Brake/Clutch Fluid

[MacAttack7]

My fluid in the reservoir has dropped below the max line by quite a bit. The manual says to keep it at the max level.
Should I refill it or leave it alone?

 

[bikingengineer]

You should probably check your brake pads for wear and your lines and fittings for any leaks and top off as needed. The fluid won't drop much unless you have either a leak or a change in volume (in either the brake caliper cylinders or the clutch cylinder).

Leaks would need to be addressed and the reservoir topped off occasionally until they got fixed. If your brake pads are worn then compressing the caliper for a pad change will cause fluid to flow back into the reservoir, topping off in this case will cause a mess as the level can overflow. Unless you're doing a lot of drag launches I highly doubt that your clutch is worn enough to cause a noticeable fluid level drop.

 

[MacAttack7]

It took me a long, long time to get used to the clutch, so I'm sure I wore it a bit, but I think I'll check my brake pads like you said before doing anything.
I've done a lot of mountain driving, so I may have worn them down some.

 

[eyeballs]

I'd definately leave the fluid level alone unless it gets near the low line, I use it as an easy indicator of the pad wear (in between actually looking at the pads). I noticed mine was no longer near full a couple months ago and saw I'm about 60% through my pads now.