Brakes

[Squashed_Fly]

Riding te CBR600RRs at Silverstone, has made me realise just quite how how crap my brakes are.

Other than fitting braided lines, what else can I do to improve them? The front pads still have a fair bit of material left on them. Would fitting uprated pads (if such things exist?) make a big difference? Can't afford to spend a fortune, but I thought braided lines, pads and new fluid might help, along with a good clean...

[Jon_W]

;D Had the same thing getting on the GS yesterday....

Braded hoses will make a big difference. You need to ensure that the pads disks and calipers and master cylinder are in good condition and that the fluid is fresh. Brake fluid absorbs water over time and looses effect, so if you have old fluid, changing it is a good idea.

also check your suspension is good as this has an effect on the feel of the brakes.

After that, it's different calipers and master cylinders, but this costs money....

[Mitch9128]

Braided lines may help, good pads help, some are better than others. Cleaning definately helps, what calipers are they? I've got dual braided lines on Tokico 6 pots on mine, makes them easier to bleed as well. If you have any doubts about bleeding, get a vacuum bleeder of Ebay, makes it a doddle.

[Scotty]

You've probably got the Tokico 6-piston jobbies haven't you? Never the best calipers in the world, and they are a generation or two old by now, but they can be made to perform acceptably with a spot of tlc.
A good strip and clean as described by Jaa in the Mechanical section would be a start, followed by re-assembling with braided hoses (any reputable brand; Goodridge, HEL etc.), fresh fluid and fresh pads - I'd advise against scrimping and going for "copies" of uncertain origin.. we're talking brakes here - refer to the recent thread on pad choices.
Get the discs checked - are they still above the minimum thickness? (this value will be stamped on the disc carrier) Given that they're probably getting on a bit now they could be getting close to the limit. There are many aftermarket options, some cheaper than others (though it'd be worth getting a price on standard ones as well before choosing) If money were no object I'd always go for Brembo or proper racing discs (running one of the Phase One bikes in the other year, I was staggered by the performance of the Beringer brakes on it - cast iron discs, but possibly not road legal.) There was a test a couple of years ago in Performing Berks in which they decided that wavy discs worked better than standard ones - that's bollocks, the wavy profile has nothing to do with it, no performance advantage at all (seen any on the MotoGP grid? No, thought not ::)) The performance is all to do with the friction coefficient of the disc and pad materials. Cast iron is brilliant, but can suffer cracking and obviously rusts when wet... There may have been a proper comparison done somewhere on aftermarket discs, check Ride mag website for a start.

You could end up spending a disproportionate amount of money if not careful, out of proportion with the bike's value. If your calipers and pistons are clean and free enough they might not need cleaning (take the caliper off and remove the pads - can you press the pistons back in with your fingers?) The easiest route to improvement is pads and hoses, I'd make that your first option.

Jesus, a quick input has turned into bloody War & Peace.... ::) ::) ::)

[Mitch9128]

If you also have the Tokico 6 pots, here's the webs best write up on overhauling http://www.tlzone.net/forums/performance-enhancement/112276-how-overhaul-tokico-six-pot-callipers.html

[Nooj]

There's lots of stuff to do, depends how much you want to spend.

Have a look at some of these Chinese billet levers that are appearing on the market. Quality actually seems quite good! A billet lever will have far less flex than the standard cheapy cast stock items, so more of your squeezing effort goes to the calipers, rather than just bending the lever.

You'll be amazed at the difference a set can make. Combine them with braided lines and decent pads and it should produce a good performance boost while not braking (ha ha!) the bank.

If you want to spend a bit more, try upgrading to better calipers as well as the above (provided you can get some to fit). Used but fully functional calipers on e-bay sometimes go for surprisingly little money.

More expensive again, upgrade the forks. forks from a later bike that has radial calipers may fit your bike.

[Dex]

One of the lads at work had an A1P - he brought it round, we spent an hour or so giving the pistons a good clean and freeing them all up.

Went out for a ride, first red light he pulled up and almost dropped the bike after smacking his nuts on the tank. Laugh? I nearly pissed.

If you want a hand just let me know - on a bike that's not had the pistons cleaned for a while it will be the best £5 braking mod you'll make (the £5 is for a tin of Muc-Off Brake cleaner spray)

More than happy for you to pop round so we can sort it out. I'm around bank hol monday if you wanna bring the brake cleaner, I'll supply the rest and the brews