They look brand new. This saved me the trouble of replacing the original site glass as well as rebuilding them both.

You just need to figure out your factory bore diameters and look for similar sized units from newer bikes. My new set have the same clutch bore, but a smaller brake bore. I was concerned at first, but after riding the brakes feel fine.

Here's my thread:
http://vfrworld.com/forums/showthre...Cylinders-on-my-86-VFR700?p=505599#post505599