Help, what am I doing wrong ? ? ?

[ldrandler]

Dear DragonRiders,

I am in the process of installing the Rattlebars peg lowering kit.  No problem with the shifter side.  The brake side is kicking my butt !  The problem seems to be the large brake line that goes into the top center of the master cylinder.  There are two or more bends in this line.  It also has an extra rubber shield around it covering the bends.  There is no way to get this line straight enough to allow me to move the peg to the fartherest forward position.  I did remove the little 10 Mm bolt and wire clamp that held one of the lines in place.  There is a note and picture (not very clear) in the instructions about getting the lines into a certain position and bundling them together with the wire tire.  I don't think that is do-able with out getting rid of those bends.  Do I remove the extra rubber cover over the bends area ?  If I do, will the brake line underneath straighten out ?  Or is that brake line formed with bends in it too ?  Sorry, guys, but I'm not enough of a tech to attach a picture with this.  Surely, someone has already done this install already and knows how to make it work.  Really stuck here and would appreciate detailed instrutions.  Thanks in advance, Duke

[OverdueBill]

Did mine a couple months ago and just went to look at it.  As far as I can see, the lines just stretch out enough to make it.  The rubber cover stays on the brake line.  I just pulled it into place.  I read on the old postings that some had to really struggle to stretch it into place.  Mine went with just a little effort.  Check to see if there is any slack further back in the brake line that you can pull forward to help.  But it seems that it needs a good strong pull to fit.  I would be hesitant to really gorilla it into place but may be needed.  Good luck.  Oh yeah, the kit really helps to get a better position so it is worth the effort.

[ldrandler]

Thanks for the info.  I am surprised that it took over 117 views of this post to get a response.  I would have thought this was a pretty common mod.  I must admit that I am not at all comfortable with stretching a hydraulic brake like that hard or far.  That is what caused me to create this post in the first place.  I am going to send an e-mail to Rattlebars tech support for what I hope is the final answer. 

[Divot]

Not sure I can be much help on this other than to give you hope that it does or should work.  I installed one of these kits on my Std. a couple months ago and it went on rather easily.  I don't recall any real problem with "stretching" the brake lines to make them reach the new position, although they were pretty much maxed out.  I followed the simple, but I thought clear and concise, directions and all went well.  The biggest problem I found was I needed to modify the shift lever after the install.  I took and put a "Z" bend in it to shorten it and move it out away from the engine to match the new offset of the footpeg.  I was a little worried about breaking the lever whilst bending it, but found you can easily bend it in a vise with a crescent wrench and a hammer to get the bend you need.  Good luck.   

[Thunderbolt]

to get it to fit.  I seem to remember taking out the bolt you mentioned, and that the line is tight, but never has given a problem since the install.

[Trynt]

I had the same problem.  The line would just reach, but I didn't like the idea of having it stretched that tight.  So I cut the line and inserted a flared metal tube to extend it about an inch. I then covered the metal tube with some black plastic looming.

[ldrandler]

Dear Dragonriders,

I have sent an e-mail to Rattlebars and am awaiting a reply. In the meanwhile, I have spoken to my ace auto mechanic where I work.  While he doesn't know diddly about a motorcycle, he has been turning wrenches for 40 yeats and has a vast knowledge of how things with motors work.  I expressed my concerns to him, particularly about the hydralic line with the extra rubber shield over it thru the curves.  He tell me he has NEVER seen a formed rubber brake line.  And that the extra cover is just to protect from chaffing.  So I get home tonight and take a really good look at the line that is causing me all the concern.  It is not a pressure line, it simply feeds brake fluid from the reservor to the rear master cylinder.  So I'm thinking that I can just cut off (carefully) that extra curved guard and the rubber line underneath should be long enough, once the curves are gone, to allow me to finish the install.  I am going to have my mechanic actually look at it tommorrow to see if he agrees with me or not.  Worse come to worse, I can simply replace the rubber line with a longer one.  Thanks again for everyone's input !