Galfer Brake Lines

Has anyone tried these out? They use a double banjo bolt at the master cylinder so the individual lines run right to the caliper rather than the T connection.

Galfer Stainless Steel Brake Lines For Honda VF500 F2E 1984-1987 MSF2432-MSR2432 - Cycle Brakes 4 Less (A FTP Distributing Comapny)

 

I havent used them but many others have.

There was a discussion regarding using the 2 line or 3 line kit but the difference is only cosmetic.

 

The double line might be a touch easier to bleed, as the T in a 3 line set up can trap air bubbles. I've run both types, depending on what my sponsors gave me. No difference in braking performance with either one.

 

I installed my new lines last night. After about 1.5 hours of bleeding the brakes I gave up. I had no more bubbles visible, but I can't seem to get a good two-finger brake feel. I need to use all four fingers to get to the harder part of the stroke. Once you get to the hard part it is definitely firmer with the new lines, but too late in the stroke, just as the stock lines were.

I took it for a spin and for normal stopping two-finger braking is ok, but I can't do a hard stop. Should the stroke on these brakes allow for hard two-finger braking? I can't remember if my bike did 20+ years ago, but all my MX'ers had the capability. I can't help but think that I have an air pocket somewhere

FYI - I am doing old school bleeding, no pump. I am also tapping the caliper and lines periodically to try to catch any pockets

Any tips or suggestions?

 

rubber-band the brake lever over night

 

X2

I Zip-Tied my brake and clutch lever as far in as they could go overnight after I bled them.

When you come out to the bike in the morning hold the lever and snip the tie(rubberband etc) and then slowly let the lever out.

Worked wonders for my clutch.

 

I would love to know how this works. You would only be locking the system in a full pressure state which would simply compress any trapped air, no? How would that remove the air? Physics question aside, I will give it a try. Thanks guys.

 

I've never understood this either. The only thing I can think of is that by keeping the system pressurized any air bubbles will be smaller and would rise easier. Oddly enough this is backwards from my investment casting days where you pulled a vacuum on the mold and vibrated it to get the bubbles out. Generally I just try to let the bubbles work them selves out naturally. It sounds to me like you don't have much, if any, air in your lines. As far as stoke goes, I'd look at how much play you have between the brake lever and the MC piston. If you can eliminate as much slop as possible you'll have a shorter stroke. I actually had the opposite problem at one point. My brake lever was pre-loading my MC to the point where it was blocking the relief hole. The end result was that my brakes were fine in the morning but if it sat in the sun for too long the fluid would expand and my front brakes would lock up. Took me a while (and a MC rebuild kit) to figure that one out.

-Jake

 

Not sure I believe in the zip-tie method - I think it is a bit of an urban myth...

Not that you necessarily want to purchase another tool (though who doesn't like to buy tools!) but I can say that the Mityvac makes life a lot easier when installing new lines.

 

Mityvac is super cheap at Harbor Freight/Northern Tool etc.

 

When is the last time you rebuilt the master and calipers? I'm working on the same kind of issue with my gen2s...the steel lines barely helped.

 

Master rebuild, seals and Mitvac all help.

 

I suspect that they are original and if I decide to keep the bike it is one of the first things on my to do list.