To Those with Stainless Brake Lines

I'm thinking about this upgrade but have never been on a bike that had them. Are they worth the cost. I.E. better feel and performance?


Thanks,
Gary

they do sharpen the feel of the brake a bit, you end up feeling the force of the brake earlier and you can now exert more force on the lever but they don't really provide more braking power. I personally don't think the 250r needs stainless on the front, its plenty touchy where as the rear could use them as its not as responsive.

I think they are more bling than anything, they do help and they are not as prone to damage and should never need to be replaced. I say if your interested in it try it on the rear first.

Thanks blusmoke, that's kinda what I was afraid of. Bit different feel but not much difference in performance. Have some Bike Master pads on the front right now and they are weak! Guess I'll go back to OEM unless ya'll can suggest an aftermarket pad that will increase performance some??

This is a problem with all dual sport bikes: if you have very good brakes for asphalt, then the brakes are bound to lock the wheel in the dirt -- which means that brake performance becomes a personal choice, depending on how much one pushes the bike on-road, vs how much one pushes the bike off-road.

I have a steel-brake front line on my WRR; you do get a slightly better feel, but nothing dramatic; for less than $50 I felt it was worth it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

I wouldn't consider replacing the rear line because our feet are so much less sensitive than our fingers, that the firmer feel will simply make locking the rear wheel easier.

From my experience on other bikes, pads make a bigger difference, but I have yet to try other pads on the WRR.

definitely throw some different pads in there, bike master is a bargain brand source for mirrors and batteries i wouldn't trust their brakes. Galfer or EBC will make the best pads try some that at least say semi metallic on the package or sintered.

[quote="johnkol"]This is a problem with all dual sport bikes: if you have very good brakes for asphalt, then the brakes are bound to lock the wheel in the dirt --

Well said johnkol. This is actually the reason I tried the Bike Master pads. My OEM pads would bite very early and abruptly and be plenty strong but I wanted a more progressive feel. The initial feel from the Bike Masters are what I was looking for but they NEVER Bite or grab strong.


Thanks for the recommendations blusmoke. Are you able to give any first hand impressions for either brand?

Regards,
Gary

not on the 250r no, on my r6 how ever I swapped out some no name pads for the galfer semi metallic. completely different bike but braking improved greatly much less effort to stop without becoming touchy or anything.

I have the x wheels and brakes now but will eventually upgrade to the galfer semi metallic or maybe sintered not sure yet, the x setup is stronger but does not bite as good as the R did i feel i need all the fingers on the lever to stop good.

I have noticed a small improvement with the stainless steel brake lines. It would be nice if they came from the factory with them.

Gravelin Gary wrote:

Thanks blusmoke, that's kinda what I was afraid of. Bit different feel but not much difference in performance. Have some Bike Master pads on the front right now and they are weak! Guess I'll go back to OEM unless ya'll can suggest an aftermarket pad that will increase performance some??

EBC makes a few different brake pads, I have the R series long life ones so they last longer in muddy conditions, they don't stop as good as stock tho, I should have bought the mxs series race sintered pads, they'd be slightly better than stock or the same.