Spiegler and Galfer make quality braided lines. EBC and Vesrah are common pads that people use as well.

 

+1 for Spiegler lines and EBC brake pads. Or Carbone Lorraine pads.

 

Brake System Upgrades

The common misconception with braided brake lines is that they offer better braking performance. What they do offer is better feel and consistency as they are not prone to fade. OEM rubber lines expand under heat and bulge resulting in a loss of brake fluid pressure which translates to a sensation of brake fade and a 'sponginess' felt at the lever after prolonged use. Hence you feel like you need to apply more and more pressure at the brake lever for the same amount of braking performance over time. Braided lines alleviate this problem as they do not expand and therefore maintain strong braking performance and offer a more progressive and consistent feel at the lever particularly when the brakes are being used extensively for example on track. They are an extremely worthwhile upgrade particularly if you intend to ride on track frequently. However, on the road where you are highly unlikely to be exerting the same amount of braking force, and therefore generating as much heat, you are unlikely to feel any difference to a well maintained set of OEM lines. For road only use you will feel more benefit simply changing the fluid periodically and thoroughly bleeding the system.

Hel, Goodridge, Spielger and Galfer, to name but a few, all make very good brake lines which are very similar in terms of quality and price. Again the situation is the same for brake pads with the top manufactures such as Brembo, EBC etc offering similar products. That said the OEM pads and brake lines are actually rather good. If you are predominantly only road riding then the only really necessary change you need to make are brake pads and fluid.

 

That all depends on how you ride. Brakes are something don't care if the asphalt is inside track grounds or on a public piece of land. The concept is the same. Rubber lines not flexing is the same on the track as it is on the street. Heat has little to do with it, it's just the pressure and flex which happens anywhere you brake and depending on how hard you brake.

Yes, fluid and pad and a good bleed job provide the biggest advantage, but lines are one of those things that don't matter at all where your bike is located. The type of pad does greatly as it's dependent on heat, but lines react more to pressure and that pressure comes from braking which is done on the street as much as on the track. Sure on a track people may feel it's more important as you're harder on the braking system and it will drop your times, but on the street you're not as hard and don't use it as much, but it has life saving benefits as well, where normally on the track brakes do not save lives.

 

Yeah only real reason I want to do braided is so they don't bulge. I've had brake lines that were weak on a car and eventually burst and I'd rather avoid that when I'm on my bike. Cheap insurance.

 

:+1: for HEL lines, great customer service too...

 

Recommendations:

Brake Lines: HEL, Goodridge, Fren Tubo
Brake pads: Brembo, Ferodo, Carbone Lorraine, Vesrah

 

I would go with lightech lines and honestly stock pads are really good on the Honda's. You can go with aftermarket if you want that little more. I did not like EBC pads what so every. It had that wooden brake feel.

 

I have Galfer front/rear SS with EBC double H and love the feedback.. but again I like the rock hard feeling of a brake lever I have it on the highest lever setting so the brake bite is right their no real free play....

But SS line ive only tried Galfer and Spiegler and both were night and day difference on both my RR's

 

The honda pads are ok for occasional C group track duty.

I liked : Honda, Vesrah RJL, BRAKING (little less bite then VESRAH but great feel

would never use again: EBC, GALFER

also make sure to check your rotors and properly "break in" your new pads"

 

Question for HH EBC pas users - where the heck is the wear indicator?

My fluid has dropped to 1/2 and the lever seems to be comming much closer to the bar before breaking so thought it was time to change pads.

However, on inspection it looks like there is plenty left (2mm). The only groove I could see seems to be a complete split between two halves but that almost goes to the metal plate, is this the wear indicator and if so guess I do have penty life left?

 

There is no wear indicator. You can visually inspect the brakepad any time you walk by the bike so there is no need for an indicator.

I really like oem honda pads, they wear well and resist fading exellently. I'd only consider changing from oem on a track only bike. EBC's HH pads give absolute crap for feedback, I can't for the life of me figure out why so many people like them.

