Bad ebay juju

[jmnjrpa]

Bought SS brake lines from coastguard1975 on Ebay. Just FYI I add the following emails.

Original to -Just wanted you to know the bike is a 1981 XS1100 Midnight Special. Do not know if that makes any difference.

First email after problem -
Hi,
I bought a set of your SS Brake lines for a 1981 Yamaha1100 Midnight Special thru Ebay on 12/15/2009. Now that it is warming up I am attempting installation. On pic #1 see the brake lines will work even though the ends are supposed to be 90. I can deal with that. On pic #2 please advise as to proper installation.
Pasted pic



ONLY Response from-
John,

I had sold many sets of these XS1000 brake hoses.
This is the first time this happened.
Is your 1100 same as XS1100 ?
Do you know if a "Special" is different than a "Midnight Special" model ?

Regards,
Raymond


Last to -
Yes, the 81 midnight special has many one of a kind parts. These two brake lines are only used on the 1981 Yamaha 1100 Midnight Special (1100LH). Obviously I can reuse the steel tubing on the one if I can get replacement ends. The other one is considerably longer. I am a member of XS1100 club where there is over 5000 members. A good guess is about 200+ members have this model as it is highly collectable. If you can do this hose then I will put you in as a accredited supplier. What can you do for me? I have the bike tore down and installed the two lines I could get to work. I do not want to go back in with the old lines and riding weather is upon us. Would it help for me to send the two that won't work? I would send you all 4 so you could get an exact kit together. I can get them out today if you want.

Thanks,

John




I'm thinking this guy has one style and is pushing it as fitting everything.

What was your experience with him?

[Elevener]

If you do a search you will find many here running his lines. I just installed mine a week or to ago and it was fine. I have a standard and of course ordered for it. Where it tees werent offset but still worked.

Where are the rest of the emails or have you posted this before being resolved? I found him very active in keeping me up to date. His feedback is excellant also.

[randy]

To get a good un-kinked fit, you have to have the 180 degree offset between ends. It also helps to have 30 degree angled banjos. If you don't know that then you don't know jack about building brake lines.

[CatatonicBug]

You'll find that almost no one outside of actual LH owners realizes that the brakes are so unique on that model. Most of the other XS11's are very similar, but the LH's brakes are just like the XJ, so you need to order from someone who knows XJ's instead of XS's.

[rpgoerlich]

Bought 3 sets from him. Installed the first on the Special, no problems with line length. Next two sets I got for the 81Venturer and 80G. I installed them on the 81Venturer this past week, only difference was the line length from front master to splitter roughly 17" v/s 21" on the special. Haven't had time to install them on the 80G yet, but should be the same as the 81.

On both installs, I had to re-use my crush washers on the splitter dual line install as his were to thick along with the thicker banjo's with the existing dual banjo bolt.
Note: he doesn't supply the double banjo bolt.

[latexeses]

I e-mailed this vendor about a week ago and asked about sending my old lines to him just to be sure. He responded that it would be fine with him.

Got back to me very quickly with his reply. One of the quickest on ebay in fact.

I haven't bid and sent them yet. Waiting for a few more leaves to sprout back on the money tree.

[jmnjrpa]

Elevener,

You do a search! I already have and found that several had one problem and several had too many problems. The double banjo bolt is too short, old crush washers have to be reused and lines have to be twisted to accommodate the 90 offset. When I buy something and convert it to another use I have no problem but when I buy a specific part that is supposed to fit I have problems when it doesn’t. We compromise on these older bikes to get them running. That's OK. It is not OK to sell something as a replacement that does not fit. I have sent Coastguard1975 (4 total - I sent him 2 emails telling the make and model) emails and he sent the one reply you saw. Note that he said he had NEVER had a problem before! I am about to send another email.

BTW- Feed back on Ebay don't mean S**T anymore. No one complains because the sellers are withholding until receiving so to ding the buyer.

[DGXSER]

FYI,

I have gone back and forth with this guy since November on a set of SS lines for Thunderstruck. When I got them, I compared them to the ones I had pulled off of Banshee (both are 1981 Specials). At that time he told me whenever I got around to installing the lines to let him know and he would take care of any problems.

