Not happy with my Apex brake lines; I wouldn't recommend them to anyone else, either.

[Brother Michigan]

I removed my Apex braided stainless steel brake lines today that I bought through a group buy here on the forum after a little more than a year and a half on the bike; let me show/tell you why and why I think it's probably a good idea for members to avoid this product.

Just a few months after first installing the lines, I noticed the fittings and banjo bolts were beginning to rust. My bike was stored outside under a waterproof cover for about a year and has been ridden in the rain, but I don't think they should have started rusting like they did as soon as they did, especially when I make sure to dry the bike off after it gets wet. Keep in mind when looking at the pictures that I started regularly rubbing them down with WD-40 shortly after I noticed them starting to rust and they still looked that bad when I took them off.

The second problem, and the one that I find much more serious, is that the coating over the stainless has become extremely brittle and has even begun to crack and flake off the lines. I know that this coating is just there to protect the braiding, but the fact that it has failed after less than two years doesn't give me much hope for the quality of the materials underneath. After I removed the lines, I found them to be very stiff, to the point where it was actually somewhat difficult to bend them. That doesn't seem like a particularly good property for something that's expected to bend and flex with the suspension of the motorcycle.

I brought up the rusting issue with Apex as soon as I noticed it, and they did offer to replace the lines, but not with an identical product (I had blue lines with black fittings and they would only offer clear with stainless fittings). I decided to just deal with the rust issue, but I didn't feel safe with these brake lines on my motorcycle after I noticed the issues with the outer coating.

Anyhow, that is my experience with Apex Brakes' braided stainless lines. I hope the others that bought lines in the different group buys have had better luck (looking around some of the other threads, it looks like I may not be alone in these issues), but I would personally recommend members look elsewhere for their brake line needs. If you're looking for a quality product, I'd go with Galfer or Spiegler (just replaced my Apex lines with Galfer lines), or if you're looking to move to stainless lines on the cheap, just go with a cheap eBay pair; you probably wouldn't be much worse off quality-wise and you'll save about half the price over the Apex lines.

Pictures of lines and fittings attached at the end (may be a little hard to see the cracking in all but the last photo, but both lines show cracks along their entire lengths.)

[csmith12]

Oh snap! Aint that a bummer...

[chugs]

Wow, that sux. You can't go wrong with Galfer ss lines.

[Flying]

I have the same brake lines on my bike and agree with BM's assessment.

After a year they were at the same condition as in the pictures above.
After two, the plastic covering crumbled apart when handled, leaving behind only the braided lines.

The steel braid itself is fine. However, the rusted fittings and low quality plastic really are disconcerting.

[MrAtom]

Go galfer or go home.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Brother Michigan

........Just a few months after first installing the lines, I noticed the fittings and banjo bolts were beginning to rust. My bike was stored outside under a waterproof cover for about a year and has been ridden in the rain, but I don't think they should have started rusting like they did as soon as they did, especially when I make sure to dry the bike off after it gets wet. Keep in mind when looking at the pictures that I started regularly rubbing them down with WD-40 shortly after I noticed them starting to rust and they still looked that bad when I took them off........

Not trying to say that this brand is good or bad, just trying to explain the process that has been happening.

This rust seems to be related to the copper washers, rather than to exposure to rain.
Notice how happy and shinning the copper washers look, they should turn green when exposed to rain long enough.
This is called galvanic corrosion:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion

Copper and bronze are terrible neighbors to many other metals.
The banjos are made of galvanized steel, which means steel covered with zinc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanization

Zinc is commonly used as a sacrificial anode in situations where copper can damage steel.
In this case, the covering of the banjos is doing its job.

[corksil]

Thanks hernan, always on point with good info.

