Twinpot Brake upgrade on 78 Skunk

[salty_monk]

One back at ya...

I have placed an order. Expecting 4-5 weeks or about mid to end of May before I have them on hand. Pricing will be broadly similar (in the region of $90 a set plus shipping).

I will set up a set of the new caliper style for testing my end before I recommend anyone else go that route. The bracket is slightly smaller so should look a little neater than before too (and weigh a couple of ounces less). The Hub spacer now has the full 6 holes for bolting to the F3 calipers to make it easier to centre them for drilling. It also drops out a small amount of weight as well.

[salty_monk]

I got confirmation today that I should have sets on hand approx May 20th

[mmitchum]

Hi SaltyMonk. Can you clue me in to what's going on here? I am in the midst of a '77 GS550 build and interested in better front brakes. I found a pointer to this thread elsewhere on the forum, but I can't quite tell what the twinpot upgrade is, what you're selling, etc. I was hoping there would be a sticky post at the top with an overview of what it's all about. Can you fill me in on what's up?

Many thanks!

[salty_monk]

It's a single brake model I assume? Axle under the fork leg?

We can figure out something to work with that & yes I can get you some brackets, expecting a delivery Tues/Weds.

[salty_monk]

I got the new brackets in & mounted up with the normal caliper then today I took it all apart again & got it mounted up with the new caliper type. It works well with either type.
The new caliper feels quite similar in ultimate power, possibly a bit less "feel" but I haven't had long enough to get used to it yet. Today I rode both the 1000E and the 1100G back to back as the 1100 has the old caliper & the 1000 now has the newer ones.

The "bite" point of the newer ones is a bit closer to the bar on the same master cylinder (I use the EX650 one) - meaning I had to adjust my lever from closest to bar to one out but other than that not a huge difference. Both are using stock Tokico pads and the same rotor type.

One point to note on this bracket is it sites the bolt directly over the rotor rivets & as such makes the tolerances tighter. It becomes more important to pay close attention to the length of the bolts used & the clearances. It may be necessary to put a washer under the bolt head even with the stock 40mm bolt depending on the rotor used. The bolt should barely protrude from the caliper bracket.
Blue Loctite / Threadlok recommended.

One other thing of note... I modified the hub spacer to make it easier to drill the F3 rotor as it now has 6 holes on the F3 PCD/Bolt circle making it easier to centre the rotor before drilling.

Both the new hub spacer & the caliper bracket are a little lighter than previous & I think they look a little less intrusive than the previous version too.

As before everything is powdercoated black (I always run the mounting side of the brackets & both sides of the hub spacers on some wet & dry on some glass just in case there are any high spots in the powder).
As before occasionally a fork has a big enough weld at the bracket that you need to clearance either the weld or the bracket (it's usually a mm or two at most) on the inside corner.
Also same as before - 80+ bikes require 4mm-5mm cut off the top of the speedo drive dust shield. (there are pics in this thread).


So onto the pics... :

Old caliper (Late 80's Ninja or 01-06 Concourse):

Suzuki 2 brake by salty_monk, on Flickr

New Caliper (EX650 or DL650 (Wee Strom) plus others:

Suzuki 2 brake by salty_monk, on Flickr

Note:

I now have:

A big pile of the new bracket.

1 x Used old style bracket
1 x Used Aluminum old style bracket (this was a very limited run back in 2007 and needs 45mm bolts to work (although I can probably supply those too).
1 x Set of late 80's Ninja calipers - Fresh off my 1000 - working fine, rebuilt several years ago & with 60%+ on the pads
1 x set full set of New style calipers from a Ninja or Wee strom (I forgot which). Also has master cylinder but it is remote reservoir type.
1 x set of rotors drilled ready to go.

Let me know what you need... I can potentially start sending these out on the weekend.

$98 shipped in the US for a full bracket set (PM me if you want any of the other parts I have on hand or one of the other bracket sets).

Most international locations seem to be around $115 slow mail or about $130 for priority mail. I can check based on your address and will update here if I remember!

[salty_monk]

The Ninja calipers are spoken for... I have the other set still.

[salty_monk]

The new style DL calipers are also gone. Plenty of brackets still.

Dan

[kwikonit]

Hi, what yrs ninja 650 calipers will work with your new brackets? Thanks

[salty_monk]

2005-2016 I believe. I haven't tested all years obviously but I believe they are all the same.

[kwikonit]

Hi, any news on testing the '17 and up calipers?

[salty_monk]

Not yet. I have a set on hand and at first glance I can say it might work but it will be a lot more work to fit.

The bolt holes are not the right size (they are M8 not M10) so the body will have to be drilled out and re-tapped to M10 fine to suit.

I will likely have a go at it some time over the next few weeks. It will be critical for the holes to be tapped square otherwise the caliper will not be perpendicular to the rotor (or you won’t be able to get the bolts in / might strip out the threads).

[kwikonit]

Using m10 to suit the current new brackets? You use the top hanger bolt on the fork slider to mount the top bolt hole on caliper correct? So the bottom caliper mount can stay m8? Just curious how your mounts work as i didnt actually use your first gen brackets to mount the zg1000 calipers...I suppose you'll have to modify the brackets you have already made? I have a newer 2010ish nissin master cylinder that id like to use, not sure if it will work with the ninja tokico calipers....

[salty_monk]

If it’s 5/8” piston then it will likely be fine.

[Bigthal97]

Ive got a 1977 GS750 single dics I'd like to do a brake upgrade on. I'm already looking at a 5/8" nissin lever/mc with braided hoses... i just rebuilt the front caliper and new pads. Would just the nissin mc and steel lines give a decent jump in performance by itself to run the stock rotor and caliper for a while since i just redid it? Also since its got a single disc couldn't i just run a direct to the caliper and get rid of the dumb splitter block for a better feel and a little more direct performance

[salty_monk]

PM's back at ya & yes you can get rid of the splitter...