Older OEM Brake Lines - Replacement a must do?

My '99 bike still has the OEM brake lines. Should I replace or replace is nice or OEM is still fine

  • Brake line replacement is a must do - Stainless steel

    Votes: 3 18.8%

  • Brake line replacement with OEM

    Votes: 2 12.5%

  • Brake line replacement with Stainless Steel is nice, but not a must do

    Votes: 6 37.5%

  • The OEM is still fine

    Votes: 4 25.0%

  • Save the bucks and buy more beer

    Votes: 6 37.5%

  • Replace the front with SS, but skip the rear

    Votes: 3 18.8%
  • Total voters
    16
mello dude

mello dude

Half genius, half dumazz whackjob foole
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Location
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I have only started hanging out on this forum for a few months and cant help but notice that you guys are some
of the most OCD and anal wrenching fooles on the planet. ... >> - (Ok, I probly fit that description too...lol)

Since I find that the case.....(17 pages on Moly?.)

Anyhoo I am doing a rebuild on a '99 Honda Valkyrie and I am in debate about replacing the OEM brake lines. The bike only has 20K mile on it.
The lines still look reasonable... (posting the same on the Valk forum too)
The main deal is its a good $250 + to do a stainless replacement, a bit pricey if keeping the OEM will do.
Spiegler is in my neighborhood, (so close!) - kinda good thing and kinda bad thing
(I promised myself to finish this thing, before I jump on the ST bandwagon.)

So -another just for fun... another poll. What say you OCD gang?
 
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Stainless steel lines don't flex like the rubber hoses do, so they provide better control and feedback than the rubber hoses. Do you really need that on a Valkyrie, I kinda doubt it. On a sportier bike its a worthwhile upgrade, on the ST it made a difference to me. Changing out the rears is a waste of time/money, you don't brake hard enough with the rear for the difference in feel to make a difference. Same with the clutch. So I'd vote for more beer on a Valkyrie, and SS front brakes only on an ST.
 
I did my 1996 BMW r1100rt with stainless lines. Stainless weren't a lot more than stock BMW lines. Gives me peace of mind. 23 years old rubber brake hoses make me nervous.
 
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CYYJ said:
I think the correct answer is to replace hydraulic lines “on condition”, that means inspect them annually and if they look OK and function OK, leave them alone for another year.

Michael
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My experience is that they often fail from the inside, especially if the fluid replacement regimen isn't followed (it usually isn't). Deterioration is both time and mileage dependent. Flexing, heat cycles, ozone, chemicals, and good old time. The hose is really three structures in layers. There is an exterior layer for environmental resistance; a middle layer for resisting the hydraulic pressure, and an internal layer for chemical resistance to the brake fluid. Hose manufacturers like to put the stainless braid on the outside for the customer to see, but it works better with a covering. It should be the middle layer, not the outer. Now many of them have clear or gaily colored translucent coverings so that you can show off your bling without abrading the unprotected stainless sheath. Actually, a properly installed cable won't abrade because it won't be rubbing anywhere. It will have routings and stand-offs that prevent rubbing contact with anything on the bike. You may see exterior deterioration, but when the inside starts to deteriorate you will have detritus making its way to the calipers that is only visible by disassembly. But, I'd be disassembling calipers at this time as well as replacing hoses. Better materials are used today than were used 20 years ago. A set of stainless lines with teflon inner lining will last the rest of one's life. Bad hoses that fail either by rupture, embolism, or contamination blockage could last the rest of your life as well, except that your life might not be as long.

I've brought many bikes back to life after extended sleep and rebuilt many old road bikes. Rubber and most synthetic elastomers age and deteriorate whether you use the item or not. Whether it is a tire, a hose, a carburetor diaphram, an o-ring on a fuel injector, the insulation on a wire, or an oil or grease seal. Any 20 year old rubber part on one of my motorcycles is coming out, even if I have to go in and get it. Some get softer, but most rubber formulations lose elasticity and harden with age. Synthetic materials often lose volatile plasticisers. But Father Time is always at work, and eventually he overcomes us and everything we own.

