Finding a brake solution

[vl5150]

Outstanding news on the brakes.  It should work much better with the floating rotor.  I know mine rotor drags a bit on the brake pads in some places so the floater should do the trick.  I love the Galfer wave rotors and had one on my ZRX, but I'll stick with the used ones for the Vision to keep it in the best the "bang for the buck" range.

On another note I was looking at the fork lowers that share the same diameter tubes as the Vision and I came up with the '82 Seca 550 as the only other model that shares the fork seals.  So theoretically those lowers will bolt on, but alias that model only has a single caliper and it's on the left side- another dead end.  Yamaha screwed the pooch by skimping on the suspension and brakes on the Vision.  We're here 34 years later trying to re-engineer it, lol.

[vintage bikeworks]

Yes, I think I lucked out on the FZ1 caliper and stock master cylinder combination.  I was cautious the first time out...Didn't want to get thrown over the handlebars if somehow the two didn't work together.  vl5150, Let us know how your setup works out...

[vl5150]

I will!  Tony, who we bought the brake adapter from, is very knowledgeable and has been racing 2 stroke Yamaha's for decades.  We talked about 45 mins on the phone and since I had a R5, RD350, and RD400 so we shared some of the same interests as "smoke heads".  He said he was pretty sure our stock master cylinder would work find and he was right!  I'm going to try the FZ1 master just because it's newer and the on my Vision one has a funky feel to it.  I'll probably rebuild the stock one and keep it as a spare just in case.

So for me, I have lots of packages on the way and that will take longer than actually doing the job itself.  I'll report back when it's done.

[vl5150]

OK Phase I complete.  Any by that Phase I happens to be whatever box showed up on my doorstep today which in this case was the Tarozzi fork brace.

I put my old brakes back on and installed the fork brace in about a minute.  I think this is the most ugly fork brace I've ever bought since I'm used to beautiful CNC machined billet aluminum and this one is cast.  It also have some equally as ugly flat black stoving finish on it out of the box.  But I don't care.  I'm more about the performance of the part than anything else.  It's  very precise for a casting and fit absolutely perfectly.
I absolutely love the lips on the top of the tubes that allow it to rest on top of the fork slider- a nice touch. 

I went for a ride with the allen key in my pocket to do the gradual tighten up and I'm impressed with the results.  I've bought plenty of fork braces for other bikes and really didn't notice the difference so it was more show than go.  Well if there was ever a bike that needed one it's the Vision.  Dramatic improvement in handling and braking.  My front end would do an annoying twist to the right when braking and this is improved quite a bit. Not as good as twin disks, but close.

So I'm confident that the forks are now up to the task of handling the new caliper.  Over and out.

[vintage bikeworks]

2 thumbs up on the fork brace. I would go so far as to say it's mandatory with any brake upgrade.  I have a Telefix.

[vl5150]

I had my camera taking pics of my install today and when I went to take the memory card out, it wasn't there.  I'll take some pics tomorrow, but this is what I did today.

List of items
1. 2007 FZ1 master Cylinder
2. 2001 R6 Brake Rotor
3. 2007 R6 brake caliper (blue spot)
4. TDR RZ350 brake adapter
5. M10 washers
6. R6 brake pads (not yet received)

Bike has S.S. brake line and fork brace already installed.

Install
So the TDR brake caliper adapter is technically for a RZ350 with dual disks and the same caliper as the '82 Vision. The mounting boss on these bikes is shaped like a wavy letter M.  Since the '82 single disk is not an exact match slight grinding is needed to the brake adapter in the middle of the M to allow the holes to line up. Literally took about 5 minutes.  The R6 disk bolted right up.  So far so good. 

The FZ1 master cylinder is much like the stock one, but holds much more fluid.  It has a mounting boss for the mirror, but it's not drilled and tapped. I'm running bar end mirrors so I slapped it on.  Very nice piece.  I crimped some flat connectors for the brake light switch.  It now uses the standard flat brake light switch instead of the old round one.

I bolted up the TDR adapter with the stock bolts.  I then ran to ACE hardware and picked up some bolts for the brake caliper and then bolted that on.  The SS brake line had to be twisted a bit to work with the R6 caliper but I got it working. I quickly bench bled the M/C on the bike and reused the bolts and washers. I lucked out because I got pressure right away. 

