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Are OEM brake lines really that bad??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
isleoman said:
I have SS on the 1100ez and oem rubber on my two 18 y.o. FZ1s. I can lift the rear wheel with a passenger with either set up.

My personal "feel" preference is rubber for panic stops. More forgiving before lock up. I probably had two or three incidents this season where SS may have been too much. Easy to say don't grab too hard in panic, little harder to not do.
If I were replacing I'd go SS just because they are cheaper.

Everyone else's results are probably different.
Click to expand...

I could feel a CONSIDERABLE difference when I rebuilt my master cylinder and calipers...I was fortunate to be in SoCal and went to a local shop in the Inland Empire and had them replicate the old line.

The brakes on these old GS' aren't like the newer bikes (2000's) where grabbing a handful of brake spells trouble.

I would go with braided lines on vintage bikes...I did a cut out of the rubber and see how aging affects the rubber.

Just my two cents.

Ed
 
I haven't noticed much difference between new PTFE and my original old rubber ones where they are in good shape.

One advantage of the old rubber ones is that they take sharper bends. They seem more flexible than ptfe or whatever plastic they are using for the actual brakeline under the SS sheath so if you have changed your handlebars or whatever, it'd be good to have an extra inch or two in newer lines....maybe test for bends with a piece of stiff steel cable or similar ptfe hose to duplicate the flexibility...?
 
Old rubber lines gather scaly grunge inside which will contaminate your (clean) brake fluid. Unless the fluid is nice and clean when you get the bike I'd change the lines to ward off against that.

36141675661_7c8cfbaee6_b.jpg


https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?249857-Earl-s-Brake-Line-Thread
 
The age old brake line test: Wrap your hand around your brake line so you're holding it lightly in the palm of your hand. Pump up the brakes. Anything you feel is hydraulic pressure that's NOT going to the caliper.
Rubber lines need to be replaced regularly, steel lines don't.
 
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