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Well, any brake lines really, but in this case Ive put on braided.
I thought I might write a thread for the people that want to have a go but have little or no mechanical aptitude or experience. I know there are already threads on this subject, but it seems most of them assume a basic knowledge of the installer. I will try to walk you through as though you've never broken a nail in your life
Ok, the bike Im installing on is ZX6R '05 model. Unfortunately Hel could not deliver my rear lines with the front, I am still waiting on them so so far I have only done the front. Thats ok though, a lot of people only do the front lines as the rear brakes are quite often considered unimportant on a sport bike- especially on the track.
This was all done by one person alone, so you don't need another person to do it.
Tools I used:
8mm and 10mm spanners for the bleed points, undoing the lines themselves and for bracket under wheel arch.
Hex/ Allen keys to adjust master cylinder on handle bars.
Phillips head screw driver to fit brake fluid reservoir screw.
Jar and length of hose, the stuff used in fish tanks.
Cable ties- small.
A roll of paper towel.
Brake fluid.
Alright, first of all you need to drain out the brake fluid. DO NOT get this stuff on your paint, it will eat it. I kept a bucket of car wash nearby, and a hose in case I screwed up. Mostly you will get it on your paint through your hands- I got brake fluid on my hands a fair bit doing this and just kept washing them in the bucket. Keep this in mind when you touch your bike.
Now, take a look at your calipers (the big chunks of metal holding your brake pads against your brake discs- they usually have brand names written on them, in this case "Tokico". If yours says Brembo, congratulations). Somewhere on top, there will be a little rubber cap covering a little opening, somewhat like the valves on your tyres. That is your bleed nipple. There is one on both sides of the wheel, (each caliper), plus one up near your handle bars on the master cylinder. We'll get to that in a minute.
First, attach fish tank hose over the top of the bleed nipple on either caliper:
I started on the left side because the brake lines run from the master cylinder to the right side caliper, then from the right to the left. So the left side is basically the end of the line.
If it wont stay there by itself, zip tie it on.
Run the line into some sort of preferably disposable container- I used a coffee jar because it sat by itself and didn't tip over. I started with a coke bottle but had to hold it up which got awkward.
Pack some paper towel around/ below the bleed nipple to soak up any leaking brake fluid- it will almost certainly happen at some stage so do so at the start and then you don't have to worry about it.
Use your spanner to loosen off the bleed nipple ( clockwise to do up, anti clock wise to undo. Or "righty tighty, lefty loosey"). You will see the brake fluid start to run up inside the hose, as per pic.
Now, leave that loose and move up to handlebar area. Locate your brake fluid reservoir (see pic) and open it. This one is held on by a bracket held by a single screw, undo and remove the bracket. Remember which way it was on- take a pic if you think you wont remember it.
Inside the reservoir is a plastic washer and a rubber seal. Remove gently. Place all this somewhere safe and clean for the moment, being careful no damage can occur to the rubber. Loosely place your cap back on the reservoir so nothing can get in- I did this outside on a windy day so a bit of dirt was flying around. Make sure it doesn't fall off and flick brake fluid over your bike.
Near here, you will find your master cylinder. Its the bit the brake line runs into.
Now the lines are open all your fluid should drain out. Go around to other side caliper with your tube and container and bleed that too. Do not leave the bleed nipple open if you have removed the line off it unless you are prepared for more fluid to run out eg. you have rags down on ground. When I removed line I closed nipple first, it helps to know where you're at.
There isn't much fluid so don't expect much- less than a cup.
Now the lines are empty, your next step is to remove them. Use a spanner to undo the bolt holding the line on. This is called a banjo bolt- have a look at your new ones. You will see they have a hole through them, and a fluid gallery ( ring that fluid can get through). If you look closely, you will see that no matter which way the banjo fitting( the loop end part on brake line the bolt goes through) sits, fluid can still get through. So when you come to fitting the new lines, don't stress about where the hole sits, it doesn't matter.
Here's where the line undoes from the master cylinder, near the brake lever. Be aware there is a bracket up inside your wheel arch (just look in the most awkward shitful place to reach and you should find it). You will have to undo that too to get line out.
The loop clips on my front mudguard popped out easily, just have a look and you will see how they work. Bit like fairing rivets.
As I was undoing this bolt, it started getting tighter. If this happens, STOP. They are not like a bolt that has one end exposed to the elements. This bolt is enclosed and should not get harder. In this case, I realised the bolt was on an angle to the top of the front fork. As I undid it, it hit the fork. I cracked out the hex key and loosened off the master cylinder from the handle bar, twisting it around slightly so I could undo the bolt. Don't forget to do this back up! Preferably before you fill the reservoir with new fluid- it can twist around and tip it out.
Ok! Now youve got the old lines off, its time to put the shiny new ones on
My new lines are a different setup- both lines now run straight from master cylinder to calipers, instead of one to right, second from right to left as previously mentioned. Hel shows this in a little diagram of each setup type on their website. I was recommended this setup, and it makes sense to me.
