Braided hoses

[Squashed_Fly]

Am thinking of getting (and hopefully fitting myself if not too difficult!) some braided hoses for the ninja.

Have just seen some HEL ones that are £80 for the set front and rear if I choose race layout, or about 110 if I go for standard. Does it matter which ones I go for, or will only 1 type work with my bike? They are both listed as being available for it so not sure what the pros/cons are of either.

Should hopefully improve the feel from the brakes as I want it set up and ready to be able to do some trackdays next year.

[jonnydangerous]

what age is the bike...???
how about an overhaul of the seals that are already there IF your hoses are in pretty good condition...
new caliper piston seals allow the pads to be placed very near the disc, and ensure a good "lever" with little slack....
a master cylinder seal kit isnt that expensive, and ensures good pumping efficiency......

if the rest of the system isnt good new blingy hoses wont make it any better.......

however, if they are pretty good already, and cleaned/serviced the hoses will give that edge. some people have said theres a lack of "Feedback" with braided hoses.....

[Squashed_Fly]

it's an 02 ninja A1P - the 636. It's got just over 12500 miles on it and it is pretty good. But everything I've read says that these ninjas lose the feel of the brakes pretty quick especially in track conditions so best to fit with braided lines.

It's a new bike to me to in my experiance so far, they are fine. But I do def want to do a few tracks next summer so figured i'd prep it now over winter

[jonnydangerous]

a strip and a clean of the muck thats found its way past the square section dust seal on the piston would be good, even popping the pistons out, cleaning and putting back in can make them so much better, new pads, fluid and hoses will bring them up to top notch :-)

[Squashed_Fly]

Cool. I accidentally bught the Haynes manual for the 03/04 version, but I'm guessing that the instructions should be the same, if not similar enough to follow all that?

[Scotty]

The difference in cost between the hose kits is because the "standard" kit mimics the original hose layout - one from the master cylinder and probably splitting at the lower yoke into two, one to each caliper. A "race" set-up just runs two hoses direct from the master cylinder to the calipers, using a double banjo bolt at the m/c. You actually have more hose length on the race version, but only four banjo unions (one on each end of a hose) and these are the expensive components of a hose kit, the "standard" one costing more because it has three hoses and hence, six banjo unions :) Whenever I've replaced hoses, be it a road or race bike, I've always used the "race" format, it's simpler and cheaper.

If your brakes are binding at all, a caliper strip like Jaydee suggests is a good idea to clean everything up. I used to have a XZ-9R C2 which would have had the same 6-piston calipers as yours and they were binding like a bastard when I got it. I stripped both calipers and cleaned all the oxidation out - from pistons, caliper bodies, and most importantly from the back of the seal grooves (had to make a special tool for this out of a bit of that stainless steel strip that you get on the edge of windscreen wiper blades, worked a treat! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]) Apart from the crap on the piston circumferences, it was the stuff behind the seals that was forcing them hard against the pistons that was stopping them from retracting and causing them to bind. ( note: This was just one of the horror stories that I uncovered on this bike, the previous owner was a total muppet who worked for MCN which in itself should have been sufficient warning..."only ridden once in Winter..." What a load of bollocks, was that a non-stop trip across Siberia then? >:( ) I digress - but what I did learn was that these calipers can be especially prone to problems from road salt if not cleaned regularly and thoroughly.
Have fun sorting the brakes, and make sure you keep brake fluid off your bodywork or it'll have the paint straight off! :'(

Before I forget, the main piston seals (the bigger square-section ones) can be cleaned up and re-used, as long as they've not been damaged or nicked by anything - they're quite expensive for what they are and they'll work fine if they're undamaged. The dust seals are much finer and more prone to damage, but can be salvaged. Get some proper brake grease (silicone-based I think) to coat everything with for reassembly, NOT regular grease! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]