Sean
In the interests of balance and only so thats not exactly the case. HEL actually fit a lot of lines to race bikes. Theres loads of race teams they supply from MotoGP through to the triumph triple challenge,
Dave, I'm not gonna deny HEL supply some race bikes - but they categorically do NOT supply MotoGP teams (OK, I'll be pedantic - HEL braided steel brake lines are not FITTED to MotoGP bikes).
And I'll come back to 'race bikes' in general later in the post.
I've recently come away from goodridge to HEL for a number of reasons. HEL ONLY supply lines with stainless fittings,
Fairy-nuff on the full stainless issue. BSR are also full stainless steel (and BSR have the advantage of 'two-part' end fittings - meaning you can align the hoses much more accurately).
all the lines are teflon lined and not PTFE like the vast majority of OEM lines.
You plonker - you have just made a right blooper. Teflon and PTFE are identical - Teflon is just the trademarked common consumer name for poly-tetra-flouro-ethylene - or PTFE!
So steel braided hoses offer no advantages over OEM rubbers on that issue then!
On their own they wont make as much difference as say a pad upgrade but not doing them when spending hundreds of pounds on brakes always seems like buying a ticket to Lime Street and getting off at Edge Hill.
I don't agree. I have the factory upgraded ceramics on my RS4 - and they have the rubber hoses. And the R8 V10 with ceramics has rubber hoses, as does the V10 twin-turbo RS6 with ceramics, and the V10 S8 ceramics . . . . seems to be a pattern - even with some of the most technically advanced brakes - ie ceramics - there is categorically no need for externally steel braided hoses.
But again, I will re-iterate my POV on the 'asthetics' issue - yes, they do
look good, and if you want to fit them based on their looks - then I'm 100% fine by that.
In addition sometimes we dont have a choice, if you are for example looking for a Mk5 suitable hose to say fit some porsche calipers then the only OEM hose that might fit might be the ones from the RS6 or R8 they're too long and would more than likely be more expensive.
Ahhhhh - that is a very different issue. And yes, I'd fully back you up there on that particular point.
I'm with you though generally - you see a load of lads on the Mk4 forum who think nothing of spending 50 quid on some braided hoses and then not bother changing the fluid on schedule, sometimes the way they talk they imagine like theirs an egg shaped bubble in the line when they press the pedal 
So the same sort of bull$hit which dubtek was trying to peddle!
from the website regarding the IOM TT: if you go to HEL performance website and then MEDIA there's loads more instances...
We have supplied many of the top riders and teams on the islands and have taken results with Dunlop, McGuinness, Laverty, Martin, Hutchinson, Donald, Amor, Farquhar, Lougher and are very fortunate to have both Maria Costello MBE and Jenny Tinmouth - both amazingly talented riders and mixing it at the front of the field. This year, just like 2009, was a great year for HEL Performance on the Island and included:
Senior TT | two podiums | eight top ten | fourteen top twenty | 65% of the field
Superbike TT | two podiums | nine top ten | fifteen top twenty | 66% of the field
Superstock Race | two podiums | eight top ten | thirteen top twenty | 63% of the field
Supersport Race 1 | two podiums | six top ten | thirteen top twenty | 56% of the field
Supersport Race 2 | two podiums | six top ten | twelve top twenty | 55% of the field
Five Fastest Lap | Fastest Female | Ten Podiums | Most Successful Brake Line On The Island
Righty - back to the 'motorbike' issue(s).
Firstly, with the greatest of respects to those who race on the 'island', the vast majority are NOT top-tier professional race teams (such as MotoGP, World Superbikes, or even British Superbikes). Many IoM entrants are privateer 'hobby' types (similar to one of my neighbors who race preps production bikes for track days - he is a supposedly qualified vehicle mechanic - yet he serviced his mates Audi A3 1.8 20vT with mineral oil!
). To prove my point - what hoses does Michael Rutter (BSB rider) use? And what about all the other 'factory' supported BSB teams who go to the island????. No, most of the IoM teams/riders will simply get sucked into the same BS about rubber lines bulging. I re-iterate the MotoGP issue - MotoGP bikes do NOT use steel braided brake lines - they use a kevlar/nylon/plastic type hose, and have done so for about 6-8 years.
Oh, and I don't actually see HEL claiming any silverware from the top steps of the podium.!
Onto the real 'engineeering issues' between cars and motorbikes. An average car such as a Golf has about 8-10 metres of rigid steel brake pipes. And they will generally have a total of less than half a metre of 'flexy' hoses. So on an average car - the 'flexy' hoses generally account for about 5% of the total length of brake fluid system. Onto motorbikes - motorbikes invariably have 100% flexy hoses - ie, the entire connection from the master cylinder to the caliper is a rubber flexy. (This is usually accepted as the norm for rear brakes, but sometimes front brakes may have a metal 'bridge' section for the split between the two calipers). So basically - the 'need' for steel (or similar) braided flexy brake lines is considerably more important on a motorbike than on a car.
Now, onto the 'human interface' issue between bikes and cars. Unless you have had a car specifically adapted for disabled hand controls, then the brakes are applied by a foot. But on a motorbike, the front brakes are applied by hand - the right hand, and invariably just two fingers. Now, speak to any professional expert in the field of human ergonomics, and they will ALL state that the human being has massively more 'sensativity' in the 'mechanics' of operating things by hand, compared to operating the same things by foot (again, there is a very acute and distinct exemption - again disabled, referring to those folks upper limb deformities who use their feet for painting/writing/eating/typing etc). What this means is that a motorcyclists 'brake hand' will be far more able to sense any 'bulging' (perceived or actual) in flexy brake hoses - compared to the numbed senses of the car drivers right booted foot. To back up this issue, look at the many detractors of the DSG gearbox, and the particular issue of the 'kickdown' in manual mode - the kickdown switch is a very definate 'step' on the throttle pedal - yet these peeps can't seem to operate the throttle pedal, with the required foot dexterity, to wide open throttle without also mashing the kickdown switch. A bikers hand is massively more sensative to the potential of bulging brake hoses compared to a dumb car driver!
