Hey guys,
Just put a pair of Galfer ss braided brake lines on my v-strom. The small diameter of the lines, compared to stock, surprised me. Wonder if the lessened expansion is due to high strength materials or to the smaller id.?
Anyway, the very first application of the brake, pulling out of the garage, took me by surprise. Made a more abrupt stop than I had expected.
Went to a vacant parking lot and spent about 1 hour practicing emergency braking, with a little slow speed maneuvering thrown in.
A stop from 30 mph took 3 parking space widths. 40 mph took 5 or 6 widths.
- Using the rear brake usually resulted in a rear wheel skid.
- Stopping distance did not seem to be appreciably more when using just the fronts. In fact, using just the fronts may improve my braking since there is less action to be mindful of.
- I did occasionally lock the front brake up momentarily…….towards the end of the braking maneuver. The lock up quit easily enough by lessening lever pressure.
- The tire leaves a lot of rubber on the concrete even if it is not perceptively skidding.
- I like the new brake lines.
Also, I mayhave killed myself in this exercise if not for the added control of having the front springs matched for my weight. Guess the gold valves helped some also.??
I am not interested in stunting. But…….can a stoppie be considered as a measure of braking skill?? If I cannot do a stoppie, does it mean that I’m not as proficient at braking as I could be?? The bike is a 500 lb v-strom.
Any advice would, as always, be appreciated.
Also, anyone know of a reason for not using valvoline synthetic, 3&4 brake fluid? The system is a dot 4 system.
Thanks,
Steve
Just put a pair of Galfer ss braided brake lines on my v-strom. The small diameter of the lines, compared to stock, surprised me. Wonder if the lessened expansion is due to high strength materials or to the smaller id.?
Anyway, the very first application of the brake, pulling out of the garage, took me by surprise. Made a more abrupt stop than I had expected.
Went to a vacant parking lot and spent about 1 hour practicing emergency braking, with a little slow speed maneuvering thrown in.
A stop from 30 mph took 3 parking space widths. 40 mph took 5 or 6 widths.
- Using the rear brake usually resulted in a rear wheel skid.
- Stopping distance did not seem to be appreciably more when using just the fronts. In fact, using just the fronts may improve my braking since there is less action to be mindful of.
- I did occasionally lock the front brake up momentarily…….towards the end of the braking maneuver. The lock up quit easily enough by lessening lever pressure.
- The tire leaves a lot of rubber on the concrete even if it is not perceptively skidding.
- I like the new brake lines.
Also, I mayhave killed myself in this exercise if not for the added control of having the front springs matched for my weight. Guess the gold valves helped some also.??
I am not interested in stunting. But…….can a stoppie be considered as a measure of braking skill?? If I cannot do a stoppie, does it mean that I’m not as proficient at braking as I could be?? The bike is a 500 lb v-strom.
Any advice would, as always, be appreciated.
Also, anyone know of a reason for not using valvoline synthetic, 3&4 brake fluid? The system is a dot 4 system.
Thanks,
Steve