Well, in December I took the lines off and started installing. The lower lines work fine. But the upper line from the splitter in the front system to the MC needs a 90 deg offset in it. Don't get me wrong, I can make the line he sent work by removing the MC installing the line and torquing the line when I put the MC back on the "rototiller" stock bars, but to an anal retentive worry wart engineer like me, that spells "one day that line is going to give to the torque its not supposed to be seeing, and I'll be without brakes when I need them most". So I moved to the rear line, and found the same thing, it is a 90 deg offset from front caliper fitting to rear MC, his line is not offset. Again, it can be made to work by removing the MC and installing the line and torquing the line to make the MC bolt back up. Also, the extra length on the line will let it rub the paint off your swingarm DAMHIK.

So I removed those two lines and asked him to replace them, giving him the actual measurement and angles and orientations required. I also sent a picture of my brake line next to his. Clearly showing the 90 deg offset his did not have. He told me to send the two lines back to him and he would replace them. So I boxed up the lines, with a print out of the picture and clearly written dimensions, sketches, and angles of what I needed.

Well, in mid Jan I contacted him on ebay instead of email, and finally got something form him saying he switched ISP and lost all his old emails. He still gives me the same old email addy though. He sends me a link to the Apex site to the line connection styles and all and tells me to use their numbers and stuff to tell him what I want. So I did. I hear nothing more for a month, again I have contacted him he tells me he never got my selections and ask me to give them to him, which I did again. I even emailed and ebay mailed him several times to ensure he got it. Never hear anything back from him.

At this point, I am considering it money spent on an education that this guy is not trustworthy and I will never again do business with him. He has my two brake lines I bought, I have the other two on the bike. I do not ever plan to see the lines he says he will send me. I'll leave him negative feedback on ebay and call it over and done.

My opinion, Coastguard is not a trustworthy person. This is not something I say about anyone easily. I tend to look for the good in someone. But I feel he is pushing a one size fits all bake line set. It can be made to fit, but I do not want to find out the fittings give to the unplanned torque when I need my brakes. He gave me the same line, "I've sold hundreds of these sets with no complaints". And I believe if you have aftermarket bars, or an aftermarket MC it changes the angles. But on a stock 80 or 81 Special, those angles are not stock. Once he has your money, the service is done in his mind, you get to deal with what he sent or continue to lose out by sending lines back and get nothing in return. If you just want 4 SS brake lines that are kinda what you need and can be made to fit, buy all you want. If you truly want custom lines made for your specific bike, this is not the source you want to use. You get better service at Home Depot or Autozone than you do with this AH.

[jmnjrpa]

Fyi

I will sell the set I bought from coastguard for $50 shipped. First PM gets them (I already gold plated 2 ends). I do know they fit some of the XS's but am not sure which ones. The MNS is way different. I got a shop locally to make me up a SS set for my MNS ($85 total ) all ends are turned the right direction and the banjo's are the same thickness as original.

[Elevener]

FWIW. I put a set on my 1980 1100 G with no real problems,yes you had to reuse the splitter banjo bolt, so clean it and the washers are big but I just ordered brake parts for an old suzuki dirt bike and the washers were big also,anneal.

But I didnt have to bind them or take off my brake mc.

Sorry for your problems but if I hadnt just got them I would certainly buy yours at that price! Course I got a standard.

[crazy steve]

BTW- Feed back on Ebay don't mean S**T anymore. No one complains because the sellers are withholding until receiving so to ding the buyer.

Actually John, that's not true any more. EBay changed the rules a year or so ago, and a seller can't leave negative feedback for a buyer anymore; if you don't pay, they can nick you but that's the only time. But they have changed the selling format a bunch, and it's pretty crappy for a non-commercial seller. You used to be able to find deals pretty easy, not to often anymore...

'78E original owner

[QRFan]

Have you guys applied for his personal info ?

If you are having trouble communicating,I'd pick up the phone & call him. Then there's none of this I didnt get the info or email stuff.
As far as ebay,if it wasn't for finding "hard to find items",I'd never use ebay. As a seller ,their rates are high now & when you use paypal,they get you as well.
As a buyer,too many people are bid- addicts... lmao- like gambling addicts....They cant stand to be outbid & will pay as much or more as you can buy it for locally.
A lot of the sellers are running buisnesses now ,so its more like using amazon.com or something with a list of the stores & their prices
Ebay went to h$ll.

[jmnjrpa]

Yeah,

I hate those "Buy it now price" sellers. I thought it was an auction.

[jmnjrpa]

Btw

I still have them for sell at $50 shipped.