Galfer Stainless Steel Brake Lines

i find it hard to believe that if there was a motorcycle accident that the insurance company or anyone would comb over the bike to be sure the brake lines were dot approved, just my 2 cents and i could be wrong,

personally i have braided stainless lines on all my bikes that were bought from a reputable vendor that i have been dealing with long before i discovered this forum and they are dot approved and race proven according to the manufacturer

just dont know its worth getting heated over guys, cant we all get along?

 

Me either. I'll take that 2 cents and raise you the cost of a lengthy hospital stay...

NO thanks. Besides, I needed custom lines and the turn-around time plus the stock clocking was well worth it.

danielcarver47, you don't know very many lawyers, do you? Wanna bet?

Back to Len and XJ4Ever: My '83 wouldn't have been possible without him. It now has almost 10K miles on it since it went back on the road; and I couldn't be happier. I'll be the first to admit, not all of the parts on the bike came from Len. But certain critical ones did and still do. See pic below. (Note SS lines and floating rotor disc, turn signals and a whole lot of things you can't see.)

I can't take 100% credit for something that I had help with; I have to give credit where credit is due. As do a whole lot of fellow members. RickB, don't feel you're being "shouted down" but please take a look at how long some of the folks who sing the praises of XJ4Ever have been here; and understand the reaction you're getting.

Fitz out.

 

Oh wow, that's got to be the prettiest XJ I've seen so far! Must've taken quite a bit of work!

 

I'll second that ! tis very pretty

 

Wow this thread has heated up.

In reality, non DOT Galfer lines would exceed the spec of your original lines.

Legal and safe are not the same.

In Australia DOT approved lines do not meet our Legal requirements, we have to have AS (Australian Standard).

So to avoid any legal issues (and to fly through the licence inspection) I had lines made up locally - tested to 4 billion PSI and with a bloody batch number just for my lines (can take pic of that part of the line).



As for people defending Len, I am trying not going to get involved. But as someone who has stripped an XJ down to its last nut, bolt and wire. I have voted with my wallet.

If you buy Tyres and brake lines fine, go ebay. If you NEED XJ parts for a serious rebuild, Lens expertise and stock holding shines. If Len tries to stock everything needed, sometimes some items may not compete.

I appreciate what Len tries to do, and understand why some people are hostile when you question his integrity over a few LIMITED stock items. Can that brake line seller sell you a side grab handle for a 750 Seca?

Len sold me one

 

The DOT standard is an interesting one here in Aus.
I went and spoke to my local bike mechanic and settled on Venhill brake lines as they met the requirements. ( DOT, TUV and whatever else a government department could dream up ***sigh*** )
I'll be putting my XJ on club plates and it needs to be squeaky clean for that....

As for Len... well, I call him Quickdraw...damn quick responses and fine customer service. I dont mind paying a bit for that !

 

The author of this thread doesn't care about DOT or NON DOT brake lines. The point he is trying to make is that he feels the lines he found are just plainly cheaper than Len's.
the argument here is are we comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges. It really only makes a difference if the person buying these parts gets into some kind of accident and the insurance company gets involved there could be an issue. Chances of that happening are pretty slim, however it only takes one instance to create a liability issue. Take the risk at your own level of tolerance. I don't think anyone is going to become a grease spot on the road because of these brake lines. Personally I'll use only DOT approved safety parts on the bikes I ride. Just personal preference nothing more and nothing less.

 

dark fibre.. i checked AS as well b4 getting braided and got a US equivalent grading - after some innanet checking - forgotten th #'s now. And yeah i don't get common stuff from Len but he's got what ya need.

 

You don't want to get len mad at you. When it comes time and you need parts he can make it rough on you when you can't find parts anywhere else. I was in the parts business its easy to say sorry its on back order. If you find cheaper parts just don't broadcast it especially to the sponsor of the forum He can be your best friend when your bike is broke and will go out of his way to help a fellow member.

 

So the new guy/RB is clearly excited about his bike and new ss lines. He promises future details and posts pics. Unfortunately, as a FNG, he takes a small poke at XJ4 in regards to price....not realizing that most of us like Len, bought stuff from him and are thankful for his vast product knowledge, fast shipping, etc, all while acknowledging he does not have the best price.

