Galfer brake lines and Givi wing rack turn signal lens

[walkerjl at charter.net]

So I recently bought all new Galfer lines for front and rear brakes and the clutch. The lines I replaced were OEM originals from 1996 and were starting to show cracks in the rubber. I rebuilt the rear master cylinder and bolted up the rear brake line...its perhaps an inch or two too long, but bolted up just fine. The clutch line was near perfect, but again maybe an inch too long and doesn't have the steel tube that conforms to the curves over the carbs and down the engine case, but its fine otherwise. But the front brake lines are definitely too long. Like maybe 6 inches or more too long! I had to snake them in an S bend in front of the frame head to the left side and back to the right. I also had to get some metal sleeve spacers of approximately the same width as the cylinder on the lines to where the single line from the front brake master cylinder splits into the two lines going down the forks to each brake. The Galfer kit has two lines both bolting to the front brake master. I could have just bolted up the empty cylinder instead of using spacers, but the spacers are cleaner. The spacers (or empty cylinder) are also needed to keep the little plastic deflector the correct distance from the horn.

I may have to do a little more bleeding, but the brakes definitely feel much more solid now! My break brake master was shot, so anything was an improvement, but I can definitely feel a huge improvement in the front, and the clutch is much easier to operate now too. (I also replaced my slightly bent levers).

I'm wondering if the front brake lines can be shortened by an industrial shop specializing in hydraulic lines.

So riding to work last week, after I got home on Thursday I noticed that one of my Wingrack turn signal lenses was missing. It seems to have cracked around the mounting screw and fell off. If I could have found the broken lens I could have glued it back together...but no such luck. So I searched around....Twisted Throttle, CA Sport Touring, eBay, nobody has a Givi Z231 lens in stock. I also called Givi directly. Nobody in the US has one, backordered 2-3 weeks! I found some on eBay in the UK though...ordered them. They estimated delivery by May 19th, but we'll see. I'm not holding my breath. But at least they had it on hand.

Anyway, the riding weather here in Eastern Washington is perfect now. Chilly in the mornings, very pleasant in the evenings and not too hot to wear my full leathers or one piece suit. The bike is running perfectly after I synched the carbs too!

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