Single master for both brakes

[Guest]

Hi all newbie here. Building a 79 gs750 and want to eliminate the rear brake cylinder and footage entirely. Have any of you ever tried running both front and rear brakes off the front master? I know I would need a proportioning valve to get the pressures right. Cars can do it why not bikes? Any help would be awesome. Thanks

[steve murdoch]

If there is a system failure then you are s.o.l
How about a thumb actuated rear brake system instead. Check the stunter sites. Maybe even the motorcycle amputee sites.
Welcome to the site.

[tkent02]

Wow really? Even modern bikes with properly engineered linked brakes can be dangerous at times, you want to bring this on yourself?

[greg78gs750]

probably be better off just eliminating the rear brake entirely. Hm....actually, given that i use it maybe 1% of the time, maybe not a bad idea, think of the unsprung weight tied up in that caliper and rotor....

[bwringer]

To get absolute maximum braking from a heavy, long bike like a GS, you do indeed need to use the rear brake. You often hear the old "never use the back brake" advice for the track, but this is only useful advice when the gain from having one less thing to screw up or think about outweighs the small amount of added braking power.

In any case, the rear brake is important on street bikes even if you never use it simply because it's your backup plan if something goes wrong with the front brakes.

I suppose you could plumb up something that could work with a larger diameter master cylinder and a proportioning valve, but as noted above you lose all redundancy.


From what I can tell, bikes with linked brakes do not use a split master cylinder like a car.

Overall, the safest solution would be to add a thumb-operated rear brake -- these are common enough.

[greg78gs750]

was being a little facetious.

[jsandidge]

One thing I find the rear brake very helpful for is taking off from a dead stop on an uphill incline. Bike in first gear, clutch in, right foot on the brake, and left foot on the ground. Easy to get going without rolling backward.

[Dogma]

was being a little facetious.

You need to work on your flaming skills. You're just too nice.

[tkent02]

If there is a system failure then you are s.o.l
How about a thumb actuated rear brake system instead. Check the stunter sites. Maybe even the motorcycle amputee sites.
Welcome to the site.

Also a lot of dirt riders who ride in mountains use a left hand brake lever, helps for keeping the brake on if you have to move your foot out from hitting a rock or if you screw up and need a dab or two... easier to back into sharp right handers, or if you stop going up hill and need to reach the ground with your right foot and use the rear brake at the same time...

I have ridden backwards 35 feet because I had no such brake, but I digress.

Might be adaptable to a GS but it sure seems like a PITA.

[Dogma]

Hi all newbie here. Building a 79 gs750 and want to eliminate the rear brake cylinder and footage entirely. Have any of you ever tried running both front and rear brakes off the front master? I know I would need a proportioning valve to get the pressures right. Cars can do it why not bikes? Any help would be awesome. Thanks

Cars can get away with it because there's rarely an instance where applying all the brakes results in the car falling over and throwing the driver into a tree. If you're a noob to bikes in general, I recommend becoming a very competent rider before making radical changes to the function of the bike. Mistakes can be really painful.

I'm guessing you want to delete the rear pedal for some reason but keep the rear brake because you've only got the one disk up front. Instead I'd recommend converting to a dual disk brake up front. Lots more braking power that way. Especially if you upgrade the calipers at the same time. Search the forum for the "twin-pot brake upgrade".