Brake hoses

1982 Maxim xj750. Rebuilt master cylinder and front calipers. Experience tells me not to use the old hoses. Has anyone had success using the old hoses, do they generally hold up.? Has anyone out there experienced an old hose burst? I'm accustomed to automotive hoses which are poor quality in comparison. What I'm saying is that I am a cheap old guy trying to get away with not buying new hoses because they're so prohibitively expensive. No excuse I guess.

 

Is the bike stopping as you wish it to? I guess if you are wanting to do endos and make it a stunt bike then yes you should replace them as the older rubber hoses will tend to flex or expand with hydro pressure on them. But I have never had to replace a hose that was not damaged from other reasons on my older bikes. I good cleaning of the lines, make sure the caliper is in clean good working order and the puck has been cleaned and polished.

So for everyday riding and just stopping as a normal rider I would guess you are good to go. Make sure the system is really clean and that you have bled the lines very well. Should be good to go.

Will the bike stop on a dime, no, the brakes might even feel weak, but that is up to you to chose to swap or stay with the OEM ones.

 

There is a whole forum page dedicated to this question that kmoe, i think kmoe, has marked, you should give it a look. In summary, they took the oem hoses off, and for shits and giggles cut them open lengthwise. They found the interior lines deteriorate to crap, even if the outside looks fine. Deteriorated to crap meaning some of the lines crumble to the touch, some of them ballooned internally, some of them narrowed, all very bad for brake lines.

 

Its in the how to instructions, first thing "why you need to replace them". Keep in mind the old deteriorated hoses they were talking about was back in 2023, 10 years ago....

 

ok cool thanks.

 

Much appreciated. I totally forgot to consider the interior decay. Looks like I'm getting new ones.

 

Ok good to know.

 

The real price of stainless-braided Teflon hoses has dropped substantially over the years, so there's no need to install inferior OEM hoses nowadays.
I mean literally inferior, not that they're junk.

 

Understood. I might try out one of those alternatives. Thanks again

 

I took the old hoses to a local hydraulic shop and they recreated them in about 15 minutes. IIRC there are some braided hoses on amazon for a reasonable price as well.

 

Excellent. Wasn't sure if Japanese hose ends were available at hydraulic hose shops. Plenty of them around here. I'm probably going that route. Thanks. If we converse in January please don't tell me how warm it is in Texas. I'll be jealous. Alberta is the Texas of Canada. But our winters are a bummer . LOL