Yesterday, I had the opportunity to ride my neighbor's mid 1980s Kawasaki Vulcan. I just took it for a quick ride through the neighborhood. He just got it up and running again and was proud of his work, and wanted to share his excitement.

In any event, I realize the Vulcan is lighter than my Dyna, and has double disc front brakes, but DAMN that bike stops a lot better than mine!

My question is, do aftermarket 6 piston front and 4 piston rear brakes greatly improve braking, or are they (for example JayBrake) more for looks? Also, is the the hype regarding Lyndall products justified? No one I know has modified their brakes but now that I've made the bike a lot faster, it might be time to make it stop better too.

Thanks.

 

I changed out my brake pads with american made sintered brake pads that I got at JP cycles online. Made a big difference in the way the bike stops now. Way better than before.
Getting a stainless brake line will help some also.

 

lyndall is the best in the game IMO, do not get sucked into the HD brembo hype it is bullshit... lyndall gold pads will make a big difference, but even doing a conversion and running dual stock calipers/rotors with lyndall pads and braided lines will make a night and day difference... mine i did not want dual to cover my wheels, did lyndall pads, 11.8 floating (stock dyna's have this from 06+) braided lines, and brembo (had to make a caliper bracket) the caliper is about stock, maybe a touch better, def left me wanting more... i am now swapping to a sport bike caliper set up for the 11.8

 

The Jay-6 is a huge improvement... it's not going to stop on a dime but the lever feel is much firmer and I can stop a lot sooner, not that I'm gonna try grab a fistful out nowhere but I definitely feel more in control. Next year I'll be putting Lyndall rotors/pads on it too

 

Thanks, all.

Maybe I'll start with Lyndall rotors and pads before investing in new calipers.

 

Sorry for the hijack; so sintered brakes are better than kevlar? I thought kevlar was better because of heat dispersion.

 

In my experience with my Fat Bob, swapping out the pads and disks made only a small difference - the braking is still crap compared to nearly every other bike I have owned.

The only way you are going to get decent brakes is swapping out the brakes for something better.