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radiator hoses and brake lines - when to replace?


bud

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Apologies in advance if this seems like a dumb question 🙂  

 

So... i've owned my '98 VFR for the past ten years,  When I bought it, there was about 5,000 miles on the odometer, and I'm just now about to hit 16,000 (I know its inexcusable to only put 1,000 miles  a year on the bike...just don't have much free time to ride).    I've kept up on all the usual maintenance and the bike is stored indoors so its in great shape.    Just curious though...even though my bike has ridiculously low mileage, at some point all the hoses and brake lines and other rubber bits are going to hit an age that they should be replaced, right?    From a safety/reliability standpoint, I'd think I should have all the coolant hoses and brake lines replaced eventually, but maybe that is just throwing money away on something that isn't needed.

Curious with you all think?   Any recommendations would be appreciated.  thanks

 

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The rubber stuff will last much longer if it's stored indoors, and out of the elements. OTOH the rubber stuff

still ages. You can generally feel the rubber brake lines expand if you simply hold on to the line in your fist

and squeeze the brake hard. I have never seen a brake line fail due to age, but that doesn't mean I don't think

they should be changed. New lines, and especially new stainless lines, will give you much sharper braking with

less effort and better feel.

 

And yes, radiator hoses should probably be changed too, but they just aren't as sexy as stainless brake lines. 🙂

I've not done mine, but they really should be done...it has been 19 years. I'm thinking for its 20th birthday. 🙂

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not needed. my VFR's are over 30 yo and both rad hoses and brake lines are all just fine.

 

steel-braided lines seem to increase braking power, but often feel wooden at the lever (IMO) with less feel than stock.

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3 hours ago, squirrelman said:

not needed. my VFR's are over 30 yo and both rad hoses and brake lines are all just fine.

 

steel-braided lines seem to increase braking power, but often feel wooden at the lever (IMO) with less feel than stock.

 

SS lines absolutely do increase the operator's ability to transfer force to the caliper and pistons. If your brakes feel wooden, it's the other components that are shit. Some caliper/master/rotor size combos just aren't the best, and lines won't overcome that on their own, but they're certainly a worthwhile investment and I would never steer anyone away from installing them.

 

I can tell you beyond any doubt that 30yr old rubber parts are a time bomb, esp if subject to heat cycles. 

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thanks for the input...sounds like there isn't a hard and fast rule about replacement age of these things, but I'll keep on eye on them, and ask my mechanic's opinion when I take the bike in this next year for the 16,000k valve clearance check. 

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More-so than the rad hoses are the O-rings for the water jacket connections on the top of the engine. There will no longer be rubber O-rings, but now are hard black material filling the O-ring channel. The might not leak yet, but they likely will at some point. 

I just replaced all my O-rings and also the hoses. O-rings are stock from Honda, and the hoses are silicone replacements from AS3

https://www.vfrdiscussion.com/index.php?/forums/topic/86894-chinese-silicone-hose-sets/

Brake lines are long gone, replaced the front end with RC51 SP1 and installed SS lines, along with the clutch. I've heard of the inside of the rubber lines delaminating and acting as a 1 way check valve effectively locking the brakes on.

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I know, I know :)   most folks say to postpone the valve clearance check for a long time, but I prefer to follow the maint. schedule.   Maybe after the first check-up and everyone is within spec, I'll get a little lazy on future checks.

Perhaps while the bike is all torn apart for the 16k service, I'll have them take a look at the O-rings and replace them...thanks for the suggestion.  

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I thought I'd chime in here regarding the AS3 hose kits, as I bought a set for my 5 Gen (01) and for my 6 Gen (09). Although for the most part, both kits are pretty complete there are a a couple of hoses not part of the 5 Gen kit and one hose not available with their 6 Gen kit.

 

If you have a 98-99 5 Gen, then the kit is complete, as the two hoses missing are only present on the 00-01 5 Gens. These are the two hoses that go to the wax idle unit. I have been in communication with AS3 to see if they can get these made and be part of the kit. The plus and minus here is, one of the hoses is no longer available from Honda and is the one that is harder to track down but the other hoses is actually the same as a 6 Gen, so only one hose is really needed to be built by AS3. There is a VFRW member who offered to send the hoses to AS3 but like many of us, life has gotten in the way of getting that done, so still waiting for that to happen. I'm also tracking down another potential source of this hose, so we'll see. AS3 did say that if they could get that hose, then they would most likely be able to get them produce sometime early next year, so I am on a mission to see if I can get the hose to them sooner, rather than later.

 

As far as 6 Gen kits go, there is one small hose that is not in the kit but 2 extra hoses, if you're a 6 Gen owner. Their kit supports 2002-2014 models so the two "extra" hoses are actually part of the 2014 set of hoses. Since I do not own an 8 Gen, I cannot speak as to how complete or incomplete the kit is for those bikes. From what I can see in the parts fiche though, the 2014+ models have the radiator filler/cap as part of the radiator itself, versus the 6 Gen that has a separate filler tube component that attaches to the radiator via a small tube. This is the one that the 6 Gen owners would be missing. I have also been corresponding with AS3 to one, acquire this hose to complete my kit but to also see if they will put this hose in their kits in the future, So anyone wanting to order these kits for their 6 Gen, may want to call them first and see if they added the hose or if you can add the hose to your order.

 

For those who are curious, here is the hose that would be missing from the 6 Gen kit. (Should be obvious)

 

2009_VFR_Coolant_Hose_Inatallation_15.JPG

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Thanks DUC, as I am about to replace all the hoses, this makes it easier to understand what I will be missing.

sPOTO

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