WARNING: Legend LC repro brake hoses unsafe.

[JonW]

Ive mentioned before (and yes Dan from Legend is fully aware of my comments) that the LC repro brake hoses (green passivated ends as seen on ebay) from Legend are junk and today that has been proved beyond doubt.

I fitted these almost 2 years back to one of my LCs and noticed that they were 'warty', ie the surface was bumpy, when i fitted them. This pointed to them being not well made, certainly not up to the standard of the other repro brake hoses on the market.

Today I was looking the bike over and part of that is inspecting the hoses and when manipulating them I noticed that they felt 'funny'; "Sort of clammy". This feeling reminded me of when you fit the wrong type of hose from the reservoir to the master cylinder and it 'sweats'. If you touch this moisture it feels different to a dry hose as brake fluid is almost astringent.

Why is this moisture there? What is happening is that brake fluid is passing through the pores of the hose and you have little bumps of fluid (where its pooled under surface tension I guess) now on the outside. You can test this with some tissue, you will see the fluid that should not be there is transferred to the tissue paper.

That transfer of fluid was the same on all 3 hoses, yet the system isnt leaking from some bad joint or seal etc.

In fact when using a tissue it came off a little dirty which probably means the rubber is breaking down.

Of course, if brake fluid can get out, air can get in and this will render the brake system useless as brake fluid takes on the water from the air and this also rots the steel parts of the system, and of course brake fluid coming out is bad in lots of ways...

Brake fluid is wrong? nope... Dot 3 as spec'd. Yam systems of this age are Dot3, not 4.

So for completeness, these are Chinese made and I fear not actually a brake hose. Do not confuse them with hoses you bought from Norbo or Yambits who source their brake hoses from a well known uk supplier who makes hoses for classic cars.

I also tested hoses I bought form yambits and they are fine. no sweating and no warty bumps.

I suggest if you have these fitted that you at the very least test them for sweating. Although I wills say that a set of decent quality replacements is cheaper than the unthinkable happening...

So, there you have it. I tested these Legend units and sadly they are resoundingly a waste of money and I believe are actually dangerous. DO NOT FIT THEM.

[JonW]

Over 200 views on the premier RDLC forum... and not one other person reporting similar findings?

Was I really the only idiot to try these?

[oldbritguy]

I have always been wary of fitting any aftermarket brake components On both cars and bikes and always avoided the cheaper end of the market for obvious reasons.
I fitted a set of Yambits hoses to my LC a couple of years back and they have been very good and as you say well made. This I shared with the members.
Legends like other after market parts suppliers have both good and not so good parts for sale. Most stuff nowadays comes from China and again is a mixed bag of good and poor with everything and extremes in between. It seems unbelievable there is limited or no control on the import and sale of such parts which could result in serious injury or worse to the individual fitting them.
I personally listen and learn from feedback like this and make my own mind up on whether to fit such items to my own machines, or try and source genuine parts or good UK or European made parts.
Similarly if I come across parts which are utter garbage I will quickly share that knowledge as soon as I realise.
As always, a bit of research and shopping around will get you a decent product, maybe not the cheapest but something which is fit for purpose and should last a long time
John

[JonW]

Exactly, John. Always research before you buy or you'll have to repent at your leisure.

A wise (burned?) man once said 'buy cheap, buy twice'. Someone had to try new products and this time it was me. I put my money were my mouth was and I defo got singe'd.

Cos of that I dont want any of my mates on here to do the same. Apparently the rest of you were way more sensible than me and already knew that this brand has parts that are often problematical with products being made in china to a price. That is great news to hear, wasting money is not fun and even worse when its something that dangerous.

I do agree tho, it's galling that rubbish brake components can be sold. I'm not sure what standard these hoses say they confrom to, but whatever it is its not true. No true certification would allow them to be used for brakes with the wrong type of rubber. Of course in China they can make products that state 'made in Japan' or 'XYZ standard' without fear of being caught for it. That is very worrying.

Anyway, my warning is up here for all to see and I hope it saves people the hassle, expense and worry. Right now my advice is to only buy from reputable suppliers who have their brake hoses made in the UK.

[sbscnor]

Jon, interesting the last set of replica hoses I got of Norbo and had no problem. I have been looking at there LC replica looms and wonder how good they are has anyone used/got one any feed back on them anyone.

[JonW]

Yes, these are not to be confused with the ones from norbo and yambits etc. Those are uk made.

Well, someone else can put their money into testing the loom if they like.