Track day heroes! Talk to me about braided brake lines

[gwm]

Worth it or not?

Some people swear by them, others say they're dangerous aa they hide any potential leaks.

Track day people and racers - worth the upgrade or not?

[Fleegle]

yes, every penny

[moanthebairns]

don't think you would notice much of a difference from normal new lines but you would over perished/old ones

less likely to become damaged in a spill

look nicer

and old rubber ones need replacing every 10 years or something anyway

Edited by moanthebairns on Wednesday 23 July 22:31

[dern]

They and the required brake fluid change will always feel miles better than the old hoses with the old fluid.

The braiding can only hide brake hoses that are deteriorating over time which is pretty unlikely, they won't hide leaks as you'll see the fluid all over the floor and your brake will feel st.

In the unlikely event your hoses are fecked they're as cheap as anything else and they look nice so why not. If your existing brake hoses are not fecked they won't make any difference, changing the fluid will.

[Hooli]

They do tend to firm the lever up a bit, so if you like that they are good.

[theshrew]

They don't / won't hide leaks. Very rare you will have a leak anyway and that's why you have clear tanks.

They will give the brakes a harder feel because they don't expand as much which in turn gives you more brake feel.

[Lincsblokey]

HEL Lines, SRF fluid, some decent pads and you too can become last of the late brakers.

[ylovebuffalo]

I'm getting some HEL ones fitted to my GSXR 750 tomorrow so i'll have to feedback the difference.....

[Bluehawk]

Fitted them on two of my bikes now, And I too would say they are worth every penny, Gives good firm response to the brakes - However met a fair few people who seem to think braided hoses are a good replacement for well serviced brakes

[fergus]

Lincsblokey said:

HEL Lines, SRF fluid, some decent pads and you too can become last of the late brakers.

Or if you want to save yourself £30 in brake fluid, try gulf performance RF1000. Same dry boiling point, marginally lower wet boiling point, but with fresh fluid (or frequent changes), this doesn't mattter.

[gwm]

Yes only reason I ask is GSX-R 750 is due a fluid change and thought this would be worth doing at the same time. Looking at the HEL lines, racing for the front as opposed to over fender. Will inspect pads to see if these are worth changing as well.

So many colour choices though!

ylovebuffalo said:

I'm getting some HEL ones fitted to my GSXR 750 tomorrow so i'll have to feedback the difference.....

Let me know what you go for and think.

[gwm]

fergus said:

Lincsblokey said:

HEL Lines, SRF fluid, some decent pads and you too can become last of the late brakers.

Or if you want to save yourself £30 in brake fluid, try gulf performance RF1000. Same dry boiling point, marginally lower wet boiling point, but with fresh fluid (or frequent changes), this doesn't mattter.

Not consider Dot 5.1 as better than both?

[Mr OCD]

What brake fluid is recommended then?

I'm using ATE SuperBlue in the R1 ... but it's pissing me off changing colour when left in direct sunlight!

[theshrew]

gwm said:

Yes only reason I ask is GSX-R 750 is due a fluid change and thought this would be worth doing at the same time. Looking at the HEL lines, racing for the front as opposed to over fender. Will inspect pads to see if these are worth changing as well.

So many colour choices though!

ylovebuffalo said:

I'm getting some HEL ones fitted to my GSXR 750 tomorrow so i'll have to feedback the difference.....

Let me know what you go for and think.

If you haven't had your recall done might be a idea to get them to do it at the same time rather than twice

[y2blade]

Fleegle said:

yes, every penny

This^^^^^ x111002000

And NOT just for trackday use either, you'll feel the benefit having it done on EVERY bike for every type of use.

[dern]

If I've ever had issues with brake pressure feel it's always been down to fluid or seals. Never felt any difference between systems with braided or oe if the oe system is in good order. You've effectively got reinforced braiding in oe hoses, you just can't see it.

[AdamGP]

Standard fit on the 675, the brake feel is pretty good on that!

[moanthebairns]

I had two identical ninjas and ran both on the track/road back to back

One had new braided lines, full rebuild and new identical pads
The other normal lines, full rebuild and new identical pads

Both obviously flushed through with new fluid.

Did I notice any difference, nope I honestly didn’t certainly not in braking performance. However id almost certainly go for braided hoses.

look better, not too dear and more sturdy

[y2blade]

moanthebairns said:

I had two identical ninjas and ran both on the track/road back to back

One had new braided lines, full rebuild and new identical pads
The other normal lines, full rebuild and new identical pads

Both obviously flushed through with new fluid.

Did I notice any difference, nope I honestly didn’t certainly not in braking performance. However id almost certainly go for braided hoses.

look better, not too dear and more sturdy

hang on hang on I smell something!

So you can ride the tyres off on track getting elbow down and all that st yet not be able to tell difference between Braided and flexo rubber brake hoses?

[moanthebairns]

y2blade said:

moanthebairns said:

I had two identical ninjas and ran both on the track/road back to back

One had new braided lines, full rebuild and new identical pads
The other normal lines, full rebuild and new identical pads

Both obviously flushed through with new fluid.

Did I notice any difference, nope I honestly didn’t certainly not in braking performance. However id almost certainly go for braided hoses.

look better, not too dear and more sturdy

hang on hang on I smell something!

So you can ride the tyres off on track getting elbow down and all that st yet not be able to tell difference between Braided and flexo rubber brake hoses?

fk off...

to be honest, the 6 pot ninja calipers are fking rotten even after a rebuild. The aren't radial as well.

theses weren't done back to back about a 6 months gap but I was riding other bikes in the meantime. Still just nothing really noticeable, especially for a novice rider.

Its really hard for anyone to tell as your changing two controlling factors to brake performance when you swap lines, not just one.