Motorcyclists do all kinds of illogical things for peace of mind - or, ..."piece of mind". They buy $15 boutique oils and $30 gear oil and replace them every 3,000 miles. They use premium gas when they don't need it. But then they run a brake line to failure. I don't get it.
 
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CYYJ said:
I think the correct answer is to replace hydraulic lines “on condition”, that means inspect them annually and if they look OK and function OK, leave them alone for another year.
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I agree very much on this, however can lines with no visual damage still cause symptoms/trouble like letting the fluid draw humidity, hence giving one odd/failing brake clutch hydraulics after being grounded for some weeks/months... The recommendation to "replace lines if older then 5 years" is probably based on this.

Aftermarket stainless lines can bear many fitment issues though... issues with incorrect lengths, Banjo fittings wrong angle/orientation, the thinner lines won't hold in any of the mounting clips, requiring more tinkering to avoid them dangling around, rubbing on other parts, etc..., whilst fitting OEM lines is a simple drag'n'drop procedure...
On the inside OEM lines are steel braided anyway, they have only another, thick, protective rubber layer outside...

I'd recently refurbed an old CX500, which brake lines where actually blocked by rust inside the Banjo fittings... ;)
Managed to find all 3 lines required in NOS condition, together with fully overhauled calipers and MCs, the bike stops like new out the showroom again.

(I for one can't see much benefit on braided lines, plus that I'd fail the annual MOT with such fitted anyway...)
 
How much are you going to rid the Valk, and what is your riding style? The bike is not designed for a road course and canyon carving, but it does weigh a lot. I agree w/ Beemerphile and would check the cost of OEM parts. A significant difference, then go cheaper, both nearly the same, go pretty (SS).
 
ST1100Y said:
On the inside OEM lines are steel braided anyway, they have only another, thick, protective rubber layer outside...
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Not sure if this might be the case with newer bikes, but it wasn't the case in the days of the ST1100. You could see the OEM hoses bulge when squeezing the front brake lever, there was no steel braiding in them. My Triumph Daytona came with steel braided lines from the factory in 2003, but they didn't have the rubber layer outside.
 
To put your mind at ease I still have the original brake hoses on my 70K mile 19 year old motorcycle. Still have the original fuel line and coolant hoses too.
 
beemerphile said:
Beware the man with one data point and a firmly held conclusion...
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That could apply to at least half the posts here. And if many of those had the same one data point... One data point of personal experience can far outweigh the supposition of many contrary firmly held conclusions.
 
I have had one incident in 50 years and 800,000 miles where my bike had to be towed to a repair facility. It was on a 1991 Honda ST1100. I have logged nine times as many miles on BMW's as on Hondas and have never had a BMW fail to get me there and back. It wasn't a tow, but the only trip I did not finish because of a problem and had to return early was on a Honda NC700. So, given relative opportunity for failure, the Honda fails miserably by my data. I could draw the conclusion that BMW"s are more reliable. However, there is statistically significant evidence that Hondas are more reliable than BMW's. So, in opposition to my own experience, I firmly believe that Hondas are more reliable than BMW's. We fall in love with our own personal data points at the risk of holding incorrect positions.
 
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beemerphile said:
We fall in love with our own data personal points at the risk of holding incorrect positions.
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And yet just because 'we all' may doesn't by definition make 'us' wrong. So I'm slow to cast aspersions on someone's data point just because it appears to be only one data point.
 
ST Gui said:
And yet just because 'we all' may doesn't by definition make 'us' wrong. So I'm slow to cast aspersions on someone's data point just because it appears to be only one data point.
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It wasn't the data point but the conclusion based on it that I question. "You" can put your mind at ease because "I" never had a problem. That implies that "my" data point is conclusive. You shouldn't worry about cancer because I smoked for 50 years and I didn't get cancer.
 
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