Braided hoses?

[Guest]

Basically, my blade, being 2003 model, probably needs the brake lines renewing. Is it worth replacing with braided hoses? Or do they not make that much difference? Or do they.... ??

[super-gsxr-steve]

i have braide on both my bikes mate i think they are worth it you can get cheaper on ebay , they give the lever a better feel , and for me more confidence,

[Korben]

Something I am thinking about... Probably the most major mod I will ever make to my bike..

[Guest]

fitted braided lines to my bandit and katana, probably the best upgrade for bucks I ever made, you'll definately notice the difference. and look nicer too, just keep the nickel ends clean or go for stainless,

my bandit set came in at £40 off evilbay from HEL. gives you an excuse to change the fuid too, and you might want to investigate speedbleeders whilst you're at it

[Pete]

I've got Goodridge braided lines on my GSX600F and the feedback is much better than on standard lines.

Speaking of speed bleeders, I 'invented' a method (I'm sure other people have done the same but I can't find any!) that uses a vacuum cleaner to create the pressure. Here's what you need:

- Vacuum cleaner

- GLASS jar (not plastic), with lid

- About a metre of clear tubing (I used windscreen washer tubing)

- Some brake fluid

- Correct sized spanner for bleed nipple

Make a hole in the top of the lid that you can get the vacuum hose through. Make another smaller hole next to it so you can get the clear tubing through (vacuum hose goes in about an inch, tubing goes all the way to the bottom). After putting both in you'll need to duct tape around the top to stop any air leaks, but before you do that make sure you put some brake fluid in the bottom. About an inch is enough (to stop air getting back in your line). Connect the hose up to the bleed nipple, turn the vacuum cleaner on to create pressure, open the bleed nipple with the spanner. The pressure created in the glass jar by the vacuum cleaner will suck the old fluid out of the lines nice and gently without the risk of damaging the O-rings in the master cylinder. Remember to keep topping up the reservoir though.

Sorry if that's made my short answer into a long one! In answer to your question I personally think braided lines are better

[Guest]

Thanks for that m8

Wish you'd posted that Friday..... I fitted the lines on friday. Bled them the old fashioned way

And yes, quite a difference

[rosszx9r]

Basically, my blade, being 2003 model, probably needs the brake lines renewing. Is it worth replacing with braided hoses? Or do they not make that much difference? Or do they.... ??

 

i used braided hoses on an old restoration project i had (RD400e) it did make the brakes work better but then that was comapared with 20 year old rubber hoses!

i found the feel to be rather wooden. no give at all in the lever. i am about to replace the hoses on my zx9r but i think i'll go for braided hose only from the header and keep the section from the master cylender to header as standard to give a little flex and retain some feel. i think it really depends how you like your brakes to feel. you can adjust the feel with braided lines but maybe new fluid gives you all you want.... you can also go for hard pads but i would reserve that for track days...