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Steel braided brake lines

3K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  hansong 
#1 ·
I have an opportunity to get a free 15 piece braided steel brake line kit and clutch kit and a set of ft and rear brake pads. The companys name is galfer and since i have a non-abs bike they want to take off my tupperware and check to make sure all the pieces in the kit fit on the bike and revise the installation instructions. If i give them my bike for a few days, i get the kit and brakes, then they trailer my bike back to me. Has anyone ever had this sort of thing done? if i spend the 3-4 hours to have the kit put on, what will that give me and far as braking ability? I need some pro's and con's thanks
 
#2 ·
ICEBRU,

Galfer is a leader in the industry. Steel-braided brake lines are a very common change out on cruisers where the cables are in view. Cleans the bikes look up, and the added loss of the mushy OEM lines.

I've always wondered why steel-braided lines aren't available as a kit for the GW. Guess the GW crew doesn't know of the benifits?
 
#3 ·
DavidS said:
I've always wondered why steel-braided lines aren't available as a kit for the GW. Guess the GW crew doesn't know of the benifits?
That's part of it. But it's also because we don't know yet whether Galfer's kit will fit non-ABS models. I have the kit ready to test for Wing World - I've had it for almost a year. Galfer developed the kit around an ABS Wing, and they can't tell me for sure if it'll fit a non-abs Wing. ICEBRU was going to let Galfer use his bike as a test mule a couple of months ago, but I found out yesterday that it hasn't happened yet. Until I know for sure whether the kit will fit non-abs Wings, I'm not going to waste time testing it.

ICEBRU, Those brake lines will give your brakes a much firmer feel - stronger brakes with less pedal/lever travel, and less physical effort on your part. Please let me know immediately if you're not going to do this so I can find someone who will. I'll talk to Sandro today and let him know you're waffling on the decision.

Any other takers? We need a non-abs GL1800 located as close as possible to Oxnard, Ca.

Stu O
 
#5 ·
STU>>>>> first off you dont need to call them and say "I'm waffling" I'm not. I set an appt for next tuesday morning and i"m leaving my bike. I tryed to do it 2 months ago but the mechanic was'nt ready. THEY SAID THEY WOULD CALL ME WHEN "THEY" WHERE READY. I waited 2 months and I called them back to set a time. They were'nt chasing me, I was chasing them. Sorry the fate of the western world is riding on this, but i think i have it handled. next week you can check-up on me if you want, the bike will be their. The only thing i was questioning was is, is it worth me spending 4 hours putting it on. Icebru
 
#6 ·
Stu, Which brake fluid will you be using?
Oh, and if you don't feel like instaslling them on your bike, I'd be more than happy to install them on mine and let you know how they install and how they perform. :D
 
#7 ·
ICEBRU said:
The only thing i was questioning was is, is it worth me spending 4 hours putting it on. Icebru
I only said "it hasn't happened yet" - didn't blame you or anybody else for that. Mick is a chemo patient; that's likely why he had scheduling problems. I misunderstood what was going to happen at Galfer's place, so it seemed like you were considering not going. After talking to Sandro, I understand that Galfer will just be checking the fit and not actually installing the system. But you'll end up with a free $600 brake and clutch hose set and new Galfer brake pads. I and a lot of other guys think it would be worth the effort to install it, but you may not. It's at least a 6-hour job, maybe longer, requiring specific tools and equipment, and you may not consider the benefits worth the hassle. Frankly, most GL1800 riders have never experienced the difference between rubber and stainless lines and are perfectly happy with their brake systems as is.


Nedro,
We'll be using the factory-recommended DOT 4.
 
#8 ·
I have brought up this question in the past. I am a firm believer in the benefits of braided brake lines. Its common sense that its a better set up than rubber. Rubber expands over time, and with heat. Something has to fill in that expansion....Which makes your pedal/lever mushy. I checked out one company awhile back and they were a pretty penny. There needs to be some competition to bring the price down.
Gary at Gary's Hobby Shop said he installed a set one time and he would dread doing another one. It was not a fun job at all he said.
 
#9 ·
Hey stu.

I did'nt mean to act like an ass this morning, I have had a bad night and it followed by a bad morning. Thanks for setting up the deal with galfer in the first place. I know you just thought i blew them off, when that was'nt the case as we both know now. If it is really hard or expensive to install maybe i'll pass them along to someone who wants them. I have braided lines on my BMW now, so i sort of know what to expect. I hope this helps develope more kits for the abs and non-abs set ups. If we ever meet, the first rounds on me.

thanks, Icebru :beer8:
 
#11 ·
wingman57 said:
I would do it as well. WHAT A DEAL!
Yeah, but not the deal I thought he was getting. They said they didn't want to do the install due to liability - liability of having a non-Honda guy doing the work. Whatever. I'll tell ya though, this Wing is more like a car than a bike when it comes to things like this. Can't simply yank the hoses off the exposed forks and handlebars to install a few new lines. No - this will require removing ALL of the bodywork forward of the saddlebags (including the main fairing) and yanking out the fuel tank. Then you're looking at digging around in the bowels of the bike to change out about 16 hoses and route them all correctly. I shudder to think what a shop would charge for this job - $500 at least. Add that to the cost of the hose set, and you'd need to REALLY want braided hoses to do this. I'm sure the results will be impressive, but how bad are the standard brakes? Are they $1000 worth of bad? A personal decision, I guess.

Stu
 
#12 ·
If, after installing the brake line kit, the bike's antiskid malfunction light is lit, you forgot to re-connect the rear wheel speed sensor.

The connector is next to the two rear brake line/hard pipe connections; you probably disconnected the speed sensor to have more room to get a wrench on the nuts.

All you have to do is pop the tank out, plug the connectors together and go on your merry way.

Hope this helps.

Gordon

P.S. Stu grossly overstates the complexity of the job. No one in his right mind would want to install 16 hoses in a Goldwing. The kit contains only 13 brake lines and one clutch. Piece of cake.
 
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