Aluminium end plug for Norton-Lockheed caliper

Hi All,
A few weeks ago, I posted querying the availability of an Aluminium end-screw plug for the standard brake caliper.

brake-caliper-weight-end-screw-plug-t21582.html

The consensus was that there wasn't one available - the only aftermarket plugs being (equally heavy) stainless steel. When you have the plug in your palm, you can't believe how heavy the thing is - it's like its made out of Kryptonite, or Densimet or something.

Anyhoo, breaking news is, there is now! I couldn't let it lie after putting the thing on the scales & the steel one weighing 165.5g, I've designed an Aluminium alloy replacement with a design weight of 49g. Now I know that shedding 110g of unsprung weight (x2 for those lucky Mk3 pilots) isn't going to make our old twins into R1-baiters (at least, not without Hobot behind the bars), but every little helps, right?



I picked up a small batch of these at the weekend, and so far I've only slung it into my body to check it fits & take a picture to show you lot. I need to put the caliper back together (along with some rather fancy pistons that save another 116g) to make sure there are no snags, then it is my intention to offer the spare ones for sale, in the hope that there are other daft sods wanting to continue to develop these old bikes.

I'll keep you posted...

Alright' 'opposed pistons fan' , I've lost past Peels smeared/sheared holes paper weight and ain't had one machined up yet so toss one my way but please don't toss the steel one at me. Lightness by a 1000 little cuts counts after a while. Everytime I lighten something I test the sense of it by feeling how hard to fling it around cradle to brackets for pleased sense installing it. Likely only matters at some extreme of tire harmonics in certain road textures and wind gust but too dam often saves are by the skin of our skinny thin chins. Looks killer which is enough for me. What sort of anti-seezue best?

I'll take two.

I'll take two.

Sorry for the looong gap between posts, and thanks for the encouragement from those of you who replied. My only excuse is that work and a long weekend away in Istanbul with my S.O. have been in the way of progress on the Norton. Anyway, the news is that I have built the caliper up with absolutely no issue, and subjected it to the kind of low- and high-pressure (75bar / 1088psi) leak test that new calipers are subjected to. It passed that, so I built the system up and bled it out, again with nothing unusual. As you often find with a new build, the lever was very baggy after bleeding, but that came right after using the old racer's trick of bunjee-ing the lever back to the bars overnight to settle the seals in their groove and minimise fallback.

I'm now happy that my small batch of plugs are now ready for sale. Having never done this before, I need to figure out a price & investigate postage to the USA - I'll do this asap & get back to you with more news.

Cheers, Jon

Hi jon.
Hope this helps.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorant ... on_excusat

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_liability

Ta.

Yes if dealing with the general public that could expose one to suits w/o the red tape of real commercial business but some of us are mature enough to know a good opportunity with nil risk but hard to reopen so can make common agreements man-man we ain't going blame anyone for our own decisions privately. I'll take two, one for me and one for my a deserving friend The Tomato Man and his single digit CNW Commando, so he'd have to sue me and I'm completely immune from that risk. It ain't a wet sump device for gosh sakes.

Hi hobot.
Re your: "...so he'd have to sue me and I'm completely immune from that risk..."

True. The risk and liability remains with the brake component manufacturer.
Let us all know how you go with the field testing of this part since the manufacturer has only screwed one made from this material into place for a photo.
Ta.

Shoot i lost Peel's steel cap and with the featherweight Ludwig in mind was planning to make a dozen out of bar stock but would rather not have to, so will jump on this short run cap from a capable reasoning maker. On the other hand your points are valid so we've been alerted and the choice is yours to avoid another risk legal or otherwise. I know all cylcers are in denial with various ongoing rationalizations to be able to ride off confidently so I can't put too much weight on seemingly reasonable cautions. But hey I poked a big hole in brake restrictor before I knew it was safe to mention it.

Put me down for two, too! There must be a tool that goes with it as well. I'm in. Istanbul shipping and all. Looks like a great modification to fit an modernized Commando.

Boxerfan said:

Sorry for the looong gap between posts, and thanks for the encouragement from those of you who replied..........I'm now happy that my small batch of plugs are now ready for sale.......Cheers, Jon

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Just ran across this thread boxerfan, I might be down for two, it the price is right :wink:

needing said:

Hi Needing,
Re your" ... since the manufacturer has only screwed one made from this material into place for a photo..."

Click to expand...

You obviously skimmed past the bit where I said that I'd built the caliper up, put it through a high & low pressure leak test, built and bled the system. I should say that bits like this represent a very minor part of my day job, which normally involves much heavier, faster vehicles.

Due to the front end-heavy nature of modern CNC manufacture, I was quoted a price of X to make two plugs, and 2X to make 20. It seemed like a no-brainer, not to make a life-changing amount of cash, but to make available what would otherwise have been a unique improvement to the 40-year old original spec. I'm very confident that these parts are up to the job, but not yet confident that I can cost-effectively protect myself against the kind of thinking that you appear to seek to represent. I wonder how many would-be innovators simply decide not to bother in the face of the prevailing attitude towards 'risk'?

Anyway, rant over. I'll explore ways of covering my ass, while getting parts to those who want them.

Ugh I'm sorry to read that needy-needless fella has reasonably convinced you not to make and sell any caliper caps and now will only offer them labeled as "decorative paper weights gifts", with a shop supporting suggested donation - not intended for any thing else or user is solely responsible. I'll still donate for two of the newer upgraded legal non functional boxerfan paper weights please. Poor ole Maddass is so exposed w/o DOT certifications of one piece axle and complete front brake replacements better alert him too.

Call 'em elephant suppositories if you want, I still want two.

Looks like a really cool good I would want one raw polished though. Unbelievable that kind of BS some people will worry about. I have a friend who is so paranoid about being sued he will not sell a used car or motorcycle to anyone but a dealer as a trade-in for fear that 10 years down the line some person who bought a car from him will crash and sue him.. Blame this on asshole lawyers who have turned our world into a way of making money for themselves and ruining it for the rest of us. They're kind should be drop to the bottom of the deepest ocean, except that would just be polluting A great body of water with toxic waste!

gtsun said:

Blame this on asshole lawyers who have turned our world into a way of making money for themselves and ruining it for the rest of us.

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It's the ninety-nine percent of lawyers that give the other one percent a bad name!

Call it a thread protector to be used only when polishing the caliper, with explicit instructions that hydraulic pressure should never be applied to it while mounted in the caliper. I'll buy one of those from you. It would seem that you're getting enough of a following to justify the setup fees.

Hey, I'm in for 2.

Good luck and thanks for the effort.

Hi all.
Caveat Emptor.
The manufacturer is now aware of the risk of selling untried modified brake components to an unsuspecting public.
The purchasers are also aware that they are paying him to be test pilots for his products but IF the bodies literally start to pile up, the lawyers will be your best friends (on both sides of the arguments).

Please keep the forum updated with your empirical brake testing results. After a decade without fatalities attributable to this component I may even think about buying one.
Ta.

gtsun said:

Looks like a really cool good I would want one raw polished though. Unbelievable that kind of BS some people will worry about. I have a friend who is so paranoid about being sued he will not sell a used car or motorcycle to anyone but a dealer as a trade-in for fear that 10 years down the line some person who bought a car from him will crash and sue him.. Blame this on asshole lawyers who have turned our world into a way of making money for themselves and ruining it for the rest of us. They're kind should be drop to the bottom of the deepest ocean, except that would just be polluting A great body of water with toxic waste!

Click to expand...

Shakespeare said; "First, kill all the lawyers!"

Danno said:

Shakespeare said; "First, kill all the lawyers!"

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Even that is debatable.