'75 Front brake refurbish

Hey Willis, I know its shutting the gate after the horse has bolted........i was doing some research on TX750 carb parts and came across the full set of brake lines for the XS650 from 72-75 going by partzilla part cross reference
https://www.cruzinimage.net/2018/06...-brake-hose-sets-upper-lower-hose-steel-pipe/

Thanks Skull, but those lines look like they are still rubber. I switched mine over to braided stainless covered in black coating to resemble the stock lines. I also recall that the top steel line on the 750 was different than the 650. I could be wrong there but thought i read that somewhere recently.
 
Yes, stainless lines are the way to go. I've been putting them on all my bikes, and many other people's bikes, for many years. In several of those cases, they were the needed cure for a spongy brake lever feel that no amount of bleeding would fix.
 
You have the extra set of lines, why not add the extra caliper and rotor to make it a dual disc? It will greatly increase the braking action.
I did this on the 75 after I upgraded to the 35 mm forks, and on the 81. I used the stock 77 up 14 mm master and I really like the brakes. On your 75 I think the stock master cylinder will run a dual disc set up just fine.
I got the 83 road legal a few days ago and the stock front brake works, but not as well as the dual set up. I may swap some part around and put the duals off the 81 on it or go with a different master cylinder. One of around 11 or 12 mm.
Leo
 
I went out on a limb buying these brake lines. While the lines are very good quality, I Made a few mistakes on my initial order. The top line will work great and the fitting ends will work with the stock steel lines, but I rolled the dice ordering shorter than stock bottom line hoping to tidy things up. The bottom line would have worked with some tweaking on the routing but I am trying to keep a factory look going. I just reordered a replacement bottom line of 15” so I can route properly like a factory line. I also eliminated the 45 banjo bend in place of a straight one. The 45 bend put the line uncomfortably close to the fork leg. Will report back once the new line arrives.
View attachment 136594

I also tore apart the master cylinder for rebuild and paint. I ran into issues with the rebuild kits that are available for the early master cylinders though. Several dealers offer the kits with prices ranging from about $35 up to $85. The issue I ran into was the listed replacement pistons were different than what the factory had in there. Even my 75 factory service manual provided inconsistent photos. http://www.mikoede01.de/downloads/xs650.de/xs-wsh-de/5_Fahrgestell.pdf
I searched as many posts in this forum as I could looking for answers. I turns out the new kit should work fine as several others have had good luck with them. Then during my search for replacement kits, our friendly resident restorer Bob...aka Mailman pm’d me that he had an unused kit that I was about to order that did not get used in his ‘72 restoration. A big thanks to Bob for offering it to me free of charge and shipped it right out to me. Since my piston was in decent shape I decided to use the seals and clips from Bob’s kit to restore mine with.
View attachment 136595

Now it’s been cleaned, stripped, sanded and taped ready to paint. Once painted I’ll reinstall the innards. I just need to decide on a paint kit to use.
View attachment 136593

When I tore down the master I ended up finding quite a bit of crap in there, so decided to go through the caliper while I had it down this far. The caliper was in really good shape, but once I removed the pistons I found quite a bit of sediment in the fluid. Everything else was in good order, so just a quick clean and inspection of seals and back together it went and just waiting for the new line to arrive to finish.
So 15" bottom line and 15" top (The handle bars are stock)
I would go out to measure them but I have a 3yr old running around here and it takes 2 adults to keep up with him
 
They make specific caliper paint now, available at most auto parts stores. It's heat resistant, which applies more to the caliper, but also brake fluid resistant, which is good for the MC too. It comes in both spray cans and little normal cans so you could brush it on.
Why is brake fluid so aggressive to paint? Anyone have an answer to that.
 
End to end I believe. I can measure tonight when I get home. Pretty sure I have some old originals somewhere.
 
Got my new brake lines delivered from Apex today. They look and feel like high quality pieces. The cost was $43 to my door and included 2 new banjo bolts and crush washers. Both lines are 12” with 45degree bends, should provide nice routing with the cb750 replica bars I’m using. Going to try and carve out some shop time this Saturday to install them.
View attachment 135371

*edit to add Apex info.*
http://www.apexbrakes.com/custom.asp
I ordered #4 banjo fittings (45' bend) with #19 ends to fit the factory flared steel lines.
**2nd edit - 12" was too short for the bottom line. Reordered a 15" replacement line with straight banjo fitting that worked better.
***3rd edit - the 45degree banjo ends were a mistake. If someone is reading this in hopes of ordering a similar setup I would encourage you to order straight banjo ends on all lines.
I'm looking at the apex brakes website for my 75 also, but when it ask you for length (15")it comes up $40)
just for the bottom line, unless their price went up that much
(1"-12" $35.00) (13"-24" $40)
 
I wouldn't be surprised. This thread was started over two years ago. It seems Covid has had an effect on pricing for a lot of goods. Another member (Somerville) and I were just discussing this upgrade earlier this week and whether it was possible to order lines to eliminate the steel brake line as well. I am sure it is possible if you can determine the correct fittings to work directly into the caliper and splitter junction. I measured it out and to eliminate the steel lines you would need to add 9” to the lower and 4.5-5” on the upper. Hard to accurately measure behind that headlight.

I still have an extra set of these lines from my original purchase. I have a 15" with straight banjo and a 12" with a 45 degree banjo end. Depending on what bars you are running would determine if the 12" line would work. Feel free to PM me if you are interested in either.
 
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Another member (Somerville) and I were just discussing this upgrade earlier this week and whether it was possible to order lines to eliminate the steel brake line as well.
I got my stainless brake line from Hel for my 72, it replaced the steel line and both rubber lines.
The banjo bolts came with the line. If you get just a brake line with no bolts you will need a 10-1.25 banjo bolt for the caliper.
upload_2021-3-11_14-28-24.png
 
I got my stainless brake line from Hel for my 72, it replaced the steel line and both rubber lines.
The banjo bolts came with the line. If you get just a brake line with no bolts you will need a 10-1.25 banjo bolt for the caliper.
View attachment 186708
But on the 75 it has the brake light switch in between the 2 lines so I would need to keep or buy new steel lines
 
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