HEL Braided Hoses (warning)

[JASONBC]

I put VENHILL lines on my EC250, they are the only lines i've ever seen where the hose screws into the Banjo's at both ends. Wish i just took the line or the bike to my local bikeshop, that way they could have made me a set of goodridge lines while i waited. Then i could have took them home and fitted them.

There's just someting that i trust more in fittings which have been crimped to the hose instead of screwed together

 

[Canuck]

Read their web site...

Not exactly care into each line

They DO claim 100% reliability

They don't replace (for me anyway) blame damage, fitting or even the bloody postman! Stick it in better packaging then dickheads

I agree... totally unacceptable and I'd never use them again.. in fact... I need a new front line on my gsa... and because of this I'll just turn right instead of left and get goodridge to make it up... its' nice having both companies so close to home.

I'm a big believer in customer service. If I feel a business was crap... I'll never use them again even if I then have to go out of my way to find someone else offering a smililar product... maybe its just being stubborn but I hate giving money to ... well... idiots... can't think of a better word.

 

[Canuck]

I put HEL lines on my EC250, they are the only lines i've ever seen where the hose screws into the Banjo's at both ends. Wish i just took the line or the bike to my local bikeshop, that way they could have made me a set of goodridge lines while i waited. Then i could have took them home and fitted them.

There's just someting that i trust more in fittings which have been crimped to the hose instead of screwed together

Do they screw in? I thought they were crimped and that is what has possibly gone wrong on the the aforementioned lines...

You can swivel the banjos... but I'm pretty sure they are crimped onto the line... but I could be wrong.

 

[forest biker]

Do they screw in? I thought they were crimped and that is what has possibly gone wrong on the the aforementioned lines...

You can swivel the banjos... but I'm pretty sure they are crimped onto the line... but I could be wrong.

Im sure mine was crimped , or was that the new goodridge one's im thinking of ? , probably still got them in the garage somewhere to remind me of my experience as you said earlier though i wonder if it was a batch what went wrong !!

 

[AndrewD]

I agree... totally unacceptable and I'd never use them again.. in fact... I need a new front line on my gsa... and because of this I'll just turn right instead of left and get goodridge to make it up... its' nice having both companies so close to home.

I'm a big believer in customer service. If I feel a business was crap... I'll never use them again even if I then have to go out of my way to find someone else offering a smililar product... maybe its just being stubborn but I hate giving money to ... well... idiots... can't think of a better word.

Agreed, but this is more than that. Poor customer service is not refunding a purchase quickly or failing to reply to emails.

This is more a 'duty of care' failure at best possibly criminally negligent if an accident was to occur.

Bit of Googling beyond the usual adverts...

http://www.civiclife.net/board/topic/78077-attention-all-hel-brake-line-users/

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/125747-warning-h-e-l-brake-line-sheared-off-nearly-crashed.html

 

[monkeyboy]

Do they screw in? I thought they were crimped and that is what has possibly gone wrong on the the aforementioned lines...

You can swivel the banjos... but I'm pretty sure they are crimped onto the line... but I could be wrong.

Looks like they're crimped. There is no screw thread in the fitting.

I DID wonder a bit when I handled the line. The banjo in question could be rotated very easily by hand but looking at the male part of the fitting, this is obviously deliberate. The other banjos were extremely stiff to rotate however - I hope I've not damaged them by rotation but I'm pretty sure they're OK.

They're going to send me another line tomorrow so hopefully all will end well. They look really nice anyway

 

[gncpr67]

Got my HEL lines back today after having a couple of the fittings changed. Fitted them, bled them, just going to test ride when 'pop', the connection to the handlebar reservoir just burst

These were made up in the Irish franchise. Fecking good job I wasn't riding it! Make sure the lines are made up correctly first time eh I'm sure they'll sort it out but I think I'm going to carry an anchor for a while just in case

Update - they told me the lines were all new,not repaired and that they are pressure tested before they're sent. It's never happened before and I'm sure they're telling the truth as you can't mess about with brakes! My life's fan just seems to be an absolute s*it magnet at the moment!

1. The components do look new..
2. They don't look repaired..
3. The lines have Not been pressure tested!!!

The braided line/banjo fitting have not been "swaged" together this is easily identified by the lack of swage lines upon the ferrule/collar.

An easy check, if you have this type of swaged fitting is to Pull the banjo fitting and see if you can rotate the sleeve prior to fitting! if it moves it will fail

 

[(RIP) DitchWater]

This has all been very interesting because I've had some front brake problems recently and have realised, during my repairs, that the OEM front brake hoses on a R1150GSA are a bit tight.

Now, to clarify a couple of things mentioned above: Crimped hose banjos are NOT normally adjustable. They are a mechanical pressed fitting and unless they have second loose ferule, which I've not encountered, they are are not meant to be rotated. I suppose you might get away with a slight tweak but these assemblies are supposed to be made with the banjo alignment in mind, and even better tailored to the bike.

Secondly, I never had a problem with the Goodridge Build a Line hoses.