No complaints from my galfers. I noticed from your pictures... the end of the line with the bend coming off on the front line.. I tried that same routing as instructed, and didn't like the sharp bend from using the bent-fitting-end on the caliper. I flipped them 180* -- bent fitting coming off the front master cylinder, straight fitting coming up off the caliper, and they were much more a straight run between the MC and caliper. Might want to try that. I also didn't 'capture' the front line in the OEM routing brackets. They put too steep of a bend on the front line.

[Twisthem488]

Oh no! I have a set of these in a box I was going to put on sometime this month. I guess even if they dont last long, they will be better than my 7 year old spongy cables for a little while.

[Brother Michigan]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Not trying to say that this brand is good or bad, just trying to explain the process that has been happening.

This rust seems to be related to the copper washers, rather than to exposure to rain.
Notice how happy and shinning the copper washers look, they should turn green when exposed to rain long enough.
This is called galvanic corrosion:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion

Copper and bronze are terrible neighbors to many other metals.
The banjos are made of galvanized steel, which means steel covered with zinc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanization

Zinc is commonly used as a sacrificial anode in situations where copper can damage steel.
In this case, the covering of the banjos is doing its job.

I'm not sure the banjo bolts and fittings were galvanized. They didn't look or feel like galvanized steel when they were new, and Apex doesn't say anything about the materials of the fittings. Either way, I know that copper is less likely to cause galvanic corrosion than other metals that would be used (no aluminum in my PC's water cooling loop!), so I can't imagine it should end up this bad. The stock bolts and fittings didn't look nearly this bad (I still have them), and they were on the bike longer.

[Brother Michigan]

Originally Posted by Twisthem488

Oh no! I have a set of these in a box I was going to put on sometime this month. I guess even if they dont last long, they will be better than my 7 year old spongy cables for a little while.

The Apex lines were great for a little while. If you've already got them, throw them on and start saving for a new set down the line. Just keep an eye on them and replace them when you feel the need (I guess kind of like any other brake line.)

[HoneyBadgerRy]

And this is why I use Hel Performance braided lines. The best or nothing.

[Ghostt]

On my 500 I have Spiegler line

http://www.spieglerusa.com/brakes/cy...line-kits.html

On my Ninja 250 i went with Venhill

http://www.venhillusa.com/products.html

Also have stainless steel fittings as well.

[verboten1]

I'm guessing your issue is why they were going to give you lines with stainless fittings.

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by Brother Michigan

(I had blue lines with black fittings and they would only offer clear with stainless fittings)

Originally Posted by Brother Michigan

I'm not sure the banjo bolts and fittings were galvanized. They didn't look or feel like galvanized steel when they were new, and Apex doesn't say anything about the materials of the fittings. Either way, I know that copper is less likely to cause galvanic corrosion than other metals that would be used (no aluminum in my PC's water cooling loop!), so I can't imagine it should end up this bad. The stock bolts and fittings didn't look nearly this bad (I still have them), and they were on the bike longer.

Steel banjo bolt & lines with anodised Alu fittings I'm guessing.

It's the same principle Motofool has suggested, the Alu corrodes the steel, rather than copper washers corroding zinc.

The stock lines have steel fittings.

I don't know Galfer, HEL are all steel and never caused a problem on mine.

[Skullz]

I covered mine in techflex, so the pvc covering the lines has not become brittle and cracked, while the ends of the lines have a small amount of normal corrosion they have not turned into rust, just the normal tarnish you expect when leaving a bike out in the elements 365 a year. They have performed exactly as they were expected to do, and i'm quite happy with the results.

[Flying]

Originally Posted by Skullz

I covered mine in techflex, so the pvc covering the lines has not become brittle and cracked, while the ends of the lines have a small amount of normal corrosion they have not turned into rust, just the normal tarnish you expect when leaving a bike out in the elements 365 a year. They have performed exactly as they were expected to do, and i'm quite happy with the results.

Just curious, what techflex product have you used? I'm looking into UV resistant coverings for wiring and hoses atm.

[Skullz]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230521716633...S:1120&vxp=mtr

Looks good and lasts a long time.