Shorter brake lines

[Mr.Saturn]

Between lowering my headlight and clocks and switching to MW clip-ons I'm finding the front brake lines on my '05 620 to just be too long.  The area behind the headlight is terribly crowded and the lines between the calipers and the mounting bracket stick out way more than they should.

Does anyone have experience with where to get decent custom-length brake lines?  I was thinking Earl's but the sheer number of fittings on the site was a bit intimidating.  I have a fender from a 1098 with the brake line clip still intact so I was thinking I could save a lot of behind-the-headlight space by moving the T-junction down by the side of the fender.  Does anyone have a close-up detail shot of the 848/1098 front brake line routing they wouldn't mind sharing?

Also the banjo fitting coming out from the coffin on the brake side has proven to be a bit of a headache in terms of routing with the lowered clocks, any ideas there?

[JEFF_H]

i've had good luck with spiegler
http://www.spieglerusa.com/cfm/customline.cfm

[Mr.Saturn]

Looks like the 848/1098 uses a double banjo with a 2nd line at the right caliper rather than a T like the 748.  Would still be interested if anyone has any detail shots of either the 848/1098 or the 748 style.

[Bones]

the problem I'm facing with lowering my clocks and my Swatt clipons are interference issues with lines because the banjo fittings are like 45 degrees rather than 0 degrees at the coffins, so they are smacking the sides of the instrument cluster.

don't know if you just want to do custom or save some $ and just use OEM stuff that should work, but I just bought a set of front brake lines off an '03 ST2 on fleabay. it has the t-fitting on the lower end and appears to has a 0 degree bend at the coffin, so it should work with the lowered gauges and the SBK fender I am putting on. also bought a fren tubo steel clutch line from fleabay which also has the zero degree bend at the coffin banjo fitting. looks like they should do the trick, bit won;t know until next week.

[Mr.Saturn]

Feel free to post up a pic once you've got em on 

The coffin bend is definitely a problem but in my case, I think a 90 degree bend would work better than a 45 or 0.  If I did go with a 0 degree bend, the line would run outside of the fairing mount, which, now that I think of it, could do the trick.

[He Man]

the problem I'm facing with lowering my clocks and my Swatt clipons are interference issues with lines because the banjo fittings are like 45 degrees rather than 0 degrees at the coffins, so they are smacking the sides of the instrument cluster.

don't know if you just want to do custom or save some $ and just use OEM stuff that should work, but I just bought a set of front brake lines off an '03 ST2 on fleabay. it has the t-fitting on the lower end and appears to has a 0 degree bend at the coffin, so it should work with the lowered gauges and the SBK fender I am putting on. also bought a fren tubo steel clutch line from fleabay which also has the zero degree bend at the coffin banjo fitting. looks like they should do the trick, bit won;t know until next week.

No point in getting aftermarket  lines because stock ducati lines are already steel braided. You get a huge bling factor though, so if you want to be practical... get radial masters with S2R1k or 999 brakes. ericchan87 i know has a set of S2R1k brakes, rotors and masters for sale. 1 combo.  New pads too.

[junior varsity]

i've had good luck with spiegler
http://www.spieglerusa.com/cfm/customline.cfm

+1. I use them every time.

[DarkStaR]

How do you have the lines routed now in relation the to gauges?  (e.g., just going under, or over and then through the gap between the gauge mounts).

It's a tough fit regardless, but sometimes still possible with the stock lines if you take your time.

If you haven't done so already, detaching the lines from the masters (and changing the banjo orientation) makes routing a bit easier.

Good luck.

[DucHead]

As others have said, measure twice, go to spiegler's website and have at it.

[He Man]

screw spigler lines! upgrade those brakes and use stock lines!!!

[Speeddog]

screw spigler lines! upgrade those brakes and use stock lines!!!

Dude, try reading the thread again.

[He Man]

Maybe im blowing it out of proportions but he has fitting issues with the lowered guages and clip ons. Swap to S2R1k calipers and masters and lines, u wont get any of that. 620Lines are longer than S2R1k lines cause the calipers are further away.

You dont get bling factor, but u get a nice upgrade to your brake system is what im trying to get to. if u dont want to upgrade ur calipers and master. then just get s2r1k lines. they are just only a hair longer than youd want them to be if u ran clip ons with no rise and s2r1k lines.

heres how they look with my old Cycle cat clip ons



This is with APEX clip ons, they have less rise than cyclecat.


if you go with NO rise clip ons, they should be a perfect fit as u can see there is just enough slack there. i could maybe get another inch or two from behind the headlights ( i ditch the bracket for the air sensor and zip tied it to the other cables)

[Speeddog]

Maybe im blowing it out of proportions but he has fitting issues with the lowered guages and clip ons.

~~~SNIP~~~

So, instead of getting some custom lines....

You recommend getting S2R1000 calipers, rotors, lines and master.

That's a nice upgrade and all, but really.....

[Mr.Saturn]

This thread has gotten pretty far off-topic since I logged in yesterday.  I'm not upgrading my master cylinder or brakes, and S2R1000 lines will not help with my issue.  They may be shorter, but the bend near the master cylinder is a main cause of the headache.  The MW clips are not set up the same as yours - the banjo cannot be swiveled that far toward the rider.  Therefore, my hoses travel behind the clocks rather than through the gauge/triple hole.  At that point they hit the T junction, and both lines go over the U-bracket (over as in, towards the front of the bike rather than behind the U-bracket - if I routed them behind, the bend to get them into the rubber mounts is too sharp) and through the rubber mounts.

I currently have the hoses mounted up, and everything is assembled; however, I had to pull the lines so far downward to get the T junction to fit behind the headlight that my lines bulge out a LOT beneath the lower triple (rearward and outward).  This fact, combined with the extremely squeezed wiring and hoses behind the headlight is why I'm looking for an aftermarket (or Ducati OEM) solution.  Speigler seems like the way to go, and I think I'm gonna attempt to do an 848/1098 style double banjo on the right caliper with a crossover line.  I'm probably gonna hack up some coax cable I have to do the measurements since it is very similar in diameter and flexibility.

[Speeddog]

~~~SNIP~~~

  I'm probably gonna hack up some coax cable I have to do the measurements since it is very similar in diameter and flexibility.

That's a brilliant idea!