Brake Hoses on R1150 R

[rprothero]

Guys -

Have an 02 R with about 35k miles and been seeing articles are changing out the OEM brake hoses due to breakdown..Has anyone had any issues with this..I flush and change fluid every 1.5-2 yrs including the GEN 1 Servos..Have not to date had any issues with braking but also dont want to run into an issue especially while riding...Couple of questions
1. Should I be concerned or is this another dont worry about it until there is a problem...
2. Is this an easy job to do IE I dont need to flush the ABS just swapping out hoses and bleeding the system?

Are there any good step by steps out there for doing the work?

Thanks...

[JayTee]

1. Whether you should be concerned or not, I guess you are the only one who can decide that. After reading some reports of internally collapsed OEM hoses and looking at the general quality of rubber parts of the bike, I was concerned. I also have 02 R, and changed the hoses at ~50k miles. I had not had any issues with the brakes. The original hoses are now 12 years old, and you can not see the internal condition/damage from outside. In the worst case a collapsed and blocked hose may cause a lock-up of front wheel at speed.

2. If you know how to change the brake fluid and bleed the system, it should be no problem to do this. As far as I remember, I first flushed the whole system, replaced the lines and then re-filled and bled it. I think I had a little problem to get the fluid running from master cylinder to ABS unit, but that was solved by slightly opening the banjo bolt and letting air out where the brake hose is connected to the "hard" line at the front of the bike, just under the tank. At the same time it would be a good idea to take out the pistons and seals from brake calibers and clean everything and check for corrosion (unless done recently).

[captaincable]

My r850 is a 1997 and a lot of the hoses have gone bad , fuel lines that have poured down to a hot exhaust and sizzled that will get your attention ! This happened 3 times the first time a hose split the next two times it was because of inferior clamps that I bought from AutoZone, CycleRob helped me install " Quick Connects " . I also had a front OEM brake line rupture, replace rear line from master cylinder to reservoir this was not under pressure like a brake line but did suck some air in not good , the hose was rotten .Replaced all brake lines with SS line.
I will add that CycleRob warned me a few times to change them, I was lucky every time it happened at my house and not out on the road.
Ride Safe
Mike

[CycleRob]

The weeping brake fluid dampness on those old brake lines near the fitting freaked me out, so Mike wisely "decided" to not ride the bike until the new brake lines came in. He may have ridden it on a short ride, using the rear brake only, because it took several days for the SS lines to arrive. Replacing the lines also meant a perfect opportunity for all the caliper pistons and seals to be removed for cleaning. With new lines full of air, you use the fluid filled extended caliper pistons to push the air up-n-out thru the master cylinder bleedback hole. Trying to push it out the bleeder wastes lots of time and brake fluid.
As you may already know, this type of work and more was addressed in great detail here:
http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=30659

It was some months later that I returned to Mike's for a visit and to pressure lube the clutch, throttle and fast idle cables where I spun the elevated front wheel and it spun free with the brake pads barely touching the rotor surface. The same easy wheel spin occurred immediately after a front brake hard squeeze and let-go. No binding/dragging of the brake pads. That's with (we believe) the original caliper seals.

[AZBMWRIDER]

I had a front brake line failure on my '02 R, had 45,000 miles on it at the time .
The line that goes from the right hand side of the steering head, to the front caliper broke at the swaged fitting at the steering head side .
From the looks of it, when the fork was turned to the left and the fork locked, the line had tension on it, like it was just a bit too short .
I replaced all of the lines with Spiegler braided stainless lines .