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2014 Brake System Upgrade
This year I'm finally doing my long awaited upgrade to the Wing's braking system. Towards the end of last year's riding season I had to replace the rear E3 tire. I just couldn't get more then 18,000 miles out of it. So while I had the wheel off I did all the rear wheel maintenance and rebuilt the rear caliper including new pistons. And installed a new EBC Pro-Lite rotor. I did post a thread with photos of that project.

A couple months ago my father gave me his father's stamp collection and a few other things he collected. I contract haul US Mail so my father thought I'd know somebody who would like to purchase it. When my Dad gave me the collections, I pushed the stamps aside and saw something that my Dad hadn't a clue what his father saved. It was a Marvel Comic from Nov 1974, The Incredible Hulk, featuring The Wolverine. This is the Golden Chalice of comic books. It is the first full issue featuring the Wolverine character. As most know, the Wolverine today is one of the most known Hollywood movie action stars, starting out with the X-Men movies. And for our friends to the north, the Wolverine is Canada's FIRST superhero. So I sent the comic out to be graded and sealed. It was professionally graded at 7.0 Fine/Very Fine, White Pages. A 10.0 would be brand new off the presses in 1974. I put it up for sale/auction on eBay and it sold for $720. Not bad for a 25 cent comic book. I then immediately decided to invest in my to-do-list of upgrading the rest of the Wings brake system.

I now have the two front EBC Pro-Lite rotors and the EBC Semi-Sintered brake pads. Monday all the Honda OEM caliper pistions and seals will be delivered. To increase the braking power I'm installing HEL Performance stainless steel braided brake and clutch lines. After much research I learned HEL is an extremely excellent product. Go to their site and read and watch the videos about the companies history, design, manufacturing, testing process and world certification. I was quite impressed.

Ironically, as I'm receiving the parts and writing this thread the winter Nor'Easter Pax is dumping at least a foot of snow in my yard. So I won't be starting my project for a few weeks. As usual when I do my projects I'll photo everything and post here so anybody else that decides to do the same will have some reference. Removing the faring will be new to me but with Tricky's posts on that project I'll be ok.


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#1 02-13-2014, 02:56 PM,
Roleketu

I am looking forward to keeping up with your work.
wpd210

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#2 02-13-2014, 07:31 PM,
Great Valentine gift !Heart
joe
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#3 02-14-2014, 09:28 AM,
Terrific post, thank you. Removing the fairing is really not a big deal. Just be very careful with the wiring so that you don't pull and break any connectors. I use a long flat blade screwdriver to unlock the clips and a second long flat screwdriver to gently pry out the connector blocks as my hand is too large to reach in there. The rest is just nuts and bolts. For the first time removal I'd have an assistant steady the fairing just in case the fairing sticks after all the fasteners are out then suddenly it breaks free and heads for the floor. Also, removing the windshield makes it easier to handle.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#4 02-14-2014, 05:56 PM,
Today I received the new front Elite3 tire. Contrasting in the background is the results of Nor'Easter Pax, a 36 hour calm, and it's now snowing as winter blizzard Quintus kicks us while we're down.


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#5 02-15-2014, 12:14 PM,
Nice project - after your first few easy stops to bed in the pads - be careful the first time you really get on the binders - the improvement with stainless lines is something to behold Smile


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#6 02-20-2014, 06:32 AM,
After a quick look under the Wing I found a drip at the weep hole. So we add a water pump to this project.


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#7 02-22-2014, 03:32 AM,
The last of my brake upgrade project parts arrived today. Now I have the front E3 tire, two front EBC ProLite brake rotors with EBC semi sintered pads. A complete set of Honda seals, rubbers, and pistons to rebuild both front calipers. And complete set of Hel Performance stainless steel brake and clutch lines. This project will compliment the rear tire, rotor, and caliper rebuild I did at end of season last year. Now if only Mother Nature would check her calendar and notice that Spring is three days away and warm up. Most years by now we're in the mid 50s to 60s and I would have the winter project almost done. Today it's still barely above freezing in Massachusetts.


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#8 03-17-2014, 11:19 AM,
(03-17-2014, 11:19 AM)Roleketu Wrote: The last of my brake upgrade project parts arrived today. Now I have the front E3 tire, two front EBC ProLite brake rotors with EBC semi sintered pads. A complete set of Honda seals, rubbers, and pistons to rebuild both front calipers. And complete set of Hel Performance stainless steel brake and clutch lines. This project will compliment the rear tire, rotor, and caliper rebuild I did at end of season last year. Now if only Mother Nature would check her calendar and notice that Spring is three days away and warm up. Most years by now we're in the mid 50s to 60s and I would have the winter project almost done. Today it's still barely above freezing in Massachusetts.

