By Bjam 08/2003

Firstly the braided lines came from HEL who are very responsive, helpful and full of advice. I'm going to give them 5 beers for being a great supplier - all the others should aspire to meet their standards.

More information regarding HEL products, including the braided brake lines, can be found here: www.h-e-l.co.uk/

Special Offer - Goodridge braided stainless steel brake line kits
(SV1000 & SV650)

OK, so here are the contents of their kit.
 

In the kit you will receive three braided brake lines: Replacement rear brake line Front brake line from master cylinder to right brake calliper Front brake line from master cylinder to left brake calliper You will also get four single banjos and one double banjo with copper 'o' washers

Here are 'before' and 'after' shots for comparison:
 

...and the same again for the front brake master cylinder showing the connections to the double banjo.
 

Now a close up of that double-banjo connector on the master cylinder. The order and positioning of these cables was difficult to work out as there were no fitting instructions in the kit. I have supplied these pictures to HEL so that others will not experience similar frustration trying to work out which braided line goes where.

For your information the braided line nearest the master cylinder is connected to the left brake calliper (as viewed when sitting on the bike) and the line furthest away from the master cylinder is connected to the right calliper. The left braided line is slightly longer as well as having the connectors on each end at different angles as compared to the right. The more acute angled end is connected to the master brake cylinder. Sounds complicated? Well yes it was but if you are not confident tinkering with your bike get the job done by a professional!

Now keeping the cables tidy and making sure they don't catch on anything is paramount. Unfortunately there is no provision to do this with the standard kit. A quick call to HEL technical help line and they sent out a twin braided line clamp and some rubber sleeves that slid onto the brake lines. Here is picture showing the clamp and, if you look in the bottom left of the picture, you can see a rubber sleeve fitted to each braided line and fitted back into the standard cable holder.

And here's that same cable run but viewed from underneath.

Here is a view of the rear brake line - exhaust removed for clarity

And here is the connection to the rear master cylinder.

 

Finally some good practice guidelines. Firstly, as the brakes make the difference between life and death, I wanted to make sure that the job was completed properly. This involved using the correct tools for the job, for example a very accurate torque wrench to tighten those banjo nuts up to the correct torque.

And using the correct tool for bleeding the brakes properly.

Finally some words of wisdom from the Suzuki manual :

Air bleeding from the brake fluid circuit
Air trapped in the fluid circuit acts like a cushion to absorb a large proportion of the pressure developed by the master cylinder and thus interferes with the full braking performance of the brake calliper. The presence of air is indicated by "sponginess" of the brake lever and also by lack of braking force. Considering the danger to which such trapped air exposes the machine and rider, it is essential that, after remounting the brake and restoring the brake system to the normal condition, the brake fluid circuit be purged of air in the following manner:

* Fill up the master cylinder reservoir to the "UPPER" line. Place the reservoir cap to
   prevent entry of dirt.
* Attach a pipe to the air bleeder valve, and insert the free end of the pipe into a receptacle.

Front air bleeder valve: 7.5N-m (0.75 kgf-m, 5.5 lb-ft)
Rear air bleeder valve: 6N-m (0.6 kgf-m, 4.4 lb-ft)

*Front brake: Bleed the air from the air bleeder valve.
*Squeeze and release the brake lever several times in rapid succession and squeeze the lever fully without realising it. Loosen the bleeder valve by turning it a quarter or a turn so that the brake fluid runs in the receptacle; this will remove the tension of the brake lever causing it to touch the handlebar grip. Then, close the valve, pump and squeeze the lever, and open the valve. Repeat this process until the fluid flowing into the receptacle no longer contains air bubbles.

NOTE:
Replenish the brake fluid in the reservoir as necessary while bleeding the brake system. Make sure that there is always some fluid visible in the reservoir.

*Close the bleeder valve, and disconnect the pipe. Fill the reservoir with brake fluid to the "UPPER" line.

CAUTION
Handle brake fluid with care: the fluid reacts chemically with paint, plastics, rubber materials and so on.

*The only difference between bleeding the front and rear brakes is that the rear master cylinder is actuated by a pedal.

Brake Fluid Specification and Classification: DOT 4

Discount prices at www.brakes4u.co.uk
Master Supplier for EBC Brake Products and Goodridge Brake Lines

EBC Motorcycle Brake Pads  -  EBC Motorcycle Brake Discs  -  EBC Motorcycle Clutches (Clutch kits)

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