brake reservoir - mot requirement?

[pugparcels]

i think / hope i know the answer to this ( based on the fact it cant be seen from the outside of a car ) but i am relocating my rear brake reservoir today and had a thought of moving into the tail fairing along with the other part of the rear shock. I have enough space to do this and i know the hose will be longer and therefor use more fluid but it is a legal requirement that a motorcycle brake reservoir is on the outside of a bike?

as we know it is not this way on a car - so could a bike be the same?

[mrdidlydingo]

It is a requirement for the brake to be in working order the location of the components is not relevant !

Its up to you if you wish to carry half a gallon of brake fluid round

Would suggest rather than repositioning just use a piece of tube with a bung as per HRC type kits as this will have the same effect i.e. hiding it away without the need to make up brackets and mess about relocating the res and therefore clean up the appearance of the bike which I presume is what you are trying to acheive.

[mattUKNC]

This was mentioned the other day as another member received an advisory by using the HRC type fitment.

I think it was jowyvfr on here, so maybe he might have a better reply?!

[pugparcels]

thats a good enough answer for me! i have a bout 2 metres of hose lying around so moving it is not an issue, to keep costs down i can use all existing parts. was more interested in whether with an mot they check it over / check fluild levels. have had many mot's but have never noticed if they had checked!

[Drunkn Munky]

Make sure the hose you use is res hose, other hose like fuel line etc will weep

[pugparcels]

yep is all res hose. think i will hide it inside the tail section along with the res of the shock as well. will post some pics once done.

[jowyvfr]

Not sure about not being able to see it from the outside but i got my advisory as apparently the HRC hose was not classed as me having a rear brake reservoir. It was only an advisory, as apparently you don't need one to pass an MOT...but if you have one that doesn't work...thats a fail!! work that out if you can.

[mrdidlydingo]

There is no reason to get an advisory for using a HRC type reservoir I accept that if it is not a pukka item then it should fail, if there is a leak it should fail (brakes are a sealed hydraulic system), this is obvious, however providing the res capacity is sufficient to service the cylinder and braking system there are no grounds for this, jowyvfr mark a min / max line on the hose with marker pen and tell them to stick there advisory where the sun doesn't shine.

It is unfortunate that a percentage of people who have the power to exclude your vehicle from the road have no concept of the theory of how bikes/cars things work nor why they check the things specified.

Rant done !

[Neosophist]

I can see the Tester POV on this one.. it's not a resevoir is it, its just a pipe :)

I'm guessing a resevoir is classed somewhere as a container *shrug*

The HRC kits do state not for road use on them. I've not heard of anyone having problems with them though.

[mrdidlydingo]

res⋅er⋅voir  [rez-er-vwahr, -vwawr, -vawr, rez-uh-]

–noun
1. a natural or artificial place where water is collected and stored for use, esp. water for supplying a community, irrigating land, furnishing power, etc.
2. a receptacle or chamber for holding a liquid or fluid.
3. Geology. See under pool 1 (def. 6).
4. Biology. a cavity or part that holds some fluid or secretion.
5. a place where anything is collected or accumulated in great amount.
6. a large or extra supply or stock; reserve: a reservoir of knowledge.