R1/FRZ disc caliper setup and slightly altered fairing........ again......

[treedragon]

Ok here we go a quick and dirty description, ha! like I can do that............

Hmmmm bikes dirty (and quickish), and I'm just back from bedding the brakes in. It stops waaaaay better.
The other pics are to show how it looks with the Ducati Superlight rear cowling. And yes I know there is toooooo much black everywhere but I'm still fiddling with things and black was all that was on hand.


Discs are off a Yamaha R1 (late 90's) calipers are from a Yamaha FZR400, keep it in the family where it counts I say, I already had SS brake lines.

A fairly straight forward process, this is how it went for me, one side at a time:

- First I offered the aluminium stock, in this case some 1.5cm thick and 5cm wide flat that was floating around the place, marked and drilled the holes for bolting to the fork legs.

- I bolted them in place and marked around the fork lugs, (inside face).

- Held the calipers in place on the discs (checking for clearance and coverage of pads), clamped the brakes on, (Note: make sure the pads are centered within the calipers, important).

- Rotated the wheel until it touched the aluminium flat, marked any obvious cutouts required and removed the material (in my case it was to accommodate the front pot).

- With the calipers up against the mount plate one then accurately measures the distance between the inside of the aluminium flat and the outer face of the caliper mounting points, in my case there was a 5mm gap one side and 4.5mm the other.

- Removed the aluminium flat, the space defined by marking the fork lugs had to be milled out to exactly match the amount of gap just measured, to bring the mounting plate and caliper lugs together. My depth milling was accurate but the inside edges were a bit dodgy looking so you don't get to see that.

- With the newly milled flat bolted to the forks and with the calipers still locked in the correct position I rotated the wheel so the caliper lugs slid in behind the new bracket. It should be a touch/slide fit, no gaps.

- I marked the top hole as it was the only one I could get to, removed plate & drilled it, remounted the plate and tightly bolted the caliper on. Then I removed the plate and caliper as a unit and marked the other hole, drilled etc.

- I did the other side then put a bit of shape to the aluminium lumps with the bandsaw and linisher and promised myself I would finish them off really nicely.......... sometime  ::)  ;D  ;D


I did a few experimental runs up and down the driveway to make sure there were no judders or life threatening behaviour then I pointed at the nearest hill and wound on the throttle. I smiled.





In this shot I have mounted the day lights higher up in the fairing.

[Extent]

Love it.  I'd really like to do that for my single disk but I don't have a good way to accurately mill the plate.

[Raj1988]

great tail job there!!

Thanks for sharing as always mate

[Raj1988]

HEY TREE, I know ur real busy but did you want to post measurements of the caliper adapter plate.. This is a fairly inexpensive but highly effective improvement for us :)

Pretty please!!

[QBS]

Bet your Ducati buds are about to pee in their pantys.

[treedragon]

Hey RAJ there are no measurements required really other than the gap as per my instructions above. The whole deal is adaptable to any handy piece of metal that is thick enough.
I am sure others have done the same thing before me and likely a lot tidier job than mine.
Currently I am pondering the advisability of milling a bit of a pattern on the outside to flash them up a bit, not so easy to hide though if........


QBS
Yes it will be interesting, I got to practice on a trio of Buels going up the hill initially, well for a few corners anyway  ;D  ;D  ;D
The Ducati boys are already a little curious about it (or maybe it's more a case of "what's he done this time"). I have already tried some subtle "psych them out" with a couple of them, particularly with the 848 rider as I have ridden one and will have my work cut out.  But I'm thinking I need to refine my style a little more, it's been a while since I had decent brakes on a bike I could really "play" with. There were too many corners I ended up having to accelerate into them through having braked too soon.

I haven't tried any really desperate braking yet, time enough for that I'm sure. I'm currently using secondhand pads and they are not fully bedded in yet, the budget you know..... tight.

[QBS]

What size tire are you running up front?  Until you get the new dynamics figured out, please be very alert to front wheel lock up.  Loss of front end traction is almost totally unforgiving.  I was surprised to learn that you have been over braking.  You'll definately have to get a handle on that, as now it will be much easier to do.

[treedragon]

Not a problem QBS

The main goings on there was that I had obviously got into a groove re my braking style with the old brakes. I tended to knock a little speed off and then smoothly accelerate around and out of the corner in a clean tight sweep with max velocity.

Now I can now leave braking until much later and then it's a quick flick around the corner, it's a whole different ball game to play. My suspension/steering setup handles it very nicely so that's good.

I am running 100/90 on the front and have had them howling under brakes while hoovering into sweepers so I must be getting near the limits methinks. I am currently looking for a grippier tire with the steering characteristics I like just to be on the safe side.

Meantime there is a degree of caution as I am very aware of unforgiving front ends........ I am only just coming right from cracked ribs and a trashed knee/legs when I got body slammed into the road a month and a half ago, bike on top. That wasn't so much a traction thing tho more a case of a pothole launch on a downhill corner. The tire print left on the road just prior to launch was about 150 across, no traction loss though, well maybe after it left the road....  ;D  ;D

[fret not]

There is something to be said in favor of tires that give a warning BEFORE they let go of the road.

I always figured that smoother riding allowed one to go faster.  Less abrupt change in speed, direction, center of gravity.  Oh yeah, gravity!   Less braking, smoother roll on of the throttle, smoother shifting, steer with your body weight in anticipation of the turns, and look well ahead in the turn.  Steering input from the handlebars is a main cause of wobbles and tank slappers.  Stuff you can get away with at lower speeds but not at high speeds.

[QBS]

So Treedragon, are you saying that your R1 discs/rotors bolted straight on to your stock V front wheel with no modification?

[treedragon]

Yes straight on.
I think they were from a 98, bought them second hand off the net, same with the calipers.

[Protonus]

Ouuu! thanks for the info on those rotors! Great thread! Neat fairings too!  Gives me some ideas to modify my stockers (I want to update the look, but retain the styling.  For instance, I want HID Projectors for my headlights) That's the kind of brake swap I was looking for! I did aftermarket Wilwood brakes with customized mounts/knuckles for the front, and dodge daytona IROC rear disc brakes, with customized brackets/knuckles for my rear, on my Sunbird Turbo.  So fabbing up mounts etc to make other brakes work isn't beyond me, and those look GREAT!  How big are those rotors in diameter? 

Also, what front tire are you using?  I am loving my Avon Roadriders, I'm 90/90 front right now still.  Man this bike can handle great at lower speeds!  I'm a big guy (6'1 255lbs) and it's so fun to toss around! Higher speed... not so much, doesn't feel very planted over 50 mph.  Need to upgrade my front suspension a bit.