Tag Archives: R1

CoreMoto Brake Lines: From AIMExpo to My Bike

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One vendor I was particularly looking out for at this year’s AIMExpo 2014 was CoreMoto, primarily known for their custom brake lines.  I have heard many positive reviews from different people, and being from Florida, many residents choose CoreMoto because they are local.  I even had the opportunity to meet the owner during Bike Week a few years ago and he was very interested in building and selling a great product, not just another knockoff of what works.

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Brake lines are pretty simple.  The OEM lines are generally rubber which allow flex and expansion of the lines and ultimately leads to performance degradation over time.  Stainless steel braided lines don’t expand under pressure and offer a more linear feel throughout the pull.  They are simply more predictable and reliable.

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Other than just using good materials, it’s difficult to make a brake line that stands out from the crowd, but CoreMoto manages to do just that.  With a huge assortment of color options for the fittings, logo tags, and brake lines, you get to have your choice of exactly how they will look and match your bike’s color scheme.

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I have Goodridge lines for my R1, and they are a good quality brake line, but that’s where it ends.  CoreMoto adds all of the extra line stiffeners, rubber fittings, etc to make them fit properly for your specific application.

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I recently fitted them to my 2014 Suzuki DR-Z400SM supermoto after seeing that specific application advertised at their AIMExpo booth.  It looked great in the picture, and looks great in person as well.  They shipped in a long package due to the front line stiffener for MX based motorcycles, and included all necessary hardware…and a few stickers.  (I don’t know why anyone doesn’t add free stickers to every item sold).  The instructions were complete and even showed how to adjust the fittings properly (without voiding the lifetime warranty) if they didn’t quite line up, but mine did so I had no issue.

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After installing the lines and filling with my personal favorite, Motul RBF600 Synthetic DOT 4 Brake Fluid, I was ready to test them out.  I was instantly impressed.  Both front and rear brake feel increased considerably, as expected, over the OEM rubber lines.  No leaks or imperfections.  A great looking and great performing product from an American company.

I certainly recommend CoreMoto brake lines when considering your next purchase, you won’t be disappointed!

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AIMExpo 2014 Race Bikes: Sykes, Hayes, and Rossi

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One of the greatest sights at any expo, convention, or race event is the opportunity to see the pure racing machines up close.  The ability to take in every nuance of the machines from any angle you want.  Not just restricted to the views given by TV and print coverage.  Especially the GP prototype bikes that you can’t simply go to a dealership or a track day to see a similar setup.

Though they may not be the machines that are currently being ridden by the associated riders, they are probably a previous year’s model or a very close replica.  Either way, you can still see the same exact parts that are on the track with the current running setups.

Valentino Rossi – Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP

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MotoGP bikes are impressive.  Basically the Formula1 equivalent for motorcycles, they are fast and ultra light.  Also, with prototype parts and electronics, they are also quite expensive (Honda’s RC213V gearbox is a million dollar unit alone!).  I’m always impressed seeing the massive amount of custom carbon fiber bits.  The rear sprockets are so thin that it’s incredible how they can withstand the 250+ horsepower over a race length.  Massive and thick carbon front brakes to bring them down from 210+mph to corner entry speeds.  Exposed dry clutches.  And of course, the best available suspension components from companies like Ohlins, and the Brembo brake calipers that can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.  Valentino Rossi

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The GP bikes are certainly a sight to behold for any race fan.

Josh Hayes – AMA Pro Superbike Champion – Monster Graves Yamaha YZF-R1

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Being an R1 owner myself, I personally love to see what modifications the teams make and what might be available to install on my own bike.  Unlike MotoGP, Superbike and Supersport series rules generally keep the motorcycles moderately close to the bike you can purchase from the showroom floor.  Of course they have a ton of development and fine tuning, but most components can be bought by anybody for the right price. Josh Hayes is a dominant force in American roadracing, so it’s always great to see what he is riding.

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Tom Sykes – FIM World Superbike Champion – Kawasaki ZX-10R

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Last but certainly not least, the Kawasaki ZX-10R of Tom Sykes, the reigning 2014 World Superbike champion.  World Superbike is the top series that still races homologated motorcycles that are based in the showroom customer models.

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As my favorite race series to watch due to the close and competitive nature of the teams, I was happily surprised to see the ZX-10R race bike on display.  Valentino Rossi is arguably the most popular motorcycle racer in history, so of course his bike is always a crowd pleaser.  And Josh Hayes is the current American series champion, so it is locally relevant.  But World Superbike is not as popular in the United States unfortunately.  Hopefully that will change soon because the races are certainly exciting, plus we have an American race at Laguna Seca in California to see them up close in person.

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Unfortunately that was the extent of the official race machinery at the AIMExpo this year, but it was a great improvement and increase in manufacturers over its inaugural year in 2013.

Whose bike would you like to see up close?  Let us know in the Comments below!