Topic: General Brake Advice Please

[Don R]

 I have several running 750's (not all plated) and some stop amazingly quicker than others. If I was sure why, I'd post the recipe, but I don't think we have to accept that these bikes don't stop well because some do.

[Rosinante]

... but I don't think we have to accept that these bikes don't stop well because some do.

My '75 did.

[Rosinante]

That hose looks perfect!

Yeah well....Old Bike Barn now says my order is cancelled because they don't have sufficient inventory.  So I came here to learn about how to measure, what to measure, how to describe end sizes and configurations and then I found this:

When I order from Apex I lay the old hose out on a sheet of scrap cardboard and mark the centre line on both ends and write the actual measurements. I send Raymond an email with a photo, plus photos of the fittings. He always gets it right! They also include the correct banjo bolts and washer. Great Service.

This looks like a very effective way for an idiot like me to get Raymond the information he needs.  Thank you!

[Kelly E]

I use a length of plastic airbag line and route it the way I want it then mark it for custom lengths. It flexes the same as SS brake line. I take it out and measure the length.

[BenelliSEI]

That hose looks perfect!

Yeah well....Old Bike Barn now says my order is cancelled because they don't have sufficient inventory.  So I came here to learn about how to measure, what to measure, how to describe end sizes and configurations and then I found this:

When I order from Apex I lay the old hose out on a sheet of scrap cardboard and mark the centre line on both ends and write the actual measurements. I send Raymond an email with a photo, plus photos of the fittings. He always gets it right! They also include the correct banjo bolts and washer. Great Service.

This looks like a very effective way for an idiot like me to get Raymond the information he needs.  Thank you!

You won’t be disappointed. Raymond is usually pretty quick too. Good luck!

[BenelliSEI]

I use a length of plastic airbag line and route it the way I want it then mark it for custom lengths. It flexes the same as SS brake line. I take it out and measure the length.

Clever….I’ll try this when I measure up the Rickman.

[scottly]

I use a length of plastic airbag line

What is airbag line?

[Kelly E]

I use a length of plastic airbag line

What is airbag line?

It's leftover plastic high pressure air line used on the supply lines for the Firestone airbags on my truck. They can be pressurised to 100psi working pressure.

[bryanj]

Strimmer line would probably work just as well if you can straighten it!

[Stev-o]

Strimmer line would probably work just as well if you can straighten it!

Or any electrical wire, that is what I have used.

[Don R]

 I just pumped a master cylinder apart with a grease gun, one turn on the thread does it. It's a little gooey but way better than driving it out with a drift pin and less chance of damaging it too.
 I won an auction for a set of brand X snap ring tools that had two of the same one so I ground the arms on one of them to fit in the master cylinder. I did get this one out unbroken. 

[scottly]

... but I don't think we have to accept that these bikes don't stop well because some do.

My '75 did.

There is a friction coefficient rating for brake pad compounds. It's a two letter code, with the first letter representing the cold performance, and the second letter representing the hot performance. The lower in the alphabet the letter, the less "grip" the pads have, ranging from E to H. It looks like EBC FA13V pads with a GG rating are the best they have to offer for your caliper, but double-check the fitment.

[Deltarider]

That ^ is useful info; at least I didn't know that. I still have a set of EBC FA13 pads lying around. I found them rather primitive. They sqealed like hell and I haven't used them for long. They also wore unevenly to a degree I'm not used to (see pic). The difference in width (FA13 set), from front to the rear side is 1,3mm. Don't know what to think of that.
If you want to use them, the general advice was IIRC to remove the black paint from the side, to make them fit better and to chamfer (if that's the word) them somewhat.

[rotortiller]

Old post I know. I just did another master cylinder swap out with the stock factory POS. This time I used an old Ninja EX master (mid 90s and later) found on Kawasaki single disc EX 250s and 500s and many more models made by Nissin. It's 1/2" bore and usually sells used for 30 bucks or so. So far it's the best I have found having good travel, feel and most important is improved braking distance. Some 1/2" masters can lack piston travel and pull close to the bars, but not this one. Highly recommended. About 1.2" piston pivot fulcrum with a long hand lever, just what the ancient tank needs to make an old feller happy.

[HondaMan]

Old post I know. I just did another master cylinder swap out with the stock factory POS. This time I used an old Ninja EX master (mid 90s and later) found on Kawasaki single disc EX 250s and 500s and many more models made by Nissin. It's 1/2" bore and usually sells used for 30 bucks or so. So far it's the best I have found having good travel, feel and most important is improved braking distance. Some 1/2" masters can lack piston travel and pull close to the bars, but not this one. Highly recommended. About 1.2" piston pivot fulcrum with a long hand lever, just what the ancient tank needs to make an old feller happy.

Good stuff to know, since lately we are having a bad time trying to get pucks that grip well with the pressures of the OEM masters. Even the "strongest rated" of the EBC pucks have less-than-OEM braking grip today. Ugly problem...