While I've seen quite a few comments from folk saying they're planning to do this, I haven't seen any report back from someone who's actually done it.
My feeling is that the R3's rear brake is fine, but the front brake is annoyingly weak. You really have to pull pretty hard to achieve pseudo lock-up (I have ABS) on a good tar surface. I am therefore interested in improvement options.
To my logic, braided hoses will not change the lever pressure (and hence brake fluid pressure) required for lock-up, but they will change the hand energy (integral of force over lever travel distance) (apologies to the non-mathematical riders) required to get to wheel lock-up, which will change the perception of how hard you need to pull the lever. Braided lines also therefore improve the "feel" and control of the braking since less energy goes into flexing the hose (which has a fair bit of hysteresis).
Again, to my logic, the only ways in principle to reduce the brake lever force required is to:
1) increase the pressure surface area of the calliper pots by having:
a) bigger pots or
b) more pots (e.g. 3 pots on a disk or 2 disks with two pots on each)
2) decrease the pressure surface area of the master cylinder in the lever assembly.
I'm guessing that the Brembo options may achieve 1a or 2 or both of these tricks.
So, for me, the million dollar question is: "Will just replacing the stock front hose with a good braided hose make a terrific improvement, or will additional, significantly more expensive upgrades be required?"
Any hard experience with braided hose additions to the R3 or other bikes out there?
My feeling is that the R3's rear brake is fine, but the front brake is annoyingly weak. You really have to pull pretty hard to achieve pseudo lock-up (I have ABS) on a good tar surface. I am therefore interested in improvement options.
To my logic, braided hoses will not change the lever pressure (and hence brake fluid pressure) required for lock-up, but they will change the hand energy (integral of force over lever travel distance) (apologies to the non-mathematical riders) required to get to wheel lock-up, which will change the perception of how hard you need to pull the lever. Braided lines also therefore improve the "feel" and control of the braking since less energy goes into flexing the hose (which has a fair bit of hysteresis).
Again, to my logic, the only ways in principle to reduce the brake lever force required is to:
1) increase the pressure surface area of the calliper pots by having:
a) bigger pots or
b) more pots (e.g. 3 pots on a disk or 2 disks with two pots on each)
2) decrease the pressure surface area of the master cylinder in the lever assembly.
I'm guessing that the Brembo options may achieve 1a or 2 or both of these tricks.
So, for me, the million dollar question is: "Will just replacing the stock front hose with a good braided hose make a terrific improvement, or will additional, significantly more expensive upgrades be required?"
Any hard experience with braided hose additions to the R3 or other bikes out there?