front brake for gs450?

[Miksuzuki]

Hey all, my 1st post!

I found a 1980 gs450s for sale that runs etc but does not have a master cylinder or a front caliper. What is a good fit for a front caliper and master cylinder for this single disc bike? is there something from a newer bike that goes straight on? I am not going to buy it unless I can fix it easily (I am not mechanical enough to machine stuff).

Thanks everyone!

[pete]

Firstly, welcome to the forums from over on the east coast...

Master cylinder is easy, I got one shipped over from Mikes XS in the US for about $110 including shipping. Wasn't much more than a second hand one on eBay and it's brand new with a warranty.

You need a master clyinder with a 14mm piston bore for a direct replacement of the stock one, but I went to a 13mm bore to get a little more braking power out of it, and it will also give a little more movement which should mean better feel.

The brake caliper is a matter of keeping an eye on eBay or local wreckers to see if they have one.

You can get OEM piston and seal kits from the US for very good prices so a rebuild is nice and easy in that regard.

There is also the Salty Monk upgrade (do some searching on here) which is a bracket that will allow you to use certain Kawasaki twinpot calipers and a CBR disc instead. The only catch with that one is whether it will pass a road worthy with it on...

[Miksuzuki]

Thanks Pete, great info. should be an easy fix, will have a look at salty monks post as well, WA is not too hard on roadworthy's for bikes over 25 years old as far as I can tell.

[pete]

Good stuff.

Feel free to chuck a post over in the GS Owners forum to introduce yourself too so a friendly fella called BassCliff can give you your mega welcome. Lots of good info in there!