Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Wait... What's that?

You wish you were me?

I know

Nice congrats on passing the first half. Maybe ill be pming you in the future whenever I have a problem with my bike(s) that I cant figure out . Like I said in another thread im an industrial mechanic not an auto mechanic

Worked the NAIT booth at the motorcycle show in Edmonton. I got to see a couple friends, and I molested every bike in the show.

What am I thinking about buying next??

Wheres your hat Sev?

Yes Harry, where are your Robe and your Wizard's hat?

Hey Harry....sorry - SEV! Hey - did you catch this article? http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id ... xid=280923

btw - thanks for lettin me know you'd be at the bike show - I went on friday and din't see you. You must have been wearing your invisible cloak!

NorthernPete wrote:Wheres your hat Sev?

I was actually there to represent the NAIT Fairview Motorcycle Mechanics (apprenticeship) program. So I spent a LOT of time in the booth talking to prospective students about what they'd be getting into. Lots of fun, but very draining... I figured I should probably dress myself up a little bit and lose the hat. Funnily enough there was a place there selling Barmah hats.

Malice wrote:Yes Harry, where are your Robe and your Wizard's hat?

Shut your mouth when you're talking to me.

BubbaGump wrote:Hey Harry....sorry - SEV! Hey - did you catch this article? http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id ... xid=280923

btw - thanks for lettin me know you'd be at the bike show - I went on friday and din't see you. You must have been wearing your invisible cloak!

I was there from open to close on Friday, and 11-8 on Sat. Not my fault if you didn't see me. Sorry for not letting you know I was going to be there, it was basically a last minute thing... we were hoping to go, but between the shitty weather around then, and being unsure about class and tests we didn't full decide to leave until Thursday when we rolled out. And I had zero free time after that. Hope you enjoyed the show though.

*Edit* That statue thingy has caught a lot of Flak in class, first of all cause it seems like a colossal waste of money, money that could be better spent on other things (I can think of a lot of things our class could use *wink wink*). And second cause it's a Harley. WHOAH, haha.

I was offered (and accepted) a job at the shop that bike came from Echo Cycle, which by all accounts is one of, if not the best bike shop in town. I've never heard a bad thing about said shop, and not met a single person who wasn't happy with the quality of their work.

I'll be starting on April 1st, classes end March 23. As part of my schooling I'm required to complete a 6 week practicum in a shop, and Echo is going to be sponsoring me there. Starting wage kinda sucks, but there is lots of room to go up . Especially if I do a good job.

I found out that I'll be working with one of my classmates which is kind of exciting, cause he's a good guy to get along with. And I'll know at least one person there when I start.

So, this story starts on about Dec 1st of last year.

While trolling through e-bay as I normally I do, I ran into a remarkably good deal on a set of HEL stainless steel brake lines. I happened to mention to endo that I was looking to get a set. And he promptly wrote this e-mail.

Hello Mr.XXXXX,

You don't know me, but I know Sev...and he
has threatened bodily harm to
all that know him if he doesn't recieve below
linked product on or around
the date of Dec.25, 2006. Please heed this
statement, and buy him the damn
lines. Plus, (for mom), it will make him
motorcycle safer for use on public
roads!

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-HEL-BRAKE-LINES-HONDA-
CB600-HORNET-ALL-YEARS_W0QQitemZ330049914570Q
QihZ014QQcategoryZ25623QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

But seriously, he's become a good friend
of mine here in lovely
Fairview, and he hasn't stopped talking about
these brake lines (carbon
fibre look with black fittings), since he
found them. I thought, since he's
too polite to ask for them, I'd toss an email
off (I stole your email from
his computer, I sincerely hope you don't
mind!).

Thanks for your time and sorry for bugging
you!
endo

Some e-mailing back and forth happened, with confirmation from my parents that it was something I was looking for. And on christmas day underneath the tree there was for me a pringles can... with a cheque for the correct amount for the brake lines taped to the side. Very cool.

I ordered them that same day, and they arrived in Edmonton 2 weeks later. I picked them up when we piled South to Edmonton to see the bike show. And installed them last week during some free time in the shop.

Here's the rear lines being changed.

First thing I did was pop the seat and side panel off to give me easy access to the rear reservoir and sucked all the brake fluid out with a cheap syringe.



Then tape an empty bottle to the side of the swingarm, and stick an 8mm wrench over the bleed nipple, run a piece of hose from the bleed nipple to the bottle. Open the bleed nipple and pump all the brake fluid out of the line and the caliper body itself.





Disconnect your old line, but be sure to keep a rag around the bolt as it will still have some brake fluid in/on it. And that stuff will wreck havok on your tires or strip paint shortly after application. Close the bleed nipple



Pull out your old brake line, and thread in the new one.



Torque the sucker into place, and then get ready to bleed your lines.

The process is pretty simple
1) Fill the reservoir (keep an eye on this as the level will drop as the brake fluid moves into the line and caliper. If you let any air get in you'll need to start bleeding all over.
2) Pump the brake lever up and down several times, then press it down and keep it pressed down.
3) Open the bleed nipple on the caliper. Keep pressure on the brake lever.
4) You will see brake fluid mixed with air come out of the bleed line.
5) When the lever hits bottom close the nipple.
6) Repeat steps 1-5 until you no longer see air bubbles in the brake fluid. Make sure to keep the reservoir full.
7) Close up the system and use brake clean anywhere you spilled fluid (keep away from tires and paint).

Throughout the process be very careful to keep air from moving back into the system. Don't release the brake lever with the bleed nipple open, or allow the reservoir to empty.

I ran into a small problem, my rear line had a single rubber mount that could be slid anywhere along it's length. But it had to pass through two metal brackets. While it probably would have been okay to just leave it there and let it rub a little I didn't feel comfortable just leaving it like that. So I took the old brake lines and carved off a small section of the rubber surround.



Basically just a piece of rubber hose that has been slit down it's length. I just shoved it into the bracket and ziptied it in place.







Silly me, I forgot to take pictures of the bike while I did the front lines (did the hard one first) so here's what it looked like afterwards.











Here's the old front lines.



As you can see they used a rather antiquated system which used a solid passover line to get braking power to the front left caliper. I've had a slight problem with the bike pulling to the right under braking, I'm hoping this will solve it (in addition to me fixing the handlebars). As an added bonus the thinner lines and lack of passover really clean up the front in my opinion.

As for utility, well I'm not sure at this point as there's about 2 feet of snow on the ground up here. But just the sit and squeeze test indicates that the brakes are much... solider (is that a word?), there is a definite difference between how it feels to use these lines and the old ones.

They do a GREAT job of stopping the bike while I'm rolling it around the shop, I can leave little skid marks off the front wheel if I want to... *sheepish grin*

Many thanks to Mom and Dad for the great gift, and thanks to endo for letting them know ;).

Found out after removal that my lines were 4 years old meaning that they should have been replaced this year anyways (according to brake line manufacturers). Talk about a lucky brake (pun intended).

Noice brake lines there Sev!

Now I want some for my Kawi...... Ebay is a god send at times aint it.