My '75 FXE rear brake caliper takes a male 3/8 24 pitch fitting. The rear master cylinder takes a 3/8 24 pitch flare fitting with nut.

I ordered a Russell stainless braided rear brake line for my '75 FXE, and the line was waaaaay long (34.5 inches) for the application. Plus, the caliper end fitting didn't fit into the caliper. I mic'd the fittings and the caliper end threads were an extra 2mm in diameter vs. the flare nut threads. No way was it going in.

I took it to a local brake shop who indicated that they could fix it. They cut off the excess, then added a 5/16 brass fitting that fits into the caliper, and added a flared fitting and nut to the caliper hose end that goes inside the brass fitting. Not building a rat or steam punk rod, so that isn't going to fly.

Do the 71 - 72 FX or the 78 - 81 FX use the same caliper and master cylinder fittings?

Per the attached Russell information, the 71-72 and 78-81 rear lines are the right length. If the fittings are the same, I'll order one of those. And hopefully the caliper fitting won't be so far out of spec.

Makes me wonder if someone at Russell might have fat-fingered the entry for the FXE hose length, and those who order one get to figure what to do with an extra foot of brake hose.

 

Been a while since I ordered brake lines, but when I did the rear line on my FXWG I was not doing a stock set up. (Put footboards an MC from a softtail) If I remember right, The end fittings are ordered separately from the hose. I just used a length of flexible wire for the routing and length and ordered that. I only had to go from the MC to my frame tee (hydraulic brake light switch). Not sure of your FXE setup.