the problematic motorbike ride

I was out on my motorbike for a ride. It was a Saturday morning ride with "CoBAM" (ie City of Belfast Advanced Motorists). We were midway through the ride, at a break, when my "observer" (basically the person I was paired with for my ride) asked me a few questions about the bike. Like when were the tyres, brakes, etc serviced. He asked me to press the front brake lever all the way in, and to my surprise, I was actually able to! I told him that's weird and has never happened before. He asked me to press the brake hose with my hand. Strangely enough, the brake hose was soft and squishy, and when I pressed it, it was more like a rubber garden hose than a brake hose! He said that's the problem, there's air in the brake hose. He said the brake should be bled and topped up with fresh hydraulic oil. I explained the braking system of my bike, that it has a combined braking system, and that the brake bleeding procedure is a complex 5-step process that needs to be repeated multiple times to work. Also, I didn't have any of the tools for it.

I suggested simply topping up the front brake system, and squeezing out the air, instead of bleeding the whole system, as a quick fix to be able to ride the bike till I got home. I had a screwdriver on my keychain (fun fact: that keychain was purchased in August 2021, when my previous bike's rear brake had jammed locked, and purchased the screwdriver-keychain as it was the only suitable tool available at the petrol pump bang opposite where the bike had jammed!). Opened the reservoir and it was completely dry. 

I walked to the nearest petrol pump and purchased a bottle of hydraulic fluid, and filled the reservoir full. Then closed the reservoir and we both tilted the bike to the right to give it the best chance of draining down. The plan was when the bike was tilted, I'd pump the rear brake pedal, which would pump the front brake system, from the opposite end to the lever, forcing air out and pulling hydraulic fluid in. Unfortunately, we tilted the bike too far and it actually tipped over - right on to me!

Thankfully I was not completely pinned down and I was able to wriggle out without any injury - we then got the bike upright, and decided to try a different approach.

And that's when my alarm went off, and I woke up - an hour before I was supposed to head out on my Saturday morning CoBAM ride!

Thankfully, no technical issues on the ride, but I must admit I was a little nervous when I performed the "rolling brake test" as I headed down the driveway!