One Front Brake

[jadeasker]

A friend of mine finished a gs850 project and said by removing one of the front calipers it didn't decrease the performance noticeably. I like the look of the front wheel with just one brake. It makes me nervous taking a brake off though. Does anyone here have an opinion on removing one brake?
Any personal experience?

[tkent02]

It's only half as stupid as taking them both off. Bikes that came with only one brake had a bigger brake, and they stopped poorly.
Some folks who don't know how to ride don't have much use for the front brake anyway, and coincidentally they get killed a lot.
So if that looks cool to you, go for it.

[Agemax]

a properly set up single disc set up is usually more effective than the old 1970's twin disc sponge brakes

[tkent02]

a properly set up single disc set up is usually more effective than the old 1970's twin disc sponge brakes

He's not talking about a properly set up anything, he's talking about removing half of the primitive and inadequate braking system already on the bike. Huge difference.

[jadeasker]

Thanks for the advice so far. To clarify, the motorcycle is a 1982 GS850. It has a dual disk now on the front- just wondering if we took one caliper off.

[Agemax]

He's not talking about a properly set up anything, he's talking about removing half of the primitive and inadequate braking system already on the bike. Huge difference.

why did they make certain models of gs's then with just one disc? maybe slightly larger disc but still not the same braking performance as a twin disc set up

[Dogma]

Removing one caliper but keeping the larger master cylinder will result in a doubling of force applied to the remaining pads for the same effort at the lever. Assuming friction increases linearly, it may feel like it stops about the same as before. The pads will wear faster, which is minor, I think. The real problem is that stopping the nearly 600 lb bike is going to overheat that one brake twice as fast with just one caliper. I think you should be nervous taking one caliper off, if you want reliable stopping power. The front brake is one of the primary safety features, and not something to undermine. People who remove the front brake entirely just for looks are, well, probably the kind of people who ride without helmets.

[jadeasker]

You guys rock. Thanks for the input. I felt the same about taking the one caliper off. Your two cents just sealed the deal. Be safe- leave both brakes on and wear a helmet.

[tkent02]

Removing one caliper but keeping the larger master cylinder will result in a doubling of force applied to the remaining pads for the same effort at the lever.

No, it actually won't. What it will do is reduce the lever travel required by half. The lever pressure required to get a given amount of braking from each caliper remains the same, it is set by the ratio of piston size in the MC and in the caliper. If you have half the calipers, it requires twice the pressure to get the same amount of braking. Yes it will tear up the pads quicker, yes heat will be more of a problem. Suzuki quit using single brakes on the big bikes in about 1979, coincidentally about when the 850 in question was built.

[posplayr]

Removing one caliper but keeping the larger master cylinder will result in a doubling of force applied to the remaining pads for the same effort at the lever. Assuming friction increases linearly, it may feel like it stops about the same as before. The pads will wear faster, which is minor, I think. The real problem is that stopping the nearly 600 lb bike is going to overheat that one brake twice as fast with just one caliper. I think you should be nervous taking one caliper off, if you want reliable stopping power. The front brake is one of the primary safety features, and not something to undermine. People who remove the front brake entirely just for looks are, well, probably the kind of people who ride without helmets.

Just went through the thought experiment with another guy here in the office. For the same lever force and same master cylinder pressure you have 1/2 the braking force applied to the wheel.

Example say there is 20 lbs on the lever and 1 sq^2 inch master plunger that makes 20 psi.

You get to multiply that pressure times whatever area you have in the calipers to get force. Since caliper area is 1/2 the force on the rotors is 1/2. therefore brakes are 1/2.

However the lever only has to move 1/2 as far though to get in contact with the rotor.

I'm pretty sure I'm saying the same thing as Tkent