adjusting the front brake

[bwringer]

It looks like you have a single disc 550... What Master cylinder did you fit?

If you fitted one off a dual disc model then the piston will be 5/8" rather than 14mm so travel at the lever will be reduced (& lever effort will go up for a given amount of braking force).

True... a MC meant for a dual disk bike will give you little travel and higher effort on a single disk system. Hmmm... didn't think of that. Good spot, Salty!

I guess it's not really dangerous if your right hand is strong enough.

[KitKat]

the master cylinder was off a 78 gs 1000 with a single disk, the owner was doing a dual disk conversion and thats why he was able to sell me his old master cylinder...

[Billy Ricks]

Has anybody tried the brake lever off a SV or similar bike? My 2006 650 had an ajustable lever.

I'm using a mc and reservoir off of a GSXR with the adjustable lever. Probably about the only option for the OP.

[MAC10]

Hi KitKat,

I'm glad the master cylinder works well. (I rebuilt it myself a couple of years ago)

When I did my conversion I noticed the same very firm feel when I added the braided lines. At first I tried a newer brake lever, the stepped kind made so you can get full power on a short stroke, and have smaller hands. That worked well, but I had to get used to the lever being much closer to the handle bar at full squeeze. I eventually switched back to the original straight lever- have big hands, and felt the control was better for me. I often ride with two fingers on the the lever, with the others twisting the throttle, and the straight lever gave me enough room under the lever for this.

I have a stepped lever I can sell you, if you want it.

[JordansCycles]

Sounds like the brakes on a bike with stainless lines.

Whatchoo worried about? Go ride!

We are worried about the front brakes locking up.

[KitKat]

We are worried about the front brakes locking up.

because its very hard to apply half braking force with such a short actuating lever, its almost as if its either no braking force of full braking force

[KitKat]

... anyone?

[Nessism]

... anyone?

Sounds like the brakes are normal, but then the internet is funny that way.

The brake lever should be firm, not spongy. If you are used to spongy it will take some getting used to but no worry once you do.

[Billy Ricks]

I haven't read through the thread so excuse me if you've already answered this but, what pads are you using? What you're describing sounds like you have pretty good brakes to me. It might be possible to file down the part of the lever that makes contact with the piston to give you more pull, just make sure it's what you want to do and only file a tiny bit at a time.

[MassJosh]

let some air into the system, lol. that will give more travel.

Just kiding

[bwringer]

Sounds like you're still not happy with something or other about the way the brakes feel, but brake feel is something that's very difficult to communicate or diagnose over the intarwebnet tubes.

Is there anyone in the area with experience in such matters that can go over and squeeze Kitkat's brakes?

Or maybe you can explain in different words what's bothering you. So far, all I can figure out is that the brake lever has less travel than it did before (everything else seems normal -- no caliper binding, the brake isn't sticking, etc.). This sounds like a normal thing that happens when you do a good job bleeding the brakes. You don't want a lot of lever travel -- the less the better as long as nothing is sticking or dragging heavily.

Or is the problem the increased reach to the lever? In that case, a solution has been offered above. Filing the lever might seem drastic, but replacement levers are cheap, and you should be OK as long as you go slow. AFA anyone knows, there are no modern adjustable levers that fit older MCs. You might also try to find a modern MC with the same piston diameter, approximately the same lever ratio, and that has (or can be fitted with) an adjustable lever.

If that's not it, start over and see if you can clarify the problem.

[KitKat]

Thanks everyone for the input.

There is no problem reaching the brake lever, and the brakes are fully functional without any problems. It was just that the brake lever applies full braking so quickly that i thought it would be dangerously easy to lock the front brakes with a minimal touch. But i guess i just did a good job of bleeding the brakes, so thanks all of you! , and i will now go out and enjoy my ride

[Billy Ricks]

Thanks everyone for the input.

There is no problem reaching the brake lever, and the brakes are fully functional without any problems. It was just that the brake lever applies full braking so quickly that i thought it would be dangerously easy to lock the front brakes with a minimal touch. But i guess i just did a good job of bleeding the brakes, so thanks all of you! , and i will now go out and enjoy my ride

It's pretty hard to actually lock the front brakes unless the road surface just doesn't have any grip. You'll start hearing and feeling the front tire talking to you before they lock up. The thing you need to be careful of now that the fronts are working so well is that the rear will get light and it will be easier to lock the rear brake up. Just find you an empty parking lot and practice some really hard braking. About all I use the rear brake for is to keep the back end under control.

[SqDancerLynn1]

I replaced the master on my 850 and had a similar problem. I used some shims I had laying around on the handle bar mount to tilt it slightly. Works fine.

[KitKat]

I replaced the master on my 850 and had a similar problem. I used some shims I had laying around on the handle bar mount to tilt it slightly. Works fine.

shims? tilt what? explain please