Replacing all brake lines - any Tips/Tricks?

[chicagorandy]

Some random pics of the project. Didn't see a need for any "before" pics, the brake lines were pretty straight-forward, though that front splitter WAS a bit of a cramped space to work in. As mentioned the clutch line had to be re-routed as there wasn't anyway for it to follow the OEM tiny metal tube routing. The entire job for ME spanned about 8-10 total hours over two days, start to finish, buttoned back up and all tools properly put away. Arthritic knees, garage floors and getting up & down about a million times added to the 'joy' - lol. Tomorrow the weather is alleged to cooperate so I can take the bike out for a test ride to make sure everything still works properly. I will post a brief after-ride summation.

[HMB Don]

Randy

Routing of the clutch line has me very worried. Being on the head, with all the heat will cause clutch release problems. The heat will cause the fluid in the line to boil. That's why it has to run along that left down tube.

[cranky]

... would you recommend a synthetic oil? Much higher tolerance...

[chicagorandy]

Randy

Routing of the clutch line has me very worried. Being on the head, with all the heat will cause clutch release problems. The heat will cause the fluid in the line to boil. That's why it has to run along that left down tube.

Thanks for heads-up. I'll try again to re-route it away from the head. Last Thursday I couldn't see how to get the new line to follow the OEM tiny tubing? Anyone out there with a pic or two of their routing of the clutch line? I'm kinda stumped but will investigate further in the morning.

Turned out that what I saw as a metal/plastic hard plate blocking my route for the stainless line was a piece of rubber, easily bent out of the way - so THANKS a million Don once again. Test ride tomorrow.

[Nails]

As I recall, that routing seemed problematic at first because the slave banjo bolt was shaped differently from the stock one. (I think I still had floorboards at the time.)

[chicagorandy]

2 hour test ride is completed. As a devout ATGATT rider it felt a wee bit too warm for the likes of me at 85F this afternoon. But I'm pleased to report that all new mods worked as expected. Good solid brakes front & rear, dependable clutch friction zone and the new TPMS system works wonderfully. Much better way for arthritic geezers like me mto know their tire pressure, beats scrabbling around on the ground trying to get to the Shrader valves with a tire pressure gauge.

[GrandpaDenny]

2 hour test ride is completed. As a devout ATGATT rider it felt a wee bit too warm for the likes of me at 85F this afternoon.

Mesh gear is a wonderful invention. Another option is, believe it or not, a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt under a regular (non-mesh) jacket. Wet the sleeves, have only the back vent on the jacket open. Air conditioning! I've also seen a cooling vest that uses ice, I think they run about $300. Considering what gear costs, especially the higher-end brands, that doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. Someday maybe.

BTW, shameless plug here, I have gotten most of my gear from Viking Cycles https://www.vikingcycle.com and available on Amazon. Low price, decent quality. I recently bought their Touring Jacket and man I love it. Some people say polyurethane coated fabrics don't keep water out for more than a couple of minutes, but I found on my recent trip that it kept me bone dry, and I got rained on constantly. Never pulled out the rain gear. Maybe it's because I have a stock-height windshield on Gertrude now - I used to, with my mesh gear or other, older jacket (that only had a waterproof liner) (without the liner), only get wet on my shoulders after the water soaked through. None of that with this new jacket.

I wear my mesh pants year-round. I put the liner in when it's really cold, sometimes. They are REALLY warm with the liner. I don't remember who I got the pants from, somebody on Amazon.

The gear I have:

• Viking Cycle Ironside Hi Viz Neon Textile Motorcycle Jacket for Men https://www.vikingcycle.com/collections ... et-for-men

• Viking Cycle Enforcer Hi Viz Neon Textile Motorcycle Touring Jacket for Men https://www.vikingcycle.com/collections ... et-for-men

• Viking Cycle Ironborn Hi Viz Neon Textile Motorcycle Jacket for Men https://www.vikingcycle.com/collections ... et-for-men - this was my first motorcycle jacket

• HWK pants from Amazon - they are junk but dirt cheap, My first motorcycle pants.

• Motorcycle Sport Mesh Riding Pants Black with Removable CE Armor PT3 (3XL-Tall) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06 ... =UTF8&th=1 these are great and extremely warm with the liner in

I also got a couple of pairs of gloves from Viking - a summer perforated leather pair (bought just before the trip and I love them), and a winter gauntlet pair that I liked but accidentally threw into a dumpster.

Ok so I'm a walking, riding Viking Cycle advertisement I'm telling you, I am REALLY impressed with the quality of their gear, especially with the touring jacket. It's amazing. On my trip I wore it until I got past Daytona, where I switched to the mesh jacket. It wasn't until I was halfway home that I discovered another set of vents at the shoulders on the touring jacket LOL. Really high quality construction, lots of pockets, upgraded armor on shoulders and elbows, pockets galore. I especially like the "ticket pocket" on the left sleeve; handy as hell.

Wow this turned into a long post. Methinks I have diarrhea of the keyboard this morning.

[chicagorandy]

My armored mesh jacket is a TourMaster Sonora 3/4 Air Jacket. Leather gloves, boots and a GMax modular full-face flip-front helmet. Works great, and ATGATT saved my life several years ago, but it still gets warm when the weather gets over the 80's. lol

[Nails]

it still gets warm when the weather gets over the 80's.

Much more-so in triple digits. This year I'll try new Joe Rocket mesh pants that are silver and have armor. They do not have liners/zippers. I plan to wear shorts under them, with Frog Togs as necessary (including boot overboots). For a jacket, I use a cheap armored Bilt pup which is mostly white, intended for women. (My ego can handle that.) My biggest complaint about it is the asinine race-like advertising patches all over it. Yeah, a cotton tee-shirt, probably short sleeved in the future.

I have TourMaster pants with thermal and rain liners. They're too bulky, even without the liners; and even though mesh they still don't vent well enough. And they're black, a ridiculous color in the desert.

I'm saying my biggest lesson-learned after last summer's serious heat (https://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/view ... 15&t=12414) is to go basically naked under armored, light-colored mesh. (My ego also can handle wearing shorts and riding boots into the restaurant, at least when the heat is otherwise killing me.)