Stainless Steel brake lines

[Geezer]

What's local to you? I know a great place in Portland, OR that will make them up while you wait...

Geezer

[KA1J]

What's local to you? I know a great place in Portland, OR that will make them up while you wait...

Geezer

Hi Geezer,

I just added that, shoulda listed my location long ago... Groton, CT... Kinda far from OR.

What kind of shop are they listed in in the yellow pages? I'm going to see what I can find local.

[Geezer]

The place is called oil filter service and making custom oil lines is the primary business but they're happy to make them for brakes too. Good luck on the project and if you can't find any local, look for a set of Russel lines...

Tony

[crazy steve]

Remember guys, that in order for a brake line to be truly DOT legal, the ENTIRE LINE, including the fittings, AFTER assembly, MUST be inspected and pressure tested. That means you CANNOT assemble them yourself and still have a DOT-legal brake line. That is why most hydraulic shops won't help you if you tell them the lines are for automotive brakes.

Where are you finding this information? An item can meet a DOT standard, but that is entirely up to the manufacturer as to whether or not they identify it as such. The DOT approves nothing, and if you don't believe me, look here: http://www.bikersrights.com/nhtsa/notapproved.html. What they do do is furnish a set of standards which is an 'acceptable minimum' for parts and/or a vehicle operated on a public road. But they do zero enforcement or testing of these, leaving that up to the states to enforce whatever parts of these they so wish. So if somebody tells you a particular part isn't 'legal', first ask them, according to who? Next ask them to quote the FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) that supposedly applies. If you build a brake line out of hoses/fittings that are DOT compliant as individual parts, why would the 'assembly' not be 'legal'? Again, who says??

The really interesting part of all this is you're seeing more and more parts marked as 'TUV approved'. I would believe this before I would a DOT 'approval' because unlike here, they actually check the individual item and test them for their intended purpose before they get that approval, rather than the self-certification that you have here.

[DGXSER]

For the SS Brake lines, I would love to find a source like Geezer's locally. I will need to check into it.

As to the DOT thing, first, realize the FMVSS only applies to manufacturers, in this case, Yamaha. It does not apply to aftermarket. Find out what your individual state or jurisdiction requires on these matters. Here in Ohio, I could use spaghetti for my brake lines, there is no safety inspections unless perhaps you get pulled over for something else and something really stands out. I've heard of road side safety inspections, but in over 25 years of driving in alot of different states, never had one yet. Only vehicles I have ever had inspected were ones I brought into Ohio from out of state. Even those is really just verifying the VIN matches.

Again, check what is required where you live by your local/state/ authorities having jurisdiction. Make sure the lines meet those requirements.

[crazy steve]

For the SS Brake lines, I would love to find a source like Geezer's locally. I will need to check into it.

As to the DOT thing, first, realize the FMVSS only applies to manufacturers, in this case, Yamaha. It does not apply to aftermarket...

Don is correct; for our purposes it doesn't apply. But it does apply to some aftermarket parts (noteably brake lines), but only those used in commercial trucking and buses. Enforcement is done by those industries regulatory agencies, not the DOT. If you try to look up the 'requirements' for some aftermarket parts, you'll be led to these agencies and their regs simply don't apply to non-commercial vehicles.

The 'DOT approved' stamp is useful from one standpoint; if a manufacturer or seller puts a DOT identification on a part, they're accepting liability that this part is suitable for it's intended purpose. So if there is a problem, you do have legal recourse. That's why many hydraulic places won't touch brake lines; it's not that somebody will bust them or they won't work just fine, but if there is a problem and they get sued, their neck is hanging out.