I did a quick check of the light switch, bolts, and clearance on the wheel and it all looked good. I had to re-use the existing used and worn brake pads for the test since my package of new pads is in transit.  I had a bit of noise but the bike stopped better for sure. 

So here's what I found after testing tonight.  For me the brake caliper needed washers to be centered on the rotor.  It was a bit too far to outboard and the inner pads weren't fully making contact.  I added some M10 washers between the TDR adapter and the fork and that got it centered by moving the caliper closer to the wheel.  My next test was much better but under hard braking I had another grinding noise.  I noticed the outside edge of the rotor is making contact with the bottom of of the caliper. Not bad though.  I got my Dremel and relieved the area on the caliper a slight bit to give the rotor clearance.

I stopped there tonight. So far so good though.  The braking power increase is significant and the upgraded floating rotor brings the bike up to date.  The TDR brake adapter isn't a perfect fit as we all know but is close enough to give us a fighting chance at this.

So the main thing is the washers to get the caliper centered and then relieving the roof of the inside of the caliper.  If I didn't test with the worn out brake pads I wouldn't have noticed the clearance issue side to side. I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them up along with another test.  Hopefully my new pads show up too.

[vl5150]

Here's some pics.

My ugly but functional fork brace.

[vl5150]

FZ1 master cylinder fits right on with new connectors.

[vl5150]

I had to grind the TDR mount a bit where I'm pointing to match up with our unique fork caliper mounting boss on the '82.  Yamaha went though great pains to short us the dual disk in '82.

[vl5150]

My caliper was too far to the outside so I put one of these washers between the TDR adapter and the fork.  Other reports had the caliper hitting the wheel so look down the rotor to make sure it's perfectly centered.

[vl5150]

The R6 floating cross drilled rotor brings updates the look and makes that cool sound when the pads run across it. 

[vl5150]

This is where I'm at tonight. I relieved the area slightly where its shiny.  The caliper is relieved there from the factory, bit I was getting a grinding noise under hard braking and think this is the spot.  This is what I'm going to test tomorrow to see if this does the trick.

[QBS]

Try putting a little black paint in areas that you suspect might be tight.  Go for test ride and then look for new shiny areas that used to be painted black.

[vintage bikeworks]

I'm thinking with a few "tweaks" to the CAD drawing and milling machine, Tony at TDR could move the bottom mount hole aft about .050-.060".  This would raise the aft side of the caliper, correct the interference between rotor and housing and improve the pad to rotor contact area.  (Back to grease spot on rotor pic.)  Maybe I'll call him to inquire? 

[vintage bikeworks]

I did go back and recheck the centering of the caliper in relation to the rotor.  With the FZ1 caliper, it's pretty close.  I measured .060" on outboard side between housing and rotor and .087" on the inboard side. 

[vl5150]

On mine I hit that shiny area with the dremel lightly after painting it black again and it's the place for sure.  I get that area making slight noise only during very heavy braking.  So I think I'm close to getting it perfected. 
I agree on the hole placement.  That should do it for us, but he may have to make that area a bit wider to accommodate moving the hole.
I accidentally put one of my pads on backwards and "resurfaced" my rotor.  It did a good job lol!  :o
A few impressions:
- It's interesting that brake calipers do flex under braking- even monobloc calipers
- These Yamaha brake calipers are some of the best I've worked with.  The pad replacement is insanely fast and simple.  A pin, locating plate, and 2 clips.
-  I should have done before and after testing, but I'd rate the braking performance as significantly better with much better feel and shorter distances.  It's not enough to let you do a stoppie, but close.
-  The FZ1 master cylinder works well with excellent feel and that great adjustable lever.

I'll hit that area with the dremel again when my brake pads come in, but for now it's workable as-is.  Here's a few pics in the daylight.

[vintage bikeworks]

Nice!  Like the floating, drilled rotor.  Bonus points for the "cool noise" when braking!

[vl5150]

Here's my recap in a pic of my specific actions needed.

[Rikugun]

Is the FZ1 master piston 16mm?

[vl5150]

Yes, it's 16mm.  With the large single disk it's in the ball park of good, but more towards the wooden side.