Do Brake Hoses have a "Shelf Life"?

[Descolada]

Do brake hoses have a "shelf-life"?

During the natural life span of a motorcycle, brake hoses get changed for various reasons - natural wear and tear, perception of performance, accidental damage etc.

But is there a point, an age your bike get's to where it is generally accepted that you should change your brake hoses (much as you would with brake fluid or coolant, spark plugs or the air filter for example) ?

[UK_Vstrom650]

I think I read in my manual to replace them every four years (rubber hoses) due to wear and tear. Not sure how many get changed then though, usually only if cracks/bulges appear. I think braided don't have this issue.

[Hondaman]

I'm sure there is a suggested replacement interval, I've had quite a few bikes over 20yrs with oe rubber hoses & they've been fine.
Just inspect them fro cracks/blebs and stuff.

Phil

[joderest]

Odd, I was just going to ask a question regarding this.
My front brake has a sort of "creaking feel" when pulled, I thought it was just the lever was a bit dry so put some oil on the joint, gave it a few pumps and all seemed well, until next day. I now wonder if there is some air or something else wrong, brake works OK, just difficult to apply smoothly, as lever seems to judder a bit.
Could this just be a rebleed required (something I have not yet done).
I have rebleed the rear, did not make any difference to performance, I think I need new EBC pads to replace the "non-make" ones that were there when I bought it.

[Descolada]

Odd, I was just going to ask a question regarding this.
My front brake has a sort of "creaking feel" when pulled ..

Interesting, my rear brake does something similar - it feels like it "crunches" in the last few mm of depression. I have checked the piston in the caliper for signs of seizing / rust etc and it looks fine. I service my brakes very regularly - especially during the Winter months (road salt interaction/damage) so am quite familiar with them. I am considering a brake hose change (at least on the rear) and perhaps a caliper tear-down and seal change based on the issue I had with the rear brake nipple recently (ref here: http://www.v-strom.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=27282).

[Ianmc]

On my last bike(BMW R1100r)I had a front brake hose from the master cylinder collapse internally.The lever  went very soft one morning as if there was air in it.I pumped the lever and it went solid,a piece of the hose had got into the banjo and blocked it leaving me with no front brake.So I ordered a new hose,fitted it and bled the system,great back to normal.I decided I would flush the rear system as the bike was fairly new to me,no problems to bleed but the pedal felt very soft,I gave it a good hard press with my hand and the hose burst all over me and the bike,The internal hose had perished leaving only the external sheath to hold the fluid without any support.Ordered a full set of braided hoses,job done.The moral of the story is,if there is any doubt about brake hoses,renew them.They are much cheaper to buy than a wheelchair ! !

[joderest]

I do agree, funny, that I had that same problem with my BMW, front was bulging when brake applied, fitted new stainless hose, rear developed a leak, then split, bugger of a job to change, as BMW use allen bolts made from cheese for the banjo nut, hence just rounds off as soon as touched. My Method  Cutting wheel in a dremmel, cut the heads off, then used long nose pliers to take the other bit out.
I only hope the banjo bolts on the Suzuki are a bit better, at lest they are hex bolts, so stand a chance.

  The hoses front and rear appear to be good, so I may just try bleeding the system first and see how that goes, changing hoses is not that expensive, and at least I could get rid of the bit across the front mudguard.