What's up guys, got a brake question for the forum. I should be getting my tax return any day now and as usual, gonna drop it all on something fun. Right now I have stock rotors, stock calipers, and stainless steel lines on my dual disk front end of my dx. I've seen some different calipers out there and most all of them are 4 piston, seen a beringer 6 piston but if I remember right it was up in the $800 range for a single caliper.

Getting on with it, I want some serious stopping power on the bike without breaking the bank. My first step will be some Galfer floating rotors, but if it's in the budget I would want to go all out and do new pads, rotors, and calipers on the front at the least. What are the opinions on the tokico's that gxsr guys will rip off their bikes? I've heard you can snag those for fairly cheap on ebay and such. Also, what all would be needed to install a set of those on a Harley lower fork?

Possibly going a different route than tokico's, what are some other models that you guys have ran and had great results with?

 

Can't really help with hardware, but don't overlook the tire. Monster brakes are only as good as the tires.

 

Truth! Tires and front suspension is often overlooked when riders go in search of added braking control. The front needs to be firm and planted, not bouncing up and down under heavy braking; that translates in to more control. Harder or worn tires are more easily broken loose under maximum braking; that contact patch is everything.

You need to be able to apply maximum braking but still keep the wheels rotating; kinetic friction is much more effective and will stop you more rapidly than the static friction of a sliding tire. The entire package needs to be working together; upgraded front suspension, tires, braking components, and the rider knowing how to use those upgrades; rider skill is the largest factor in reduced braking distances.

Practice maximum/threshold braking; covered 2 finger braking is an important technique to master. It becomes second nature and does reduce overall braking distances...

 

Speed merchant makes brackets that will go from your forks to the tokico caliper. You can also use just about any other radial caliper that is 108mm bolt spacing. I chose to use calipers of a Yamaha R6. They are a cheap and easy upgrade over the stock calipers. As others have said it's only part of an upgrade. Suspension and tires are part of the braking system as well as is a good master cylinder. You should look at the entire package before making any final decision.

 

So the front suspension has already been addressed, only a couple months ago I shelled out the cash to get new rear shocks and have Racetech rebuild the front end. They put new springs and gold valves and resealed everything so the front end is strong now and tuned for my riding. After that was taken care of I noticed a HUGE improvement in the dive on the front end. Before the front was so soggy it would damn near bottom out when I had to grab the front real hard but now there is only some brake dive if I am really slowing it down to stop at a light. I've had rider courses before and read a lot on the two finger braking and it has made a big difference in my riding. I am looking to step up the performance of my bike though. The front tire I'm running is only a few month old Michelin commander 2. I'm not sure how that one stacks up in braking compared to others but I've seen so many of them that I can't imagine they are too bad.

As far as components for this upgrade though, if I were to go with something like a performance machine or brembo caliper would I need a new master? I already have the dual disk setup and saw another forum where a guy kept his master and seemed to work fine. Brakes are all pretty new to me though, I've never really thought about the upgrade til the front end was rebuilt. Before I was always worried about holding onto the bike as it jammed the nose into the ground but now that it's firm up front it makes me notice the difference much more.

 

You probably wont "need" a new master. A higher quality master will improve lever feel and allow you to modulate the braking force better. For me it was night and day at the lever when I went from the stock master to a Brembo radial master. They also in general take less lever pull for braking force. That would make the two finger braking in the video above easier to do. In some cases you can get away with 1 finger braking.

 

I googled brembo radial master cylinder and do not see where I can buy one for my Harley?

 

OPP racing is the current US distributor.

This is what Im using on a single disc application.

https://www.oppracing.com/product_di...r-1-handlebar/

This is what I'm going to when I have the cash for the rest of the dual disc conversion

https://www.oppracing.com/product_di...or-1-inch-bar/

Kurvey girl can probably get them too but they would get it from OPP.

If you have the canbus system like my bike the brake switch is not a plug and play. You need to make one. I got mine from https://www.mcmaster.com. I can find it out exactly if you need. I think you will need to set up a reservoir as well. Pretty easy but you need to remember to order the parts.

 

Union, I was thinking of using that master but couldn't settle on a fluid reservoir. There is a Ducati (I think) reservoir that's pretty trick...

May I see what you're using?