Never really thought about it until now. My nephew just took delivery of a 2011 blade which has HEL lines fitted, I immediately noticed the feel of the lever and the initial biting of the brakes is superior to my bike. Now that my bike is approaching seven years I’m thinking maybe my brake lines are due to be replaced. I am aware the HEL lines will give a better feel, but didn’t think there would have been that much of a difference.
I changed mine as the originals were getting on a bit and couldn't feel any difference except it felt slightly better at the end of the straight at Bedford. I do change the fluid every couple of track days though.
I changed the ones on the NS at 20 years. Originals seemed fine, but I didn't want to take the chance. Replacement Goodridge are as hard as a rock.
Probably best to look at it as a package, rather than hoses in isolation. It’s a whole system from MC down to pads, and it could be one bike has had a complete brake service and one has not. So look at when was the last time you changed fluid, cleaned pistons, cleaned dust seals, slider pins , cleaned calipers, cleaned bobbins on calipers to disc, pad type etc. That said it’s known over time the OEM hose will swell quicker than braided aftermarket, but it’s difficult to say by how much as there’s so many factors like mileage, weather etc.
Thanks for your reply and totally agree with what you’re saying, I keep all my brake components serviced and up to date, the thing I haven’t looked at is the brake lines. I’m not saying in any way that my brakes are bad, just curious as to whether a change in brake lines would give me a better initial response.
They're not very expensive and at worst the initial response would be the same so you've got nothing to lose.
That was kind of my train of thought on the subject, I think you’ve just helped me to make my decision.
Plus they look 100x better. Plus it gives you an opportunity to switch your fluid to Motul RBF600. Plus you can get really anal about the bleeding procedure. All in all, you're guaranteed to have nicer feeling brakes if you've been running OEM everything for the last seven years, IMO.
