front brakes

[kitcrazy]

i want to upgrade my front brakes for more stopping power any suggestions?

[NorthWestern]

Usual suspects really, braided hoses, fresh oil, clean calipers etc good pads.

[unfazed]

Clean out the calipers and seal seats, clean up the pistons.
If necessary replace the seals and pistons.
Replace the hoses using 2 instead of the standard 3 set up.
Change the master cylinder to the later R1 type.

[sadlonelygit]

firstly lets be clear on this.
do you want a) to upgrade your brakes or b) make the ones you have more efficient.

if it's b) then my advice would be to make sure the pistons move freely before you do anything else, then decent pads (carbon lorainne are my favs), then braided hose and finally a radial m/c.
however doing it that way will generally mean buying 2 sets of hoses as radial m/c's bolt up from the bottom and usually have different angled fittings.

i happen to know someone who has a 17mm radial m/c lying around and will do a foccer a decent price

[mark g]

I'd give your brakes a service if I were you, my blue spots are brilliant, can't see why anybody would want more 

[kitcrazy]

thanks fellows never done it before but i'll give servicing them ago first and see how i go.

[shrekster]

Definitely get your calipers properly cleaned, the brake Pistons should slip back into the calipers with light finger pressure after cleaning. It's a tedious job but well worth doing every couple of years.
I agree the brakes are already more than strong enough if serviced.
I managed to momentarily lock the front in the dry at about 100mph, panic braking to avoid a taxi........I know, entirely my own fault but a very good demonstration of the brakes effectiveness .
Jim.

[shrekster]

Forgot to mention, I use genuine Yamaha pads for the R1. Supposed to be a more aggressive pad compound.
Jim.

[PieEater]

thanks fellows never done it before but i'll give servicing them ago first and see how i go.

I did this last winter, it wasn't that difficult, the trickiest part was getting the old seals out as you need to make sure you don't damage the calipers, carefully using something like a heavy duty needle to pierce the old seals and lift them out worked. Bits needed;

- New piston & dust seals (I got mine from from Wemoto)
- Brake piston pliers (£16 from Amazon) - These make extracting the pistons and rotating them to lubricate a lot easier.
- Brake cleaner - I got a couple of cans of the spray stuff as it's under a fair bit of pressure which makes cleaning the nooks and crannies a bit easier.
- Red Rubber grease - for refitting the pistons.
- Brake fluid.

When taking the brakes apart it was obvious that some of the pistons weren't working as well as others which was probably leading to some binding and possibly a decrease in brake performance, so it's definitely worthwhile doing if you're thinking your brakes are not performing as they ought. Braking was noticeably improved not a night & day difference and the brakes released more cleanly,

[Val]

thanks fellows never done it before but i'll give servicing them ago first and see how i go.

Never done brake rebuild servicing - will do for the first time - RIP.

Seriously though the price of the servicing kit is probably £30-£40.

I also never have done brake servcing and I am pretty sure there are things there which professional mechanic would do better.

Found these guys that do professional refurbishing and brake calipers exchange for £77 each. Sounds like good idea to me?

http://powerhouse.uk/content/motorcycle-brakes/motorcycle-brake-caliper-exchange-service.php

[PieEater]

Removing and refitting the calipers followed by refilling and bleeding the system is half the job in itself. Pulling out the pistons and seals cleaning everything up and putting in the new seals and clean pistons is no more complicated.

[b1k3rdude]

good pads.

The only pads with more bite, quicker warm up and less fade than the original Yamaha are supposed to be carbon Lorraine. And the OEM pads are pretty good, the scale for me atleast from good to blimey goes as follows -

EBC>Yamaha>CL.