 

[DollyRocket]

There was an interview with Mr HEL in RiDE magazine 6 months or so ago where he went in to the quality process and customer service. This is the main reason why I bought HEL lines for my GS 2 months ago.
Perhaps it would be prudent to see if mr HEL wants to take a read of this thread and ask him to respond. If he is passionate about his business and customer service then he would listen to customer comments and publicly allay fears presented on this forum, if he doesn't know about it then he cannot comment and this thread will become a little one-sided.

 

[Canuck]

You can swivel the banjo's on hel lines. Don't ask me how but you can... cause I went back inside to tell them the line didn't fit and was shown how to swivel them.

 

[JASONBC]

Do they screw in? I thought they were crimped and that is what has possibly gone wrong on the the aforementioned lines...

You can swivel the banjos... but I'm pretty sure they are crimped onto the line... but I could be wrong.

Sorry i'm a twat, the hose does screw into the Banjo's but they were VENHILL lines not HEL when i checked. See the photo's you can clearly see th eflats on the banjo's for screwing them to hose.

 

[gncpr67]

The crimped swaged type hoses are required for OEM purposes, these are required to be fitted to a new vehicle supplied by the manufacturer for DOT purposes etc, The threaded types are actually referred as "reusable" and where generally supplied for the aftermarket, swaged type fittings should not be able to swivel by hand! It looks to me that the OP parts have missed the swage process and they have used the 99.9% excuse!

 

[monkeyboy]

The crimped swaged type hoses are required for OEM purposes, these are required to be fitted to a new vehicle supplied by the manufacturer for DOT purposes etc, The threaded types are actually referred as "reusable" and where generally supplied for the aftermarket, swaged type fittings should not be able to swivel by hand! It looks to me that the OP parts have missed the swage process and they have used the 99.9% excuse!

Oh bollocks. Conflicting advice re the swivelling then. On the 3 section hose I had to wrap a cloth round the crimped connector and clamp really really tight with mole grips then swivel ALL the banjos by putting a screwdriver through the banjo. They were very stiff but they were never going to fit as they had been assembled so what do you do?

At least they are all crimped, unlike the blown one. I just can't believe that!

 

[(RIP) DitchWater]

Oh bollocks. Conflicting advice re the swivelling then. On the 3 section hose I had to wrap a cloth round the crimped connector and clamp really really tight with mole grips then swivel ALL the banjos by putting a screwdriver through the banjo. They were very stiff but they were never going to fit as they had been assembled so what do you do?

At least they are all crimped, unlike the blown one. I just can't believe that!

Things that are designed to be manually adjusted tend not to require the...

...really really... and ...very stiff...

...approach.

It just doesnt sound right to me. The aforementioned Venhill's and Goodridge's have the hex clamp to close the joint and allow for the radial adjustment.

I presume the HEL's are going to be sent back.

 

[monkeyboy]

Things that are designed to be manually adjusted tend not to require the...



...approach.

It just doesnt sound right to me. The aforementioned Venhill's and Goodridge's have the hex clamp to close the joint and allow for the radial adjustment.

I presume the HEL's are going to be sent back.

I'll fit the replacement hose and see what gives. As others have said, they produce a LOT or hoses without incident so I'll have to convince myself they're safe this time. Never again though!

 

[I of the Strom]

Hel of a risk

A number of years ago I fitted Hel's to my DL1000, they were very tight in length and the banjos were very awkward to align, they worked but I was always aware of their limitations (in my opinion). I eventually replaced them with Goodridge for peace of mind. When it came to fitting new lines to my 1100GS there was no hesitation to fit Goodridge, and as before, both length and alignment were exact. We are talking about components that must be as near perfect as is humanly possible, ie, the manufacturing systems management and product quality assurance must be to 6 sigma and black belted - 1 in a 1000 (99.997%) is just not good enough. After all operational failure will cost lives.

 

[Puffin]

For my 1100GS i just asked for them to make the top hose Longer. They are too tight/short originally from BMW

 

[jonesai]

First class service from HEL

I sent away my old hoses off to HEL in Exeter, around 500 miles away from my humble abode, on a Monday lunchtime and the new ones were returned on Wednesday of the same week.
Brilliant service as far as I am concerned. New lines fitted,brakes bled and all working fine. 10 out of 10 for HEL from me

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

I sent away my old hoses off to HEL in Exeter, around 500 miles away from my humble abode, on a Monday lunchtime and the new ones were returned on Wednesday of the same week.
Brilliant service as far as I am concerned. New lines fitted,brakes bled and all working fine. 10 out of 10 for HEL from me

Great, but based on previous posters experiences, just don't pull the brakes on to hard, or "pop" goes the pipe!

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

Got my HEL lines back today after having a couple of the fittings changed. Fitted them, bled them, just going to test ride when 'pop', the connection to the handlebar reservoir just burst
.....
Update - they told me the lines were all new,not repaired and that they are pressure tested before they're sent. It's never happened before and I'm sure they're telling the truth as you can't mess about with brakes! My life's fan just seems to be an absolute s*it magnet at the moment!

Are they iso9001 ?

If so - ask to see a copy of the test certificate for your pipes

if not - ask anyway.

ps - i always used to get Goodridge in Exeter to send me the pipes as a collection of parts and make them myself - easily done