Advice pls: Fitting braided hoses
 

Hi all,

Looking at getting some goodridge for the SL soon but had a couple of quick questions:

If I swap to twin front lines, does the master cylinder have to pump more fluid for the same piston action (meaning more lever travel)?

I'm looking to replace the master cylinder with something more desirable later on but for the moment I've got to stick with the standard.

Also, is there a reasonably easy way to bleed the brakes without speedbleeders?? I've done plenty of car brakes before but no bikes....

And finally, where can I get Dot 5/6 brake fluid?

Cheers,

Ali

ps: the sky's a funny blue color this morning, should I be worried????:)

can`t help with your questions mate, but you might be better off posting them in the tech section, where more of the mechanically minded types hang about ....:)

Ali,

The master cylinder does not have to pump more fluid so there is no increase in lever travel. The system will have marginally more fluid in it with twin lines but that's it, no other effect.

As far as bleeding goes, just do it in the time honoured fashion. Pump up, hold lever in, crack the bleed nipple, retighten, then release lever and repeat until there's no air comming through. A bit awkward single handed but by no means impossible. Easier and a lot less messy if you use a piece of tube from the bleed nipple to a suitable receptacle. You should avoid any spillage that way. Just remember to keep topping up the reservoir as you go! Another little tip would be if your master cylinder doesn't have a bleed nipple on it, replace the stock banjo bolt with one which incorporates a bleed nipple. You'd be amazed at how much air can get trapped at the top end of the system.

Hope that helps,

Neil

Top thanks.

If you've got a banjo with a bleed nipple on it, how do you pump the fluid back up the system from the calipers?

Would it not be better to do the whole system from the bottom as air rises?

UP: thanks I'll do so next time I ask a question (about 3x weekly at the moment!).

Cheers,

Ali

Ali, just a thought because I've got twin braided lines and reckoned they would be prefferable to the standard single line with a T-piece. And they are for the most part, except that they look a bit messy on the master cylinder and the lines are more difficult to route.

If I was doing the job again, I would go for the same pipework as the 749R. This has a single line from the master cylinder to the right hand caliper. The right hand caliper has a double banjo on it and there is a short section that loops over the mudguard from the right hand to the left hand calliper. Very tidy.

Cant race like that though i think. Not that it matters for the road though. Brakes work just the same.

Sounds like a slick solution. What's the issue with racing with it??? Seems like it'd be just as stable as having a splitter (or are those not allowed either?).

I just want to reduce the total number of joins in the system. And I'm a magpie so I just love all that glitters (in a sort of smokey titanium looking way) :D.

Ali

For racing, the lines can split below the bottom yoke.

Ali,

To follow up on my earlier post, bleed the calipers first and then the master cylinder last.

As Felix says, for race use, you can (and most race bikes do) use a single line from the master cylinder which then "T"s into 2 lines which go to the calipers. The only stipulation is that the lines from the calipers must run round the front of the fork legs and the "T" must be above the bottom of the lower triple.

For all you people that will no doubt try to tell me I'm wrong and that it must be 2 seperate lines - check your FIM tech rulebook!

Cheers,

Neil.

P.S. Don't use anything other than DOT4 fluid!!!! Brembo are very specific about fluid and DOT5 etc is not compatable with Brembo components!!!!

[Edited on 19-7-2004 by neil748r]

Apparently it ruins the seals