SuzukiSavage.com - steel braided brake line

greenmonster Senior Member Offline Hellooooo Nurse! Posts: 420 Vancouver BC Gender:	steel braided brake line 04/10/12 at 14:03:00 Hey folks, I need to replace my brake line and I'm planning on going steel braided. Anyone have any recommendations for brands or places to buy? Before I forget, are there any drawbacks to the stuff?
Back to top	IP Logged

EJID

Serious Thumper

Offline

Work to ride and
ride to work.

Posts: 1536
Pocatello, ID
Gender: male

Re: steel braided brake line
Reply #1 - 04/10/12 at 14:16:34

I bought mine on eBay from this seller...he re-lists them every time they end, and builds them to your specs on length/fittings & orientation. Good quality, and I like it. The only drawback I found was the line has a substantially smaller outside diameter than the stock line so you have to figure out something a little different for the clips that hold it along the fork & tripple tree.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-LS650PY-CUSTOM-STAINLESS-STEEL-BRAKE-LINE-HOSE...

Back to top

05 S40 15" Memphis Slim, FXDWG Bars, Moved Rear Signals, Saddlebags, Fork Bag, Mini-Tach, Raptor, Cone Filter, Fishtail Muffler, Mix Screw Out 2.5 Turns, 4" Fwd Controls, 147.5 Main/55 Pilot @ 4500

IP Logged

Savage_Rob Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Mechanically Inclined Amateur Posts: 6972 Texas (Dallas area) Gender:	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #2 - 04/10/12 at 16:04:05 I got mine directly from HEL at http://helusa.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4593.
Back to top	1998\|MAC muffler\|ceramic coated header\|K&N air filter\|Amal Mk2 carb\|Odyssey battery\|iridium plug\|NC windshield\|Dunlop 491s\|Superbrace\|EBC brake rotor\|12.5" Progressive shocks\|Kuryakyn ISO grips IP Logged

justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #3 - 04/10/12 at 16:27:17 By Golly, I do believe Rob told you to go to Hel for your brake line..
Back to top	The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke. IP Logged

greenmonster Senior Member Offline Hellooooo Nurse! Posts: 420 Vancouver BC Gender:	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #4 - 04/10/12 at 16:31:38 justin_o_guy2 wrote on 04/10/12 at 16:27:17: By Golly, I do believe Rob told you to go to Hel for your brake line.. I'm beginning to see the drawbacks!
Back to top	IP Logged

spacepirates Serious Thumper Offline Igni Ferroque Posts: 515 Pittsburgh, PA Gender:	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #5 - 04/10/12 at 19:47:37 EJID, what fittings/length/angle did you select for that ebay seller? Doesn't look like a bad deal, ~$35 shipped.
Back to top	-- Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window. IP Logged

EJID

Serious Thumper

Offline

Work to ride and
ride to work.

Posts: 1536
Pocatello, ID
Gender: male

Re: steel braided brake line
Reply #6 - 04/11/12 at 07:55:51

spacepirates wrote on 04/10/12 at 19:47:37:

EJID, what fittings/length/angle did you select for that ebay seller?

Doesn't look like a bad deal, ~$35 shipped.

This is exactly what I noted to the seller when I purchased mine while converting my stock drag bars to FXDWG mini-apes...

Hose 1 Fittings #1 & #4 (10mm Straight & 10mm 45 Degree)
Length 42" (end to end including fittings)
Angle: Type C (90 Degree)

THE TOTAL LENGTH OF 42" IS LONGER THAN STOCK!!!! I don't recall what the stock length was, but I think I added 3"-4" to compensate for the taller/wider bars. Problem is, I could've used another 2" of slack Sad

(I think I measured what I thought I was going to need with the bike strapped into my stand and the forks were slightly compressed, the line I have is just barely long enough, but I should order another one about 2" longer - in fact, if you are interested in the one I've got, I might sell it to you & order myself another longer one)

Back to top

05 S40 15" Memphis Slim, FXDWG Bars, Moved Rear Signals, Saddlebags, Fork Bag, Mini-Tach, Raptor, Cone Filter, Fishtail Muffler, Mix Screw Out 2.5 Turns, 4" Fwd Controls, 147.5 Main/55 Pilot @ 4500

IP Logged

greenmonster Senior Member Offline Hellooooo Nurse! Posts: 420 Vancouver BC Gender:	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #7 - 04/11/12 at 08:27:42 I have the stock bars from '86. I'm not sure what the length I'm going to need is otherwise I may take you up on that. So no one has anything negative to say about braided cables?
Back to top	IP Logged

justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #8 - 04/11/12 at 09:20:51 Braided is better, they cant swell with the brake pressure like a plain rubber hose. When calculating length, lifting the bike so the forks are fully extended & leaving a bit of slack is , I think, the way to go.
Back to top	The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke. IP Logged

EJID

Serious Thumper

Offline

Work to ride and
ride to work.