The washers are made from copper. This is so they're softer, conforming to the fittings better, sealing any tiny gaps/ imperfections and preventing leaking. There may be other reasons- resistance to corrosion, preventing electrolysis between mild and stainless, but as far I'm aware this is the main reason.
If you are having trouble with leaking banjos and don't have copper washers (or white metal), you might find putting some on will fix your problem.
So now I have the two lines on a ' double' banjo bolt, as in pic below. This bolts into my master cylinder. If you had to loosen your master cylinder, do the bolt up finger tight and do the MC back up first. That way you can move the lines to sit nicely in their final position before you tighten them.
In regards to tightening, do the bolt up with a steady pressure until it's tight. Then 'nip' it up. This should be less than a quarter turn and have a short, sharp type of feel to it as the bolt does not want to travel round the thread any more. If it has a 'soft' feel to it, nip it again. As I said, the copper washers are softer than steel washers, and will 'squish' slightly to fit. DO NOT CRANK IT WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH! If in doubt, get a ten year old kid to do it, that's probably about the pressure you're looking for
You will notice with this setup one line is a bit longer than the other. I laid them out so the longer line goes to the left side of bike- a longer distance. I did swap them around out of curiousity and they would have installed fine the other way too so I wouldn't be too worried about it if you're not sure. Obviously if you turn the bike to hard lock and the lines pull, you have a problem though!
Now, since I now have two lines coming down instead of the original one, the bracket up inside wont hold both lines. So I made a second 'bracket' off the original to hold the second line using zip ties. No bike how to thread could be complete without them really.
I bolted the bracket back in and made sure it did not interfere with/ hit the front fairing when I turned the wheel, and that it would not slip or move to do so in the future. Here it is in place.
Lucky for me, Kawasaki put the extra pickup hole in the front mudguard for the loop clips, so I was able to just put the loop clip back in the new spot to suit.
Note also the copper washer on both sides of the banjo fitting.
The final step is to fill up your new lines with NEW BRAKE FLUID. Don't re-use the old stuff. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture. Moisture may boil, resulting in 'spongy' brakes blah blah blah- all you need to know is use new fluid. (Google it if you want to know more.)
If you are inexperienced enough to be following this walk through, just use a new, unopened bottle of brake fluid and don't risk it.
Fill your brake fluid reservoir with fluid up to the top line, or over really- wherever you think it wont spill out. Don't put it back together yet, you will have to put more fluid in.
Now, they say to do it in a certain order, starting at the Master Cylinder, but I found it made stuff all difference so bleed according to your results. Bleed lines as follows:
Make sure all bleed nipples are closed.
Place tubing over selected bleed nipple.
Have one hand on brake lever and the other with spanner on the bleed nipple.
Squeeze brake lever so brakes are 'on'.
Open bleed nipple- DO NOT RELEASE BRAKE.
A mixture of fluid and air will come out.
Close bleed nipple.
Release.
Repeat.
Potential issue- no fluid in sight. Open caliper bleed point and master cylinder bleed point and let some fluid run through. Close. Do not operate brake lever when doing so.
What you are looking for is to expel all air bubbles from the lines. At first it seem like it will never happen. The brake will feel horrible, with no resistance or spring back and this is the probably the moment you will get a bit panicky. Relax, all is well and you will get there. Just keep pumping, opening, closing and releasing. Every time you open the bleed point you will feel the lever losing pressure- that's good, its what you want. It also shows you that you are getting clear feedback, and know what to look for.
Swap from bleed point to bleed point if you aren't getting bubbles, or feel like nothing is happening. Slowly the brake lever will get pressure and the bubbles will get smaller and easier to see you are getting somewhere.
Somewhere around here, fill your brake reservoir back up, a bit over the 'full' line. Put the rubber seal back in carefully, making sure it doesn't overflow. A little brake fluid wetting the top of it under the plastic washer to help it seal, and screw it all back together. With a bit of luck, when you finish the fluid level will be good. If its too high, just bleed out more fluid. If its below the 'empty' line, you're out of luck and will have to reopen it to top it up.
Once the bubbles have stopped, and the brakes feel firm, you have a success on your hands. Go around each bleed point (three of) and double check no bubbles just to be sure.
The reason you don't release the lever when the bleed point is open is because you will reverse the process and suck up air, or dispelled fluid back in. My hose wasn't the cleanest, and the jar had the old fluid in it so this would have been a disaster. I would have had to drain the lines and start again .
Remove all paper towel and make sure there's no fluid on your bike. Check under front tyre too- it can run down and pool under there where you may not see it.
Take the bike for a slow careful ride, testing the brakes out just to be sure.
And thats it- you have successfully installed braided brake lines!
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Originally Posted by Chaos-incarnate 
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