krashed Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 After a riding the FZ-07 for a while, I wanted to do something about the mushy front brakes. I couldn't find a FZ-07 kit (they probably make them now), so after looking at some pics on google of the brake lines and some simple measurements on the bike (to compare to the FZ-09), I decided to give it a try. End result is the Oh9 lines work. First I disconnected the brake lines from the forks and fender (I already had the headlight off for other things). And the Other... Here's the system; the crossover line goes to the right side caliper, the line from the MC goes to the left: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krashed Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 From there I disassembled everything and installed the new lines on the system. I got the two line setup from Spielger, so I will not have the crossover, I will have a line going to each caliper from the master. Once I got everything together in the system (rotating the brake line fittings so they were not twisted, Spiegler provides the tool), I started bolting everything back up. Clamp removed (plug not installed yet tho). Use a pair of needle nose pliers and you should be able to remove without destroying the clamp, should you ever want it again. I also zip-tied the two lines together right at the lower tree mount. I have to assume that if you get the crossover brake line style kit, that you will be able to reuse this clamp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krashed Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 For the rear line, it worked there as well. First thing I did was figure out how I wanted to do this one. For the front, I pulled the complete setup, but the rear, I decided not to do that. I started by removing the swing arm front and rear guides. I had a bottle of rubbing alcohol by my side in case I got any brake fluid on the swingarm/wheel. I don't like using spray brake cleaner, it dulls the paint. Read again - brake cleaner will dull your paint. Notice how the line is wrapped around the MC reservoir supply hose below in 1st pic. Also notice the direction the clamp (my hex key is in the screw) is facing, up and in towards the center of the bike. Once I pulled the clamps of the hose, I removed the banjo from the rear MC, wrapped a terry towel around the end and fed that end out away from the bike. Followed that by removing the rear fitting from the caliper - have your towel ready, as soon as you crack the banjo loose on the rear caliper, the brake fluid will flow out of the MC end. Once I got the stock line off,I started to figure out how I wanted to route the lines/fittings for braided line. It was a lot easier with that right side frame cover off, so I pulled it. I had the line wrapped around the MC reservoir hose so I could keep the stock routing and use the line stops on the master cylinder, but I did not like how tight it was. It works, I cycled the suspension, but it's tight. Instead, I ran the hose between the master cylinder stops so the line could use the stock supports. This routed the line behind the MC rez hose. I ran the fitting up against the front stop when tightening. It fits better with good slack and the line fits right into the original mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krashed Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Next I clocked the caliper fitting (using soft jaw pliers to hold the line and the Spiegler pin tool to rotate) and installed the line to the rear caliper. Once installed, I used the soft jaw pliers again to 'steer' the line for the twist I wanted (it wasn't touching the swingarm at all). Finally, I bled both systems out. I used a vacuum operated bleeder to pull the air out and fluid through the system. the bleeders are at the top of calipers, so air comes out readily, but I also used a rubber mallet to tap any remaining air bubbles up to the top of the calipers when bleeding the systems. You will need clean, fresh brake fluid to do this and unless you bought speed bleeders, a helper is good as well to squeeze the MC's while you bleed the system. I used DOT4 as instructed on the MC reservoirs. Took her for a spin to see if braking was improved. Bottom line - the brake lines fit (although I did not use the line stop the same way on the rear MC), they improve the braking feel, and I like the way it stops a lot better than before. I do want to see if brake pads help even more up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MXRider Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Looking good. I had thought that the 09 kit would work as well. Definitely an important mod for any bike. For a twin caliper front brake I prefer a 1 into 2 line because it looks cleaner in my opinion. Goodridge makes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krashed Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Looking good. I had thought that the 09 kit would work as well. Definitely an important mod for any bike. For a twin caliper front brake I prefer a 1 into 2 line because it looks cleaner in my opinion. Goodridge makes them. I totally agree, cleaner for sure and I made the system on my NT650 with the F2 front end this way. I think the dual line supplies equal pressure to both calipers, but probably not so much anyone would really care. Spiegler makes the crossover version as well if I didn't state the earlier. I'm betting the Goodridge is probably not as costly as the Spiegler as well. In any case, it's a good mod for the bike IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator Guru Posted August 3, 2014 Global Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2014 Nice write-up. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unknown Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Great write-up. I plan on doing this mod soon, did you notice an immediate large difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krashed Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Great write-up. I plan on doing this mod soon, did you notice an immediate large difference? For me, I noticed an immediate difference in lever feel and modulation is different (less squish), so that is pressure going right to the calipers with less squeeze at the lever. I also installed some shorty levers that fit behind the bark busters/hand guards I installed, leverage may be a little different. Your mileage may vary, but I bought the FZ knowing I would do this at some point; the stock lines are functional, I wanted a little firmer feel and got it. I think it looks better too, but that's just a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmucat Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Very nice, now when can you swing by Ohio and do mine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MXRider Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Great write-up. I plan on doing this mod soon, did you notice an immediate large difference? For me, I noticed an immediate difference in lever feel and modulation is different (less squish), so that is pressure going right to the calipers with less squeeze at the lever. I also installed some shorty levers that fit behind the bark busters/hand guards I installed, leverage may be a little different. Your mileage may vary, but I bought the FZ knowing I would do this at some point; the stock lines are functional, I wanted a little firmer feel and got it. I think it looks better too, but that's just a bonus. Exactly. Steel braided lines are more of a feel and consistency in the lever when the brake are hot improvement. I also think they look better too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest montana07 Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Great write up, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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