Why you should switch to Stainless Braided Brake Lines
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:20 pm
If your bike is more than 6 years old, your rubber brake & clutch lines should have already been replaced. If it is 20 years old, you are taking your life in your hands driving it.
Rubber brake lines are only designed to last for 5-6 years. They deteriorate due to ozone in the air, ultra violet from sunlight, and contact with brake fluid.
Have you ever wondered why brake fluid turns red/brown after a couple of years? it's a combination of oxydization caused by the moisture that finds it's way through the porous rubber and rubber particles suspended in the fluid. I think it is obvious that this reduces the incompressability of the fluid, and thus impairs the function of the brake. Not to mention what can happen if the water boils because the caliper gets hot.
Stainless steel braided brake lines are NOT made with rubber. They are made by braiding stainless steel wire over a teflon tube. The process is almost identical to the rope braiding machines I operate at work.
Teflon is NOT porous. It will not allow any contaminants into the fluid.
The braided wire covering protects the teflon tube from damage and also increases the stiffness of the already dimensionally stable tube.
They use stainless steel because it does not corrode.
See www.goodridge.net
I recently sold my '78 GS400. I put a braided ss line on it in '87 and last changed the fluid in '90. When I took it out of the shed after sitting for about 8-9 years, the fluid was barely darker than new and the brake worked perfectly. (NOTE: I would recommend replacing the fluid before using it on the road after that long, even with a braided ss line.)
My GoldWing sat about the same length of time before I got it, and the fluid had actually crystalized in the rubber lines.
One more thing: longevity & price
Rubber lines should be replaced about every 2-3 fluid changes (every 5-6 years).
Stainless braided lines should last forever unless mechanically damaged. See this link: http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/goodridge/warranty.jsp
Stainless lines are usually cheaper than than original rubber ones too. Partsfish wants $133.70us for the clutch line for the Nighthawk, and I paid about $100cdn for stainless.
Rubber brake lines are only designed to last for 5-6 years. They deteriorate due to ozone in the air, ultra violet from sunlight, and contact with brake fluid.
Have you ever wondered why brake fluid turns red/brown after a couple of years? it's a combination of oxydization caused by the moisture that finds it's way through the porous rubber and rubber particles suspended in the fluid. I think it is obvious that this reduces the incompressability of the fluid, and thus impairs the function of the brake. Not to mention what can happen if the water boils because the caliper gets hot.
Stainless steel braided brake lines are NOT made with rubber. They are made by braiding stainless steel wire over a teflon tube. The process is almost identical to the rope braiding machines I operate at work.
Teflon is NOT porous. It will not allow any contaminants into the fluid.
The braided wire covering protects the teflon tube from damage and also increases the stiffness of the already dimensionally stable tube.
They use stainless steel because it does not corrode.
See www.goodridge.net
I recently sold my '78 GS400. I put a braided ss line on it in '87 and last changed the fluid in '90. When I took it out of the shed after sitting for about 8-9 years, the fluid was barely darker than new and the brake worked perfectly. (NOTE: I would recommend replacing the fluid before using it on the road after that long, even with a braided ss line.)
My GoldWing sat about the same length of time before I got it, and the fluid had actually crystalized in the rubber lines.
One more thing: longevity & price
Rubber lines should be replaced about every 2-3 fluid changes (every 5-6 years).
Stainless braided lines should last forever unless mechanically damaged. See this link: http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/goodridge/warranty.jsp
Stainless lines are usually cheaper than than original rubber ones too. Partsfish wants $133.70us for the clutch line for the Nighthawk, and I paid about $100cdn for stainless.
