5th gen brake line upgrade

Here are some pics I snapped last night while finishing up my HEL brake line upgrade. Keep in mind they were low light and by iphone done quickly so excuse the poor quality on some of them. They were also taken before final cleanup and with the fairings off so the lines could be easier seen.

There now exists a kit for 5th gen HEL lines at MotoHeaven.com. I took my lines off and sent them in for replication, there also exists a 6th gen kit, done by another forum member here in conjunction with MotoHeaven the same way. It took some time since I first tried the 6th gen kit, but some lines fit and and some didn't. Then I stripped the lines and sent them to the guys and they were quick with turnaround, and as you can see they all fit and I think they look awesome. The folks at MotoHeaven are simply great, enough said. moto-heaven

Theyre not cheap. You get what you pay for.



First some tools you may need heeheeeheee:

[/IMG]



The lines when they arrived:

[/IMG]

Various views of each side and the rear, including the over fender crossovers and frame lines linking front to rear.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Now for a bit more cleaning a test ride. After the rum and diet pepsi wears off.

 

That turned out lookin' pretty tight, Bear. Next winter is the rotor cutting for the fronts, let me know when you are ready and I'll get you the info.

( BTW: No friggin' way!, after all of the crap about Malibu and I see a bottle of Parrot Bay on your work bench?, ROFLMAO! I know what your bottle is going to be at the hotel wet bar at MotoGP in a couple weeks.... )

 

Found the link at moto-heaven :: Brakes :: HEL Front and Rear Braided Brake Lines :: Honda :: Street/Sport :: Honda VFR 800 1998-2001 HEL Performance Front and Rear LINKED Brake Line Kit

Holy cow 441 bucks!!!

 

And thats before the EBC brake pads. Talk to them, always haggle heeheeeheeee......it works, you dont know if you dont ask.

These are EXACT replications for a 5th gen, they use billet block hook ups where appropriate and are race quality, available in any color you like, ends included. Linked brakes have a pantload of brake lines compared to other bikes, and you wont find nicer stuff anywhere, and the guys at MotoHeaven are superb. Again, you get what you pay for.

There's no guessing with this kit, it fits and it works. Its worth the money.

 

Man Bear, those lines are works of art!

BZ

 

Oh, and what's up with the oriental rug under your tool chest? LOL!

Pass the Grey Poupon please with the DOT 4!

BZ

 

I actually have done quite a bit of learning in this area. I too was a little shell shocked by the pricing I saw for the kits so I got with one of the ebay sellers who makes up custom lines and had 10 custom lines made up. This included the clutch line and I had solid lines made to replace the 2 segmented systems that run front to rear. The entire kit cost me $200 to my door.

Here's what I learned:
1. The very short segments are really tough to get orientation right and I actually had to get replacements for 3 of the lines.
2. In the end, you really only care about primary front brakes and probably primary rear brakes, so unless you are terribly worried about the looks, just replace the lines that go from the front reservoir to the calipers and from the foot brake to the rear caliper, you will get 99% of what you need right there for a fraction of the cost. I chose to go this route on my CBR1100xx which also has the LBS system and it works just as well.

Link to pics

 

Nice!!! Thanks for the tip, I think I'm gonna go the ebay route when I get enough moola for the brake lines.

 

If you can get your lengths worked out, you would be amazed what will fit. The front lines I just put on my CBR1100xx (which has longer VFR800 clipons) came off an '06 CBR1000RR, they are Galfer and cost me $20 off eBay.

 

Nice job you did on the brakes.

BTW, I would recommend getting rid of all the extra stuff on your key ring.

Use ONLY a key and you won't get all the scratching on the top of the triple clamp

due to the wind moving the key ring around.

When you go to sell your bike a scratched triple clamp could cost you on your final selling price.

 

I find that when studying Asian engineering wizards working their hydraulic magic, creating the proper ambiance is essential....also note the cigar on the tool cart...at completion it was given its deserved time in the low light of only the neon beer sign hanging in the garage, with the sound system playing the new Gaslight Anthem album on the ipod......life is good, we are blessed brothers.

Thank you PB...

Good advice, I have been debating with myself on whether to get one of those cover thingies like Reg has or just running the key and putting the alarm remote in my pocket.

 

Cheap bastage bwahahahahahahhaaa

 

Everything looks great. A few questions if you don't mind.

1) What kind of cigar was it?

2) How many total bleed points are there?

3) How hard was it to bleed everything?

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

It's funny, I understand where PB is coming from, but I've got to say if I was selling the 97 and someone tried to haggle a few hundred dollars less because my triple clamp is scratched. Well I'd smile, thank them for the interest, then close the garage and go back into my house with the deal off.

I guess it more for when sell something like a vehicle, I sell it for a really fair price so it moves and the person gets a decent deal. I take great personal offense at shit like that; I've seen way to many friends deal with undue BS for a few hundred dollars.

BZ

 

Thanks KC

The cigar: Oliveros El Padrino Edicion Italiana - Cigars International El Padrino Italiano edition. selected mainly for the dark wrapper, my tastes have always run toward the dark wrappers and fermented fillers. This one here (Alcazar Maduro Cigar Bundles) is my favorite but my local guy has stopped carrying them in favor of more of his own brand he is now having rolled. I imagine he would order me a box if I asked, but Im not that big a cigar smoker, theyre more of a treat for me.

The bleed procedure isnt hard, and the manual outlines in what order you should do things. Having a hand pump brake bleeder helps get things started, I then polished them off in the tried and true have Momma pump the brakes while I bleed just to get that last tiny bit out. I took my time and went over them a couple times. Each caliper has two bleed points, and there is a bleeder atop the PCV (thats what Honda calls it) under the rear edge of the gas tank. Careful study of the manual will bring one up to speed and once you trace everything down, it makes sense.

Test rode today.....brakes feel awesome....what an improvement. In fact a little dog tried to freak out and ran in front of me while in lean on my "private loop" I use today, I stabbed the rear pedal a bit, bike picked up a tad, dog missed. And this is without the prescribed scrub in period that EBC recommends.

 

Awesome, You are now quallified to re-plumb a house. Wow, I forgot how much plumbing linked brakes took.

 

BZ, I understand where you are coming from, but how about coming from another
angle? Not selling the bike at all, but taking pride in how you keep it, aesthetically as wel as mechanical?
Maybe it's the old Marine Corps training I had many years ago.
We always kept our equipment as best as possible.
Today, I still try very hard to keep my bikes and cars looking as good as new.
For some people, that's not a big deal. So be it ~

 

In no way are my above ramblings meant to be a challenge PB, just kind of talking about this issue more than trying to convince people to why I see this the way I do. I guess the irony is not lost on me when we have multiple threads of fellow VFRW riders who have had unfortunate get-offs that really tear up their machines juxtaposed against threads of VFRW members lamentations because their ‘baby’ got a scratch.

BZ