Braided Brake Lines - Any good ? Easy to fit ?

[Enceladus]

been toying with the idea of replacing the standard lines on my bike (and car for that matter) with braided ones.
are they any good ?
what difference is there in brake "feel" if any ?
and the big question is....
are they easy to fit & bleed ?
thanks

[Chris]

Just fitted a hel braided line to the rear on my bike. Feel is much better, I find it feels like it has more power although I have just put in new seals so that might be part of it... Easy to change, and bleed just the same as fitting OEM rubber ones.
 
Well worth doing as the OEM lines on the fazers are getting on a bit now and should be changed every few years, can't remember how many years but it's one of the jobs that hardly ever gets done.
 
Chris

[Dead Eye]

The brakes feel less spoungy with braided lines and are just as easy to bleed and fit as OEM lines would be

[Ian-man]

I changed all my lines for braided in the last few weeks. However I had loads of bother bleeding them. Tried the usual method but nothing. Bought a vacuum pump gizmo that's supposed to suck the fluid through. That didn't work properly either ( it seemed to suck air through the bleed nipple threads and frosh up the brake fluid in the bleed pipe). Ended up using a syringe and hose on the bleed nipple to push the fluid and air up to the master cylinder. then standard bleeding after that. Brakes feel much better now. 

My back brake pedal had excessive travel and you could not lock up the back wheel even stamping hard on the pedal.
So fitted new piston seals as one piston moving more than the other and fitted a rear master cylinder refurb kit.

[Dead Eye]

That's the exact issue I had with the rear - huge amounts of travel and no stopping power what-so-ever

Bleeding the brakes can be a bit tricky. I found that I bleed the banjo's first going from the master-cylinder down to the caliper before doing the caliper at the end. If you don't bleed the banjos it's basically impossible to get all the air out

[Enceladus]

thanks guys
having watched loads of delboys garage vids (moonfleet41 on youtube) he suggests bleeding the brakes with the cylinder above the reservior if possible.
makes sense to me.
guess where some of my next wage packet is going
will probably do the brake seals and pads as well as i don't know when they were last done.

[Dave48]

As the youngest FZS 600s are now 10 years old,its a wise idea to replace OEM hoses(especially if they are the originals). Yamaha recommend changing brake hoses every 4 years & overhauling master cylinders & replacing caliper piston seals every 2 years. This isn't a cheap exercise(especially using Yamaha parts) but like everything else that suffers from gradual & progressive wear-you sometimes only notice the deterioration in performance when you ride a new bike & can make a comparison!
I recently replaced the rubber hoses with Goodridge lines & have stripped & cleaned the rear caliper which was underperforming. Will replace all the rubber seals @ end of riding season when I also tackle the swing arm @ rear suspension bearings.
Its nice to be able to use the bikes performance & reassuring to know that the brakes are there when needed  & as good as their design allows

[Enceladus]

thanks all
going to get myself some braided lines (as it is payday tomorrow  )
is there any difference in the brands (goodridge, hel, etc...) ?
also, as i have no idea when the brakes were last done, i might as well strip them down and do the seals and pads as well.

[Doddsie]

I would also recommend going for the 3 part hose on the front rather than the two separate full lengh `race` hoses.

[darrsi]

thanks all
going to get myself some braided lines (as it is payday tomorrow  )
is there any difference in the brands (goodridge, hel, etc...) ?
also, as i have no idea when the brakes were last done, i might as well strip them down and do the seals and pads as well.

I bought Venhill lines, and i'm more than happy with them.
It was the Goodridge one's that failed on me, although i don't know how old they were, but i'd never heard of braided line failure before so was still a little disappointed. (and very out of pocket as i would never have guessed they would go wrong, but it was the last thing to change on the front end of the bike to solve my juddering problem  )
New lines shouldn't cause you any grief though, they all do the same job!

[Chris]

I would also recommend going for the 3 part hose on the front rather than the two separate full lengh `race` hoses.

Out of interest why would you recommend that?
 
I think the 2 line kit looks better and surely it'd make bleeding easier as there are less connections etc for air to get trapped?
 
Chris

[Ian-man]

I would also recommend going for the 3 part hose on the front rather than the two separate full length `race` hoses.

Just out of curiosity, why stick with the 3 line set up. I went with the 2 line set up to save money and they seem fine.

Sent from my HTC using tapatalk 4 beta

[Doddsie]

Purely for the looks, I personally think the 3 line set up looks a lot neater.  Absolutely no difference performance wise between the two, I just think it looks a lot better with the single hose coming out of the MS. Bleeding the 3 line set up is no different to the 2 line.

[wezdavo]

I would also recommend going for the 3 part hose on the front rather than the two separate full lengh `race` hoses.

Out of interest why would you recommend that?
 
I think the 2 line kit looks better and surely it'd make bleeding easier as there are less connections etc for air to get trapped?
 
Chris

I have to agree

[Enceladus]

whats the difference between the 2 and 3 line setup ?
i'm guessing the 3 line is standard and the 2 line has a "Y" connector somewhere near the reservoir ?

[Chris]

Fair enough doddsie 
 
Think I'll still go for a 2 line kit when I replace mine. I feel the 2 line kit looks neater, debateable if it's easier to bleed or not, it's cheaper, less connections to go wrong etc etc. I just prefer the symetry of it. 
 
The two line kit has 2 lines from the handlebar reservoir, one going straight to each caliper. the three line kit  has one line from handle bars to bottom yolk then a connection with two lines going down to the calipers from the bottom yolk, one to each caliper, which is the way it's set up as standard.
 
Chris

[Enceladus]

Fair enough doddsie 
 
Think I'll still go for a 2 line kit when I replace mine. I feel the 2 line kit looks neater, debateable if it's easier to bleed or not, it's cheaper, less connections to go wrong etc etc. I just prefer the symetry of it. 
 
The two line kit has 2 lines from the handlebar reservoir, one going straight to each caliper. the three line kit  has one line from handle bars to bottom yolk then a connection with two lines going down to the calipers from the bottom yolk, one to each caliper, which is the way it's set up as standard.
 
Chris

do the 2 line kits come with an adaptor, or is that a seperate item do you know ?
thanks all

[Buzz]

Most come with a double banjo bolt, but just check with the supplier.

[Chris]

As Buzz said 
 
Chris