Anyone installed braided steel lines for brakes and clutch?

As topic says, I'm thinking of swapping out the OEM clutch and brake lines that are 27 years old at this point for braided steel. (86 vfr) was wondering if anyone has done this and what brand/style did you go with.

 

I bought a Galfer dual line brake kit last year for my 86. Part# fk003d285f, black lines with chrome ends.
It also came with banjo bolts and crush washers for the M/C and calipers. It eliminates the stock T fitting, one line to each caliper.

I wound up calling Galfer direct, and they gave me the name of a distributor to order from.

 

Looks like spiegler already has kits sized for every line on my bike. Hopefully they accept direct orders, says they take credit card. Closest dealer is over an hour away.

 

Thumbs up for Spiegler, you can order direct and a super quick turn around. I think the package was out the next day. Did my clutch line first, their measurements on file were spot on (always double check though). Probably order the front brake lines next.

 

I'm looking at the Venhill brand.

Can anyone compare the brake feel between the old and new lines?

 

Old lines feel like squeezing a balloon, while steel lines feel like squeezing a brick. IMO clutch lines don't need steel.

 

Good to hear.

These old rubber lines break down internally. Thats where all that black sediment comes from in the reservoirs.

I just ordered a front brake line replacement and a clutch line as well. The factory clutch lines are no longer available, so for $50 or so, why not replace it? If the original starts leaking you could be stranded.

 

every bike I ever owned got braided front brake lines. My 91 has a steel clutch line as well, my 93 has HEL brake lines and I got a replacement used rear caliper that had a steel line attached already from the inter-web. Original clutch line which may be replaced in the near future.

Steel is the only way to fly btw...:vtr2:

 

I just installed new front brake lines and clutch lines from galfer. The old lines on my 85 were toast. The new lines are great quality and much better than stock. Buy a mity-vac to get the air out of the system.

 

Well. I got my front brake and clutch lines installed and went for a decent length ride. I wouldn't say my brakes went from a balloon to a brick, but it's firmer for sure. I know I got the air out, but I still don't have a real good feel in the lever under braking. It probably wouldn't hurt to rebuild the master cylinder. The manual says to rebuild it and the calipers every 2 years. :grief: I rebuilt the calipers about a year ago. I got all the gunk under the seals out, replaced one piston, etc...

I wonder if the brake pad material can make the lever feel stiffer or softer?

My brake master bore is 1/8" smaller (same lever ratio) so I should have stronger brakes than stock, but it doesn't feel stronger. Maybe I need some EBC HH pads.

I think the clutch line did make a difference. I used to have an occassional issue when down shifting as I approached a stop sign or red light. I blip the throttle and down shift through the gears and sometimes the 2 to 1 shift feels solid, but it sticks in 2nd and I have to do it again to get to 1st.


I did some really quick downshifting just to see if I could get it to do that and it shifted perfectly every time. So maybe clutch line swelling slowed down the slave cylinder speed? Now it's moving quicker and more forcefully?


I don't know, but the lines all look so much better and I flushed all the fluid out of the calipers/clutch slave and removed internally rusty banjo bolts and fittings. I cleaned the reservoirs to spotless conditions. All new fluid. All new copper washers. So hopefully it will be good for many years to come. Just keep flushing all the fluid out and adding new once a year to keep the moisture content in the fluid to a minimum.

Mityvacs rock, BTW. Mines like 10 years old at least and I use it all the time.

 

I over hauled master cylinders only when they leaked or weeped or left white crystalized chit under the rubber doo-hickee where the lever goes into the master. I did replace the seals on my little twin ex 500 and still had a crappy feeling lever and got fed up with sub-par kawasaki parts. I got a Suzuki master cylinder for the front end and installed it and am very happy with the lever action, my problem before was some "sticktion" its gone now. Even though it was from a double disk set-up it worked well with my one disk set-up.

My VFRs have been over hauled with great levers and excellent results. I can not say that for some other units I have done in the past, A TL1000R comes to mind where I could not get a nice lever action, it stopped from tripple digits ok but never felt firm. Bear in mind, I never got into the master cylinder, only cleaned/over-hauled the 12 pistons on the front calipers :loco: total over kill and a chit set up really. Glad I don't own one.

I got a braided clutch line on one bike and like it, I may get another one for my other bike.

Cheers and Happy-Merry X-Mas

 

I sorted my weak brake feel. No need to rebuild the master cylinder. It looks like the previous owner installed some organic pads on the bike which need a lot of lever pressure to make work.

I swapped in some EBC HH pads and their way more powerful. I don't need a lot of lever pressure either so I can one finger the lever lightly and get a much better feel from it.

The chrome Venhill banjos are really nice looking. Like jewelry.