After that, in various posts, RB gets called/called out as a dick, child, troll, pathetic life, advised to growup, act like a man, manup and advised by a wizard to not visit this site. Wow, really? And all of these slurs and comments come after RB basically states 'ok, I get it, I'll stop'. Wow!

Like most, I am very thankful for Len's involvement on here. But I also appreciate the feckin new guys that spot good US suppliers at the 50% pricetag.

Kudos to Fitz though for his graceful post, trying to not 'shout down' the new guy and for that beautiful pic that makes us all smile.

 

Just curious, but does Len actually sponsor the forum in a financial way?

I have to admit this whole forum setup is a little weird seeming to me. I guess since I've never been a member of a public forum where a business is heavily advertised and almost universally recommended as the sole option, and any criticism (albeit unfounded in some cases) is met with passionate outrage and name-calling as well as threats that service may be denied by said business if one is not appreciative enough. I think that may be what gets under the skin of some folks.

 

i don't know if Len sends SnoSheriff any money or not, it's none of my business.
head over to kzrider and see how many references are made to
Z1enterprizes. i think it happens a lot more than we realize. probably any small niche group has a preferred supplier

 

Well I can tell you that personally, the recommendation comes from the service, and I recommend him heavily because that's the only way, short of actually ordering from chacal, to experience his service. Since he doesn't have a flashy website that's easy to order from, it can be off-putting to those that haven't ordered from him yet.

There was nothing wrong with the OP, or anybody posting about another supplier. But he also posted on another thread, to the tune of "why would anyone pay twice as much for chacal's products?" http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=4 ... rt=30.html Chacal then responded with a difference in DOT compliance (which was later answered). The point is, the DOT compliance is a major selling point of chacal's, and he was making it heard.

If you could look at the positive feedback chacal receives (ebay style), you'd be hard pressed to find more satisfied customers. However, this forum doesn't aggregate that information, so only the most recent threads are going to get views unless you are searching for info, and newbies are going to see them first. I think that's why members are quick to recommend him, explain how he works and defend his customer service, so newbies make that one order. If you are unsatisfied, there is NOTHING stopping you from complaining on the forum. Or never ordering again.

Threats of denial of service didn't come from chacal, just members postulating (I highly doubt that a business would turn away a paying customer, even if they find and post about cheaper competitor's prices). Name calling should be avoided (and there are rules about flaming on this forum...moderators might have sent PMs, we don't know).

 

Ok, perhaps this will end the discussion. I called Galfer and asked about DOT approved complete lines and got the same story about their DOT labeled and non-labeled lines being identical. When I told him that all states require the line be labeled DOT he said that all I had to do was request that the lines ordered include the black DOT boot and they would be included at no extra cost. So I called Starcycle who had them on Ebay for about $105 and requested that I be sent DOT labeled lines. The guy I talked to didn't know what I was talking about, but when he looked on Galfer's site he saw that DOT labeling could be requested. I ordered a set and immediately emailed Starcycle through Ebay and requested the Dot labeled lines, and they arrived today clearly labeled DOT. Now, I assume that means the entire line with fittings, but at least mine are labeled. As inexpensive as it is to add the boot, I'm surprised Galfer doesn't make that standard. The guy at Starcycle said they may may make it standard practice to request it. This was a great deal and so I gave it a shot for that reason and also just to see if the lines came labeled DOT.

Now, that said, I've bought a lot of stuff for my bike from Chacal--as a matter of fact this may be the first item I haven't gotten from him other than spark plugs. He may be a little higher than some other sources, but I feel like I'm buying a lot more than just the part. He always has the part, his service second to none, his knowledge and advice is encyclopedic, and he always answers my questions quickly and usually with a few tidbits of good advice. Try to get that from somewhere else and you'll understand why Chacal is the best deal around. There are a lot of good folks with a lot of knowledge on this forum, but I'm glad I didn't tackle my bike with our having Chacal as a source for parts and advice.

 

this is a free forum for all of us XJ owners to come together
and share knowledge and help each other
and trust me the help is appreciated and vital
have I purchased parts off ebay
yes, but trust me when you need a part that is hard to find
and yes it will happen.. Len has them
and he is fast when it comes to shipping
on the brake lines... just replace old ones to save lives