I am frequently asked exactly what information I need to be able to make up Stainless Steel flexible braided brake & clutch hoses to your individual requirements. Here is a brief introduction to what you need to do:-

Ok, is it a bike or a car, I'll deal with cars first, bikes are further down the page, but please do read the end of the article after the bikes section as there is further general information.

We need to establish what fittings you have on the ends of your hoses, sometimes I can identify the fittings just from the make, model & year, so if in doubt, give me a shout!

In the vast majority of cases for any prodction car built after the early 80's these will be M10 x 1.0 threads & will be a male fitting on the outboard end of the hose, if that's the case it doesn't matter if it has a convex or concave end as our male swivels are made to fit both, your existing pipes will probably have fixed ends, I normally supply a swivel for the outboard end as it makes them much easier to fit. On a few (mainly Japanese) vehicles they use a banjo fitting to the caliper, on a very, very few (VAG only) they use a 12mm banjo, no problem with either of these I have both in stock. If it's earlier than 80's then it will be 3/8 x 24 thread - again usually male at the outboard end & again no prob, our universal swivels will do the job on a caliper or a wheel cylinder. Both banjo's & male swivels can be supplied bent at anything up to 90 degrees see the bike section for bends & sweeps on banjo's. If the pipes are for a kitcar then just think about what the calipers & wheel cylinders are from & what age & the same procedure can be followed.

Ok, so, now the inboard end - this is a little more difficult, but bear with me & we'll sort it out.
First is it male or female? We'll deal with male first, does the male end secure to the frame or panelling of the vehicle with a nut? If so then you want a male bulkhead fitting which we supply complete with a new stainless steel securing nut. If not then it must be secured by the female fitting it attaches to, in which case either a swivel or fixed male fitting can be used, occaisionally the inboard end may go direct to a T piece or similar fitting, if this is the case we just need to know how it is sealed, if it is a short male end sealed with a copper washer to the flange then we have a suitable short male to do the job, if it seals on the end of the thread in the normal way then a swivel will do the job.
Ok, it's a female, is it secured to the frame or panelling of the vehicle? - if so it can be circlipped or held with a large nut, again we have both fittings from stock, inside the fitting the actual sealing end can be either concave (as tho' it has been drilled out with a normal drill bit) or convex (has a raised "nipple" at the base of the hole where it seals, again we can supply either. Finally it may not be secured to the frame at all but simply threads onto a fixed male fitting, again we need to know whether its seal is convex or concave, but we can supply a suitable fixed or swivel fitting as required.

With regard to banjo fittings I can supply single or double banjo bolts in stainless steel in any of the 3 common threads. 12mm are more of a problem & you may have to use your original bolts or obtain them from the main agent, but if you know the thread size let me know, I can supply some M12.

Finally, with regard to the car options there is a third thread which is not in common use but was used on older (pre '80's) Fiats, Lancias & their derivatives such as Lada, Yugo, FSO etc. This is again an M10 thread but is 1.25mm pitch (very common on motorcycles) again we have most fittings available.

Ok - moving onto bikes now. In many ways more straigforward, but with a few idiosyncrasies of their own.

The vast majority of motorcycle brake hoses use banjos fittings at both ends. Where they differ from the car applications is that they are frequently bent or swept at the ends. So, what's a bend & what's a sweep? If you imagine placing the banjo union on a table or similar surface so the circle is placed flat against the surface with the stem below it so when looking at it it looks a bit like a lollipop on a stick. If you now bend the "stick" of the banjo towards or away from you this is what I am referring to if I say the union is bent, it doesn't matter if the bend is toward or away from you as the union can be rotated within the end of the hose even after fitting - more of that later. If, however the "bend" goes to one side or the other, ie to left or right, again the direction doesn't matter, then this is what I am referring to if I say the banjo is swept. So a sweep is to the left or right & a bend is towards or away, in both cases the angle can be anything from 10 - 90 degrees. The banjos can also be bent & swept & now it does make a difference whether the bend is towards or away & the sweep is to the right or left as when rotated it will not be reversed when turned thro' 180 degrees. So, to ensure we are all singing off the same hymn sheet with the banjo circle flat & at the top (lollipop) a 20/20 bend & sweep to the right would bend the stem of the banjo toward you & to the right hand side, a 20/60 left would be still bend 20 degrees toward you but sweeping 60 degrees to the left. The exact direction & angle is rarely critical, it is usually just to get clearance past other items in the vicinity.

In the vast majority of cases (Most Japanese, recent British & many Italian) bikes & scooters use the coarser M10 x 1.25mm thread for the banjo bolts, some Suzuki, older Yamaha and some Italian use the M10 x 1.0mm thread & older (pre '80's) British bikes use the 3/8 x 24 UNF - I have all 3 from stock in single & double banjo bolts.

On some clutch lines & very occasionally on brake lines, male & female fittings are used, these are similar to those described in the car section & again are normally available from stock.

General Info:-

When measuring up lines it is best to give a measurement from tip to tip, or with banjos from centre to centre. If you are trying to measure up for a new line then it's best to use something fairly rigid like curtain wire, electrical cable, washing line or washer tubing to follow the proposed route of the hose, don't forget to allow for steering to full lock in each direction & also for full bump & droop on the suspension.

When fitting aftermarket calipers, Willwood, for instance, have an unusual thread, it is a 27 x 1/8 NPT tapered (an American thread) for these applications I can supply a male/male adapter in blue anodised aluminium which converts the female thread in the caliper to a male 3/8 x 24 UNF which unions are readily available for.

Some Wilwood master cylinders use a 7/16 female fitting for which I can supply a male/male adapter to accept a 7/16 female fitting which we also have from stock.

Some modern car brake lines, Japanese ones particulary have special, model specific female ends with circlip location, we can supply many of these, Toyota & Mitsubishi for instance, for others alternative fittings may be suitable, so it's always worth asking.

Stainless Braided hoses are suitable for all applications & uses, I have supplied complete hose sets for many Kitcars , Racecars etc. it is perfectly suitable for piping the whole braking system & is far more attractive, durable,, hard wearing & long lasting than copper or steel pipes.

Many specialist fittings are available such as 8mm unions & cam oil feed lines on bike cylinder heads, I have supplied hoses for pit bikes quad bikes & anything from Classics to Grasstrackers - if you have an unusual requirement it's always worth asking!

Dominator Headlamps

The Dominator headlamp has been around for about15 years now, but the Kitcar market has been slow to make use of them. They've been fitted to motorbikes & well known in the bike trade for most of that 15 years & are still immensley popular now. The lenses are  just over 90mm & they measure approx 105mm across the diameter of the casing, hence smaller, lighter & less wind resistance than any other "traditional style" headlamp available - though not as small as the Projector lamps I sell.

Because they were originally intended for motorcycle use the headlamp pattern is basically flat. I was told by my SVA tester on 22/12/08 that a flat beam is completely legal in the UK, I believe it is the British/American beam pattern. In the new IVA regs it has been made quite clear that a flat beam pattern IS acceptable. However, most Mot testers expect to see a “kickup” to the left. If you look at the beam closely, it is in fact a shallow angle “V” which if you rotate the lamp by 15 degrees gives the required “kickup” for the standard UK beam pattern.

Hence, remove the lens & file a new slot about 12-13mm to the right (when viewed from the front) to locate the lens.