Which Braided Lines?

[Fat Rat]

I want to put Braided Lines on the front of my 08 non ABS DL650, there are many offerings online, are any better/worse than others?

[joderest]

Hello.
  I fitted wemoto ones, bought off e bay, £39.00 I think. They fitted well, and work well. However, on order I asked for them to be 25mm longer than normal, did this as ones I fitted to my old BMW were standard length, and were a bit shorter than I would have liked.
There was no charge for the extra length.
there's some pictures on What have you done, some where. Quite recent, about 4-6 weeks ago if it helps.

[joderest]

found it, posted may 15th on what have you done

[Fat Rat]

 

[kwackboy]

Venhill, hel, goodridge, wezmoto.  All do the same job except some are prettier than others.  If you can try to get a double Banjo with a bleed nipple built in at the mastercylinder would be a must in order to make it easier to get the air out where it gets trapped .

[Fat Rat]

By double banjo, do you mean the race line set up (two lines from the master cylinder)?

[kwackboy]

Indeed yes ..  I think most aftermarket brake lines are set up to fit that way except they never seem to supply a double Banjo with a built in bleed nipple .?

[kwackboy]

Might cost extra but goodridge make a dash 2 type hose that has the smallest internal diameter out there .
Dash 2 gives increased line pressure for more responsive and sensitive brake feel. 

[frez]

My local independent has a big spool of goodridge and all the fittings. He made up a line for my daughters bike to fit, was about the same as you could buy ready made online. Just a thought if you have a local garage you trust they maybe able to make them up for you for similar cost. The only downside is you had a choice of one colour, stainless silver, no fancy alternative bling colours.

[Kebabmonster]

I just fitted Wezmoto to the KLV. Fit was spot on, and after the usual bleed mess on as all brakes have, and lever tied to the bar overnight, brake lever is way better than with the OEM lines.

A lot cheaper than Goodrich and HEL, does more money mean better braking?? Maybe (I don't know for sure), but I'm happy with what I've got from the Wezmotos

[Fat Rat]

Thanks for the tips 

A question about tying the lever overnight, do you leave the Master Cylinder cover off during this period? How/where does the remaining air escape?

[kwackboy]

Shouldn't need to leave the mastercylinder cap off as inside is a diaphragm that adjusts accordingly to the amount of fluid to stop air going into the system , this allows air out but not in.
Your mastercylinder should never be filled to the brim about 3 quarters full if you have new pads . 

[Fat Rat]

Thanks, I have a related question. Today I have taken one of the Calipers off to have a nose around. It looks like someone has been in there recently because everything is greased, the pin came out without any effort and everything is very clean.

I pulled the Pads to have a look and then pumped the Pistons out part way. Again, everything shiny. However, and here's the question, the Pistons would not push back, even with the Caliper disconnected and drained. I removed one and it has large amounts of grease around the outside, I cleaned it, inspected the seal and it pushed straight back in.

Is it normal practice to smother these in grease and I'm guessing its reluctance to slide in and out may well explain my soft lever?

[kwackboy]

Was the grease red ? Alot of people think that smothering the pistons and seals in red rubber grease is good , in my opinion it isn't because all it does is collect dust, however it shouldn't restrict the movement of the piston if it was done recently.
I'd suggest the reason why you couldn't push the piston back is maybe is wasn't level enough as the tolerance is very minimal. 
When I replace pistons and seals I clean thoroughly put the seals in with just a slight smear of red grease (and I mean a tiny smear) and then smear a little brake fluid around the piston then slide it back in.
Would it have affected the lever ? I wouldn't have thought so if the calipers have been done recently, those types of calipers are on lots of bikes and are notoriously troublesome.
When you start bleeding the system make sure all pistons are pushed in flush . 

[Fat Rat]

 

[frez]

You can get banjo bolts with bleed nipples on them. If you put one of those up at the master cylinder I found it makes bleeding the brakes much easier as that last bit of air can be taken out at that point.