Hose Covers

[beby99]

Has anybody bought a set of these? Was wondering what kind of
material its made of. (still waiting answer from seller). Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4546204738&category=35587

[joe.d]

braided stainless.....Ive seen it for Car engine hoses, I cant really see the point on putting pretend stainless hoses on a bike....epecially when you can have the real thing for a 100 bucks or so

[beby99]

pretend stainless??? So your saying this is what...plastic?

[Hoomgar]

No beby what he is saying is that it is only a cosmetic upgrade. A cover. You can buy real stainless braided brake lines that are manufactured and replace your originals.

But this is for cosmetic purposes only and I would say that if you can win one for cheap enough it looks good. I'd do it But those things are all going for 30 and over until the auctions end 8O

[Griffin]

"Real" stainless brake lines are actually teflon tubing on the inside for increased strength and reduced expansion during cylinder actuation, with stainless braid on the outside to protect the tubing from outside forces (rocks, rubbing, etc...). Putting braided stainless over any tube or cable accomplishes little, from a functional perspective.

Why would anyone put those over cables or rubber brake lines? To make it look like you have a high performance bike, I suppose.

Man, I don't get it. I guess it goes with the whole V-Twin/chopper "poser" thing going on right now.

[beby99]

Thanks guys, for your input....as I was only wondering what sort
of material they are made from. The seller's e-mail came back in error,
so I ask you guys instead of him. He sure is selling a ton of these
and thought I might get in the business

[bwringer]

FWIW, you can get these hose cover sets in several colors at any auto parts shop. They're pretty popular with the "2fast 2furious ricer" crowd. And they add twice as many horsepower as a giant "Type R" sticker!

I don't know about the pricing, though. Maybe this seller just has them cheap.

They're not needed at all for SS brake lines, as noted, but a reasonable way to dress up other lines and wires. Just be careful that the cut edges don't abrade anything.

[Jethro]

"Real" stainless brake lines are actually teflon tubing on the inside for increased strength and reduced expansion during cylinder actuation, with stainless braid on the outside to protect the tubing from outside forces (rocks, rubbing, etc...). Putting braided stainless over any tube or cable accomplishes little, from a functional perspective.

But what about the ones that have the braid molded into the casing itself? My Paragon lines have the braid within the outer casing- however, they might just look like that, and in reality just have a clear cover over the S/S. I always thought that it was the S/S that gave them the reduced expansion, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they are just better made lines than the stockers.

[bwringer]

The Paragon lines have the inner Teflon brake line and the braided stainless cover just like others.

On all brake lines like this, the stainless braid has to be covered by something or it will quickly abrade its way through just about anything it touches. It also protects the stainless steel braid from nicks.

On lesser brake lines (like mine ), they are covered by a simple plastic tube. It's tight-fitting, but it's still a separate piece. Water and brake fluid can still seep in between the layers, so you have to watch for corrosion.

On Paragon lines, this outer layer of plastic is molded or melted into the stainless braid -- the plastic sort of permeates the metal braid rather than just sitting on top.

[gcraig]

I have seen this type of product at a local auto parts house like Auto Zone. They had some that would take up to 1200 deg of heat. I think the size was 1/4 to 1" not sure but about those size. The price on it was less than $10.00 do not know the lenght.