Brake lines

[fozzym]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking at swapping my standard front brake hoses for braided items, the thing is most of the braided kits i've seen comprise of 2 hoses which "travel direct from the master cylinder to the caliper".

Just wondering how that set up works and if its a direct bolt on swap from the original set up which has a hose from the master cylinder (lever) down to a spitter by the botton yoke and then a hose off to each caliper.

Give me your pearls of wisdom please.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Yes, unbolt old system, bolt on new one.

If you want better braking, I suggest bleeding your brakes first. If they feel like crap, it's unlikely to be the lines.

Braided lines do look pretty though.
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[fozzym]

Thanks Wafer Thin Ham

The tokios on the zx6r g2 aren't the best but I thought I might try some braided lines and fresh fluid before dumping the whole system for something else.

I use the bike for trackdays but I'm no Rossi so the brakes have never been an issue but I just feel I'd like a but more bite earlier in the stroke rather than having to give the lever a good pull to get things going.

[j00pY]

I swapped my 10 year old lines for braided lines on my A1P and it made the world of difference. Before I changed them the Kawasaki had the worst brakes I had ever used, and I started off on a drum brake CG125.

[-Matt-]

Just to give an opinion on the flipside to that, i noticed little difference changing lines on my zx6 (i dont track ride though so perhaps arent braking aggressively enough to feel the benefit).

I did however notice a big difference when i changed the fluid and also when i changed to adjustable short levers - bringing them in a bit so they were easier to get a good grip on made it feel much sharper when going to brake

Maybe placebo but hey

[fozzym]

Thanks guys,

I think its worth a go as I've seen a set of Goodridge race set up for 43 quid and I've got some fluid in stock!

[DrDonnyBrago]

Can't say I noticed much difference between stock and braided lines.

Unless your bike is ancient, the main differences seem to be placebo and the refurb of brakes/fluid that tends to accompany the fitting of new brake lines. Straight lines are easier to bleed too, which probably helps.

[Fizzer Thou]

With a typical three line setup there are eleven crush washers.With a two line setup there are only seven washers,so less likelihood of a leak in the system.

With some standard lines being fed from one caliper to the other over the mudguard,they are quite difficult to bleed as air gets stuck at the top of the loop.With two lines they are much easier to bleed.

I fitted clear sleeve braided hoses to my R1 and it did make a differance.I just wish that I had done the conversion before I went to Tuscanny via the twisty route

As for having some DoT4 brake fluid in stock,make sure that it is a new sealed container.

A 500ml of DoT4 from Asda is £4
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