I'll be tackling the task of replacing the OEM brake lines to stainless steel ones this weekend/next week.. Has anyone done this by themselves before? any tricks or tips to make the job easier?
Hard work.I did a goodridge conversion and the end fittings don,t swivel because they are adr legal.So you have to figure out which way they twist to line up.As the lines are skinnier you also have to crush down the brackets that hold the brakeline supporting rubbers.Did front and back.You,ll notice a difference from 40km/hr upwards.Does easy stoppies now too. Bleeding the brakes is the biggest pain in the arse ever.With the rear pedal it seems to pump up but i think it is just pressure bleeding past the pushrod assembly on the left front rotor.With such good brakes on the track you,re stuck with a delimna.Under very heavy braking with the front the rear gets very light.As you are also operating the centre piston on the rear caliper the rear tyre goes for a bit of a dance.I,d hate to pull the clutch in cause i think it would cause a tankslapping .this is with 1.0kg front springs!!.If you then speed the rebound up on the rear the bike isn,t so planted through mid corner bumps.I rode another vfr back to back on the track with standard lines and standard pads.It had better initial bite that the goodridge sintered pads but didnt have much more retardation after the initial bite.My brakes had less initial bite but had endless reserves of braking potential,limited by the back wheel coming off the ground at 160km/hr plus.A pain in tha arse but very worthwhile mod.
A couple of years ago I did the switch out from the OEM ones to the Galfer braided ones on my '98. No ABS, but still linked, so many more hoses involved than most bikes. HUGE PITA. At least at the time, Galfer considered doing it yourself so tough on the linked VFR, that they didn't even include directions! None, at all. They didn't want the owners doing it. They considered it a dealer job. What I did was take all the plastic off the bike (which I had to do anyway for other mods I was doing at the time). I then located each of the OEM hoses, and with masking tape, I made a little flag at the end of each one. Each end got a number. Then at each connection point, I put a piece of masking tape down with a matching number to the hose end. I didn't, but in retrospect it would have helped greatly, taken some pictures with a digital camera as to how the hoses are routed. Since it took me a couple of weekends, my memory wasn't fresh. Took a couple of weekends because I had one fitting that leaked, and I had to get a replacement sent out. Only after all the hoses were found and labled did I take the OEM hoses off (after draining the system of as much brake fluid as possible). I then laid out all the OEM hoses on a table and matched up the new Galfer ones. Not only do you want to match them up for length, you also want to match up the end fittings and specifically the bent angles of the OEM pieces to the new ones. The severity of the angle and its relationship to the one on the other end. Some hoses are the smae length, but the bends are different. Either different angle, or not oriented to the fitting at the other end the same way. This is importand as you can not twist the hose or the fitting. Then I transfered my fitting numbers from the OEM pieces to the new Galfer ones. Next was hooking them up as close to the stock way as possible. Then fill with fluid and bleed. They really do make a difference, and not just for racers.