Posts: 1536
Pocatello, ID
Gender: male

Re: steel braided brake line
Reply #9 - 04/11/12 at 09:30:21

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 04/11/12 at 09:20:51:

...When calculating length, lifting the bike so the forks are fully extended & leaving a bit of slack is , I think, the way to go.

I agree. I feel kinda stoopid Embarrassed

for not realizing that the forks were slightly compressed in my bike stand when I was measuring. I tried to give myself a few extra inches to work with, but it was only barely enough to get the job done.

Back to top

05 S40 15" Memphis Slim, FXDWG Bars, Moved Rear Signals, Saddlebags, Fork Bag, Mini-Tach, Raptor, Cone Filter, Fishtail Muffler, Mix Screw Out 2.5 Turns, 4" Fwd Controls, 147.5 Main/55 Pilot @ 4500

IP Logged

Serowbot

YaBB Moderator
ModSquad

Offline

OK.... so what's the
speed of dark?

Posts: 28672
Tucson Az
Gender: male

Re: steel braided brake line
Reply #10 - 04/11/12 at 10:24:07

My two cents,... many will disagree...

-SS braided offers better protection from external damage and sun rot...
-More responsive feel,... although they won't actually shorten stopping distance, just better sensitivity ...
-SS cables are less flexible, and more prone to bending and twisting damage...
-Internal damage is less visible until leaks occur...
-cool looking...

If my stocker went,.. I'd probably go SS, mostly for cosmetic reasons...

Back to top

Ludicrous Speed !... ... Huh

...

IP Logged

Savage_Rob

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Mechanically
Inclined Amateur

Posts: 6972
Texas (Dallas area)
Gender: male

Re: steel braided brake line
Reply #11 - 04/11/12 at 13:01:28

Serowbot wrote on 04/11/12 at 10:24:07:

My two cents,... many will disagree...

-SS braided offers better protection from external damage and sun rot...
-More responsive feel,... although they won't actually shorten stopping distance, just better sensitivity ...
-SS cables are less flexible, and more prone to bending and twisting damage...
-Internal damage is less visible until leaks occur...
-cool looking...

If my stocker went,.. I'd probably go SS, mostly for cosmetic reasons...

It made a definite difference in feel. Mine were feeling soft and I knew all the rest of the hardware was working fine, so after talking with some of the folks on this site I decided it probably was due to the old rubber hose absorbing some of the pressure by swelling slightly during use. I installed the HEL braided SS and the soft feel went away. I'm sure age, ambient temperature and general exposure factors will cause this effect to vary widely but I am happy with my switch. I noticed today that HEL now offers braided titanium but it's twice the price of their SS.

Back to top

IP Logged

teabowl13 Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 535	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #12 - 04/11/12 at 13:21:43 EJID wrote on 04/11/12 at 09:30:21: I tried to give myself a few extra inches to work with, but it was only barely enough to get the job done.
Back to top	VINTAGE ROADSTER BUILD: http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1323582921 IP Logged

Savage_Rob Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Mechanically Inclined Amateur Posts: 6972 Texas (Dallas area) Gender:	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #13 - 04/11/12 at 14:16:06 teabowl13 wrote on 04/11/12 at 13:21:43: EJID wrote on 04/11/12 at 09:30:21: I tried to give myself a few extra inches to work with, but it was only barely enough to get the job done. Seriously, TMI.
Back to top	1998\|MAC muffler\|ceramic coated header\|K&N air filter\|Amal Mk2 carb\|Odyssey battery\|iridium plug\|NC windshield\|Dunlop 491s\|Superbrace\|EBC brake rotor\|12.5" Progressive shocks\|Kuryakyn ISO grips IP Logged

willongboarder YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 1	Re: steel braided brake line Reply #14 - 06/20/13 at 20:31:19 Any idea if the threads on the '87-'98 are any different than '01? I am planning to replace the line on my '01 but would hate to order a set for those years and have the fittings have a different thread pitch...
Back to top	IP Logged