Thank you all for all the input here. Especial thanks to Flya750.
In the end, I took the bike to a better mechanic than I - to get the rear braided line installed. It was expensive. I live in San Francisco so I knew I'd get hit. It was worth it though. Brakes do feel better.
As to why I did it..several reasons - but a few in particular:
I've wanted a VFR since I was a very young dude and I'm now in my 50's and could afford one
Rubber lines piss me off on an otherwise quality build
I defeated Cancer, so the VFR was a gift to myself as were the braided lines.
I'm a brake snob.
But mainly I did it as a self-reward. It's not every day nor very many people I know of/have heard of that get through what I got through without pharma and/or major surgery. Love of motorcycles, my lady, my life, my family, taking control of my own health, researching the heck out of metabolism, qigong, chi nei tsang. This is what got me through the big C ...and some really uplifting encounters in meditation.
Thanks again to all - keep it positive and support one another, ...we dunno what's around the corner but it can sometimes hit v.hard.
But mainly I did it as a self-reward. It's not every day nor very many people I know of/have heard of that get through what I got through without pharma and/or major surgery. Love of motorcycles, my lady, my life, my family, taking control of my own health, researching the heck out of metabolism, qigong, chi nei tsang. This is what got me through the big C ...and some really uplifting encounters in meditation.
Good on you buddy. Great story on beating the big C. Without the need for surgery.
Glad you've got the brakes just as you like them, and remember do a brake and clutch flush every 12 months or so, it's a piece of cake on an 8gen.
You have to remove the entire rear tail assembly.. It's not that bad of a job. You'll also need to remove the radiator overflow tank. This will get you all the access to replace the rear brake lines. Also removing the rear wheel will give you good access to the rear wheel line too.
Of course, you'll need to remove the rear master cylinder too.
It looks like Pyramid plastics faux CF that I've got
Actually I've got an unused faux CF chain guard from them if you're interested
[image: IMG_3315.jpeg]
[image: IMG_3317.jpeg]
The chain guard is that same old faux pattern, but the hugger actually looks like a decent CF pattern in those pics. Even after downloading and zooming in.
End of thread · 5 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 3 Feb 2026