Got my first chance to break out the Terra and run a fantastic dualsport ride here in south central PA. Michaux Forest ride. Absolute blast. Bike did incredibly well. Handling was much better than expected though I don't think I ever rode a bike that I said to myself while riding " Man, this thing can use a steering stabilizer..." If anyone interested will do a ride report on my impressions and some of the changes I plan on doing as a result. The only issue I had with the bike was the loss of the rear brake early on. So I got to ride most of the morning with no rear brake and it was fine until you are in the deep trails on the black wet dirt and rocks with only a front brake and down shifting.. I don't want to down play the brake loss but it is not uncommon for me to smoke a rear brake riding aggressively in the woods so I didn't think too much of it at first. On the same token I do not want to alarm anyone either..Bottom line is just want to pass on some useful experience notes. That being said, I lost the rear brake due to the rubber portion of the line coming in contact with the rear portion of the exhaust collector. The heat or the actual touching created a weak spot that under pressure became a pin hole. I riding with a buddy who was also on a Terra and upon close inspection of both bikes at teh breakfast stop, it seems as though his line had a zip tie holding it down and away and mine did not. Up most and foremost, I didn't do anything in that area of the bike, so it wasn't me. Explaining a little further, the line is a rigid line coming out of the rear master. As soon as it clears the frame on the inside, it goes to rubber, crosses the top of the engine case and then down the left side of the bike/swing arm to the rear caliper. The line, if left to itself, can flex up and down pretty far and get pretty close to the exhaust. Pretty easy to peer in there and look at it so you might want to look and just to be safe, see if it is well clear of the exhaust and cannot flex too far up. I would want to make sure that if there is a way to hold it down or reduce the "flopping" via zip tie, this would be a small insurance price to pay to insure you don't lose the rear brake. I don't have any pics of all of this to post and it really is strait forward. Feel free to drop me a line or post and will be glad to help if needed. Overall, incredibly happy with the bike, got to be one of the best all around 650's on the Planet (my opinion) and with a few more tweaks and mods it will be my main Dualport ride for an incredibly long time.
Toyboy, Excuse the poor quality cellphone pic, but is this the location you're talking about? the left footpeg is at the bottom of the pic, exhaust is at the top. There is a clip to the left of the zip tie (I installed the zip tie, it's holding the ABS wire to the brake line) The brake line on my strada is routed trhough a clip that's attached to the inner part of the frame. does your bike have that clip? or am i looking in the wrong place alltogether? thanks --Chris
I am not sure how the routing is on an ABS model, didn't think of that. I will go to my friend's dealership, he has a Strada on the floor and will see if it applies. If you follow the brake line out of the master cylinder on the right side of the bike once it passes out of sight on the inside of the frame, the line transitions from a metal line to rubber and crosses over to somewhere where your pic is, then down swingarn. I am betting that an ABS bike does not have a rubber line like a non ABS model, so might not be an issue for Strada owners. I would just make sure that nothing between the top of the engine cases can move enough to bounce up and hit the exhaust collector in there. Will double check an ABS bike for you and clarify. Thanks for asking!
My Strada routing goes forward to the left of the collector and then up into the ABS guts. it's secured to the left side of the frame by the clip that Chris mentions. My Terra routing makes a turn to the right side of the bike right under the collector, it does not have the same clip that Chris mentions. Toyboy, where on the line did your hole develop? On the front/back portion, the left/right portion, or somewhere along the radius between the two? You can see the kickstand switch cable on the last picture above. Not sure of the geometry, but it's right in front of the shock on my Terra, a bit more to the left on my Strada, I'm concerned about pinch potential.
Mine developed the hole about 2/3rds of the way across, from right to left as sitting on the bike. The hole is at the highest point of the line, virtually squirting strait up if that makes sense. I will get a few pics posted as soon as I get to the bike this evening.
I'm trying to get a handle on how much the 'aggressive' part contributed vs. how much the design contributed. I'm very interested to see your pictures, and to see what the 'fix' is. It's not obvious to me.
Good morning to all. Got some pics to hopefully clarify my brake line routing issue. Pretty self explanatory with pics. I took a couple from the angle you need to be looking at it from and then a close up. Hope this helps. Follow the brake line from the rear master and you see it quickly tucks to the inside of the frame. The third pic shows the line crossing the over top of the engine and as you can see is routed pretty close to exhaust. I am guessing due to rough terrain riding, the hose moves enough to come in contact or close enough to exhaust collector and cause a weak spot and subsequently a pin hole due to brake pressure.
That is an option but I think I am going to just bend the hell out of it and route it lower when new line gets here and zip tie it down a lot closer to the engine. Thanks for the idea.
I don't think Stradas have the same potential issue....whew There doesn't appear to be the line in question anything like the pictures the OP provided. There's doesn't appear to be that line running from chain side to the clutch side anywhere in front of the shock, below the exhaust, and above the bracket. I tried my best to take a comparable picture if tr3.jpg angle, but not quite as good. If the line was there it should be somewhere in the middle of the screen above the bracket and zip tie head. The black line with white letters is the brake line (and ABS wire) running down the swingarm...nowhere near the exhaust. I believe it's the line Chris1261 has from a reverse angle. I'd agree that a bit of foil tape wrapped around the line would probably be the easiest option for Terra owners concerned.
Agree, it's not an issue for the Strada, as long as the cable stays in the frame mounted clip that holds it to the left. I posted Terra/Strada comparison photos here... http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/rear-brake-line-routing.35015/#post-335285
Ahh. At a certain place of employment that seems to block certain images. Can't see 'em, but now get by context they precede my duplication.
Mine rubbed against the rear tire when compressed resulting in a nice hole. Then, I had a stainless steel brake line made up and installed it - My bad, I guess - it got a bit to close to the exhaust and melted some of the external casing but fortunately, the stainless kept the internal line whole. Pain in the butt but at least I was on the street and not in the dirt when the rear brake went. Lesson learned - three plastic ties may not be enough! Watch the shock spring and exhaust when routing the brake line!
Hi Leo, My replacement line hopefully in today. Will have one made if not, been a bit now. The routing of the rear brake line on the Terra leaves a bit to be desired.....
I think a stainless line is the only way to go. Here in ABQ, we have a company that makes all types and kinds of hoses, lines etc. while you wait in many cases. I did mine in Red! It cost 39.00 for the entire line refitted to the stock banjos. Fit like a glove except for the slack not properly tied down to prevent contact with: wheel, shock and exhaust.
Toyboy, yours was an early model demo unit, right? I don’t think the newer Terra's have the problem either, or perhaps not as bad. I checked mine and the brake hose is strapped down fairly well to the swing arm and has the speedo cable strapped on top of it. You would have to burn through the speedo cable to get to the brake hose.
Mine is a pretty early one. Going to look at the 2014's tomorrow at TOYTECH and see how they are routed. THE part running down the swingarm is fine and not near it, mine burned pretty much on right side of line, right underneath the exhaust. My line did finally come in so I will be installing etc making damn sure nothing can touch it !!
Toyboy, I'd be interested in knowing your route through Michaux. I race mountain bikes up there and know how rugged it can get, but I don't know the area very well, only when racing since there are arrows telling me where to go. I live in Baltimore so it is an hour to get to southern Michaux and closer to two hours to get up to the northern section.