 

Check these puppies out.

http://www.superbiketoystore.com/sp...ged-Monobloc-Radial-Front-Caliper-Kit-Honda-CBR600RR-2005-2010-/prod_14237.html

Not bad on the price either! Considering brembo usually like 3k$! I know their total overkill but damn their sexy.... **drool**

I can't wait to do these and the Goodridge shadow brake lines which already ordered but their back ordered till june D:

 

Heard that about HH pads. That's why I use extreme pro HH (but they are twice the price). Not much choice here in UK!

I can visually check pads but what does that tell me if I don't know how low they can go.

 

It may look as though your fluid level has diminished, but chances are, that rubber diaphragm is just being sucked in to the fluid and making it look empty?

This can be deceiving sometimes.

But if you still have plenty of pads left, and you are legitimately losing 1/2 your fluid, then I would say its time to re-do your brake caliper seals. I would just watch it like a hawk until it gets any lower if I were you. But if you are worried, do a full fluid change/bleed and see how it goes from there.

 

Calipers are one of the last steps when upgrading your brakes. You get the best bang for your buck starting with pads, fluid, and lines. Then you can start looking at MCs, rotors, and calipers.

They do look sexy, but right now they're more bling than functional.

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They can go as low as you want before metal to metal it will translate back to your feedback from the lever about how the brakes feel... I would change them with about 1/4 left visually


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Brake fade can describes two different things all together. In one instance we have brake fade that is referring to a spongy brake lever feel. This is usually caused by excessive heat that actually boils minuscule amounts of water that may be present in the fluid. This causes brake line expansion.

In the second instance, brake fade refers to the lack of braking caused by (yes the magic word again) heat. When temperatures exceed what the pads can handle they will actually smoke. The gas acts like a lubricant between pad and the rotor. The lever will feel firm, but stopping will be greatly impacted.

In my opinion, race pads should be used on the track, and only on the track. Why you ask? Race pads are made of materials that handle much higher temps than street pads. You sacrifice cold temp braking for an increase in temp threshold. So race pads don't start working properly until they build up some heat.

So I would run this on street:
1) everyone can benefit from braided brake lines
2) a high quality street pad
3) high end rotors are awesome, but make no real difference on the street. On the track they dissipate heat much faster.
4) the highest quality brake fluid, change it yearly, and bleed it properly. This is probably the most overlooked aspect of the brake components.

 

+1 Good points!! Yeah make sure you invest in some good fluid as well. Motul RBF 660 is expensive but one of the best fluids out there. After you open the bottle, the fluid will deteriorate.

Rotors and calipers arent worth the money unless you are racing

 

Just got my lines in and they look awesome. Haven't had a chance yet to install. Does anyone have pictures of them installed? I'm trying to figure out what 1st and 2nd position is? First=closest to lever?

 

Are you trying to ask what position on the banjo is 1st and 2nd?

The way I do lines is like this:
- Remove old ones and their P clips/wire retainers
- roughly place the lines in the route you think will be the best fit
- Place lines on banjo in this order:
*Copper washer!
*Place the shortest line on the banjo (this will be for right hand side caliper)
*Copper washer!
*Place longer line on banjo (left hand side caliper)
*Copper washer!

now you will be holding a banjo bolt with 3 washers, 2 lines, with the shortest one closest to your bolt head.

- Bolt it up but do not torque it up yet (this can be really fiddly)
- attach lines to calipers WITH COPPER WASHERS EITHER SIDE OF LINE.
- Make sure your steering has complete movement and your lines are not interfering with anything.
- Torque it up
- add fluid, bleed, pump lever a bunch of times (5 mins) to get the pressure up. (keep adding fluid when necessary
- Use new P clips to secure the lines to the origional bracket bolt locations, because the OEM ones won't work.

doneski.

Don't leave the washers off or put them in the wrong place, or your brakes will fail.