By the way, I don't know why... but somehow I keep finding things that can improve the "cosmetic" aspect of my bike...
As you all know, my bike is now literally naked and it's on my living room all the time, so when I am not watching TV (or while watching TV), my eyes can't help but wonder to look at the "naked" shape
I somehow found my eyes focusing on the solid/hardline part of the brake line (and also the braided brakeline) and thought there must be a way do make it look better...
(again not to make it to perform better in engineering/weight wise but simply just to make it looks better).
I remember the good old days when I was selling tons of Kevlar braided hose from Goodridge to my Aprilia customer, and that make me start checking the current Goodridge offering again.
Turn out Goodridge still offer Kevlar braided hose (700 series) unfortunately they don't offer them in -2AN size anymore, only -3AN but which is still ok, however I need to find a way to connect the Kevlar braided hose with the solid/hardline piping.
(which I already did just not crimped like the Ducati did though).
I am sure some of you wonder why solid/hardline piping?, After all, Fren Tubo sell several nice kits with different hose and fitting material (including their Carbotech, Stainless Steel or Kevlar braided hose)...
Well, that is because no matter how good your stainless steel braided or kevlar braided or carbon fiber braided PTFE hose, they will still expand more under pressure than a solid/hardline piping.
And in our Panigale V4, the brake lines are longer because every line (front and rear) need to go to ABS module before going to caliper, and thus the expansion effect if I replace all those hardline with regular braided lines will be more pronounced.
Of course, if you bypass the ABS and going straight from your Master cylinder to the caliper, then the much shorter distance of the braided line will have less expansion under pressure effect, so a hardline will not benefit that much plus, you need the "flex" around the steering and swing arm area anyway.
I could understand that some people might complain that the ABS give lack of "feel" but I think this is more because the rider prefer not to adjust to the new "feel" with using ABS.
Below is a copy and paste of Cycle World interview with Brembo engineer on MotoGP braking, and I copy and paste the paragraph that directly related to ABS.
Note this interview was done in 2014 and I sure more progress had been made with ABS since then:
MotoGP: Faster And Faster, Part 1
CW: In 2016, ABS will be obligatory on all bikes sold in the European market. ABS is prohibited in Formula 1 and MotoGP. What is your opinion of ABS in racing?
L.B.: ABS is perfect for the street rider, but in racing, it should be the rider who controls. Probably ABS would be safer, but racing is also a test of the rider, and so for the show, I don't think ABS would be good.
CW: How often do you find yourself locking the front brakes?
A.D.: I try, of course, never to lock because it is very dangerous. Not just to lose the front, but you have to release and brake again, and this upsets the bike. Also, you go too deep. In Argentina, I locked the brakes several times, and this hurt my performance very much. There was not so much grip, and for me, when I cannot brake late and hard, I suffer in my lap times. We are really on the limit all the time on the brakes, so it depends completely on the judgment and feel of the rider because it is so easy to lock the front or lift the rear wheel.
CW: What about the rear brake? How much and how hard do you use it and what do you use it for?
A.D.: I use the rear brake quite a lot. In MotoGP, we use the rear brake on the exit to control the spinning. If you use the rear brake well, you can use less traction control because you can tame a big spin by reducing it but not eliminating it. I use the rear a lot also on the braking even though with the four-stroke there is enough engine braking so that many riders do not use the rear. But this is my style, and I always use the rear brake.
Because of the reasons above, if I upgrade my brake line (for any reasons), I will NOT bypass the ABS. Some will disagree with me,
but I am confident that ABS like all the driver aids, if allowed in MotoGP, will help the rider stop faster.
It might not be good for entertainment value, but no doubt ABS will be able to help any rider stop their bike faster (and most importantly safer) on the track.
If anyone is curious, try to disconnect your ABS in your car, then brake as hard and as good as you could while preventing wheel lock up, and then do the same with ABS and see which one stop shorter and straighter.
Ducati ABS is even better because it is a "Cornering ABS" designed specifically for 2 wheel application:
The breaks of the future: Bosch Cornering ABS
another links about using ABS (but in car racing):
https://www.bosch-motorsport.com/content/downloads/Raceparts/Resources/pdf/Operation Manual_148638347_ABS_M5_Kit_Porsche_Cup.pdf
https://www.manthey-racing.de/Installation_Manual_ABS_991_GT3_Cup_Gen_2.pdf
Back to upgrading my brake line
While doing more research, I found the cooper solid/hardline in 3/16 size (exactly the same as our hardline/solid line size) or -3AN equivalent.
I think this cooper line left picture (with proper clear coat treatment to prevent oxidation and perhaps some polishing pre-treatment) will looks gorgeous against the BLACK background of the swing arm (right picture):
Copper Brake Pipe 3/16 inch | CBP-3 | Merlin Motorsport
So.... I think I am going to do this cooper solid hardline (cosmetic) upgrade
in combination with the 700 Series Kevlar Goodridge braided line where it need to be able to flex, and stainless steel AN fittings of course...
and maybe some Staubli dry connect...
Bending a solid cooper hardline eventhough easier than stainless steel hardline, will still be much harder than just using a flex braided line completely... and I will need to buy the right bending and flaring tool and It might slow down this project more... but I just received information that Brembo is delaying production of my (paid in full) front 330mm T-Drive rotor until end of September 2020 anyway so why not
