I's doing it.

I decided to get new parts, as brakes are pretty important and I didn't want to use parts that I wasn't sure about. So I got the rotor from a V-Rod, the caliper from a Touring bike, and an 11/16" bore master cylinder from an FXDX. Part numbers needed so far.....

CALIPER ASSY, LH, BLK, FRT, BRAKE 43027-08
BRAKE DISC, FRT, FLOAT/BLACK 44405-07
MASTER CYLINDER ASSY, FRONT DUAL BLACK 45013-96D
BANJO-BOLT BLEEDER ASSY 41783-08
BOLT, BANJO 41747-82A
BLEEDER CAP 42853-06
SCREW, PAN HEAD TORX 3655A (need 5)
GASKET, BRAKELINE 41751-06A (need 2)
GASKET 41731-01 (need 2)
BOLT, LOWER CALIPER MTG. 44160-00 (need 2)

It's important to note that the Brembo calipers DO NOT work with DOT 5 fluid, so you have to change the front of the bike to DOT 4. Mixing DOT 4 and DOT 5 makes for a jelly-like muck, so I'm changing everything out. No, it's not the cheapest way, but it's the way I'm comfortable doing it.

Add brake fluid, and the above is everything you need to completely replace your front brake system, other than the brake line. Mine's custom, so I won't be going the H-D route with it. The line attaches further towards the top of the Brembo caliper than it does on the stock one, so the length and fitting angle may be off with a stock line. I'll post up what I find. The only things that get reused are the brake line retention clips (one on the top tree with the chassis ground, one under the lower tree), and the clamp that holds the master cylinder to the bars. A new master cylinder comes with a lever and all the guts, a new caliper comes with pads.

In theory, you could keep the stock 9/16" bore master cylinder and the stock rotor, and just upgrade the caliper. But you'd be missing a little bit of surface area for the pads to bite into if you kept the stock rotor. And even if you rebuilt your master cylinder and got all the DOT 5 out, you'd still have a small piston pushing the fluid into the larger caliper. I want this thing to stop as well as it can, so I'm going all the way.

Note that the caliper bolts are listed as new, as the Brembo doesn't need the long bolt that's on the top of the stock caliper.

 

Looks good, bit expensive.
But the good stuff always is.

Not to sound like an ***.
But why not use an aftermarket 6 piston caliper instead of the Brembo?
A good 6 piston progressive bore caliper with those rotors should work at least as well or maybe even better.
Might even save a buck or two not needing a new master cylinder.

 

Awesome. I was wondering about this upgrade. Thanks for the info. Let us know how they compare to the stockers.

 

With brand new parts, I have less than $420 in this upgrade, with the custom brake line I need, that'll go to around $480. I'm not aware of any 6 piston caliper you can get for less than $400. And any piston area increase is going to benefit from a larger master cylinder pushing the fluid.

 

I did the same on my FXDXT and these things rock. Talk about being able to stop on a dime. Retail on 6 piston PM calipers is $499 each. A little food for thought.

Stop on a dime like a motorcycle should. Now add some Lyndall composite rotors for even better stopping power.

 

OK, on to the brake line. The banjo fitting is at the top of the caliper rather than the bottom, so I figure a 2" shorter line will work. The 11/16" bore master cylinder uses a smaller banjo bolt than the 9/16" master cylinder (3/8" versus 7/16"). The lower fitting is......problematic. The Brembo's banjo bolt won't go through the old banjo fitting, which I would have thought was the same throughout the Harley brand. I'm hoping that it's 10mm (which is just a hair bigger than 3/8". If that's the case, the new lines available from Magnum Shielding will work fine, as they're labeled as 3/8"/10mm. If not.....I'll cross that bridge if I have to.

 

Did the v rod rotors bolt right on?

 

It would be simpler to get newer bagger (08 and up) rotors as the newer VROD's have a different style rotor.

 

Rotor bolted up just fine, as did the caliper. Banjo fitting size at both the caliper and the master cylinder is 10mm, so I've got the new line ordered.

 

Got the custom brake line in this week. Thanks to the mother of all colds, I haven't felt anywhere well enough to venture into the garage until today. Everything was together; all I had to do was route and attach the brake line, fill it with fluid, and bleed the system.

I guessed right on brake line length (2" shorter to compensate for the different banjo location on the Brembo), so everything went quickly. Bled the system out, and had, hands-down, the best lever feel the bike has ever had. I rolled the bike off the lift table and gave everything the once-over before I went in to change for the test ride.

There was a little drip of brake fluid underneath the master cylinder. Must've dribbled a bit when I was filling it up. I wiped it off, checked the cover and the banjo fitting to make sure they were dry (they were), and pulled the lever a few more times. Another drip. ****. Sprayed everything with brake cleaner, wiped everything down, pulled the lever. Another drip. ****.

I pulled the controls off the bar, turned it over, and saw.....the back of the master cylinder is cracked. Did I crack it, or did it come cracked? I dunno, but I can't see how I could have done it. The bars (Street Slammers) have a flat spot for the M/C, and there's no exterior difference between the stock 9/16" M/C and the new 11/16" M/C. I've sent a photo of it to Surdyke, it'll be interesting to see what, if anything, they do.

At any rate, for about 5 minutes, the brakes felt great. More to come....