The last of my brake upgrade project parts arrived today. The Hel Performance stainless steel braided brake lines. Now I have the front E3 tire, two front EBC ProLite brake rotors with EBC semi sintered pads. A complete set of Honda seals, rubbers, and pistons to rebuild both front calipers. And complete set of Hel Performance stainless steel brake and clutch lines. This project will compliment the rear tire, rotor, and caliper rebuild I did at end of season last year. Now if only Mother Nature would check her calendar and notice that Spring is three days away and warm up. Most years by now we're in the mid 50s to 60s and I would have the winter project almost done. Today it's still barely above freezing in Massachusetts.

The last of my brake upgrade project parts arrived today. The Hel Performance stainless steel braided brake lines. Now I have the front E3 tire, two front EBC ProLite brake rotors with EBC semi sintered pads. A complete set of Honda seals, rubbers, and pistons to rebuild both front calipers. And complete set of Hel Performance stainless steel brake and clutch lines. This project will compliment the rear tire, rotor, and caliper rebuild I did at end of season last year. Now if only Mother Nature would check her calendar and notice that Spring is three days away and warm up. Most years by now we're in the mid 50s to 60s and I would have the winter project almost done. Today it's still barely above freezing in Massachusetts.


Just curious about how and why your post is in triplicate?
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#9 03-17-2014, 11:23 AM,
If anyone is considering Hel Performance stainless steel braided brake and clutch lines, I learned Hel has different web sites for the US and UK. Huge difference because I ordered the brake lines from the ".com" site which is the UK based and the hoses sat in customs for five weeks. I ordered the clutch hose from the ".us" site US based in Pennsylvania and it took two days.

Hel Performance UK and Hel Performance US.

Wow Vic, you caught that fast. I corrected it real quick. When I hit "Post Reply" the page didn't refresh correctly. I got a blank page. So I back-paged my browser and tried again. On the third time I opened a new page and opened the post and then edited it.
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#10 03-17-2014, 11:29 AM,
(03-17-2014, 11:29 AM)Roleketu Wrote: If anyone is considering Hel Performance stainless steel braided brake and clutch lines, I learned Hel has different web sites for the US and UK. Huge difference because I ordered the brake lines from the ".com" site which is the UK based and the hoses sat in customs for five weeks. I ordered the clutch hose from the ".us" site US based in Pennsylvania and it took two days.

Hel Performance UK and Hel Performance US.

Wow Vic, you caught that fast. I corrected it real quick. When I hit "Post Reply" the page didn't refresh correctly. I got a blank page. So I back-paged my browser and tried again. On the third time I opened a new page and opened the post and then edited it.

I didn't know if the problem was here on the site or on your computer. Thanks for the explanation.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#11 03-17-2014, 12:35 PM,
The weather finally got into the mid 40's (F) and I started this year's upgrade. First got the coolant and oil drained. I'm replacing the water pump with a Honda OEM pump. Then I attacked the faring removal. And as others have stated, it was quite easy. So I then rewarded myself with my other hobby, home beer brewing. Kegged up an Irish Ale this past week for St Patty's Day.

   
   
   
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#12 03-19-2014, 05:00 PM,
(03-17-2014, 11:29 AM)Roleketu Wrote: Wow Vic, you caught that fast. I corrected it real quick. When I hit "Post Reply" the page didn't refresh correctly. I got a blank page. So I back-paged my browser and tried again. On the third time I opened a new page and opened the post and then edited it.

Thanks for the explanation as it helps me a lot to understand how things mess up.
Ed (Vic) Belanger - 1954-2015
Founder of gl1200goldwings.com

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#13 03-19-2014, 06:30 PM,
Got deeper into the dismantling process today. Lifted the front of the bike allowing access to the front cover for water-pump replacement and front wheel removal. Tomorrow I'll bring the wheel and new Elite3 tire to the shop for change over. Next on the list is to rebuild the two front calipers and remove the air filter box to access the clutch line and right front caliper line.


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#14 03-23-2014, 07:19 PM,
Damn, it's still friggin cold in the North-East! Didn't get above freezing today. However I did manage to access the brake line connection for the right front caliper buried under the coils and loads of other wires and connectors. The clutch line is next to the brake line, however it doesn't split to a metal line like the brake hose. The clutch line seems to be all one section from the handle bar to the clutch. The replacement would only go to the spot under the coils.


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#15 03-24-2014, 04:16 PM,


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