OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance

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It sounds to me like you (OP) are most concerned about the "appearance" of the master cylinder as far as maintaining the OEM look since you mentioned that altering the disc and the caliper would be OK. I can understand your "keep it OEM" feeling! I had it myself but after two failures of "upgraded" (sleeved) OEM MCs, I changed my view. The caliper and the rotor are not the cause of what most folks consider the poor feel/stopping power of the OEM brakes. The MC is the problem and even a properly working sleeved OEM MC is not in the class of the Brembo as far as feel/stopping power.

Your concern about getting parts "on the road" can be a consideration of course, depending on your personal comfort level. All I can add re that is the only brake failures I have ever encountered in many MANY years of riding many MANY different motorcycles were the two that occurred on my Norton with sleeved OEM MCs! :eek:

But again, this subject largely involves "personal comfort" and we all do what we're comfortable doing, not what other people do and think we should do! ;)

As they say, "Advice on the internet is worth every penny you pay for it!" :rolleyes:
 
The performance of the original caliper can be improved by cutting a step in the pistons,
from 6 to 10.30 o'clock. ( 135- 140 deg.)
This was fairly common when car makers still used fixed calipers with opposed pistons.
It helps to keep the piston parallel in the bore.
The harder you brake, the more effective it is.
Of course, piston orientation becomes critical.
If you are unsure to do it right, then don't..

OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance




OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance


Porsche 356 rear brake:

OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance
 
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ludwig said:
The performance of the original caliper can be improved by cutting a step in the pistons,
from 6 to 10.30 o'clock. ( 150 - 160 deg.)
This was fairly common when car makers still used fixed calipers with opposed pistons.
It helps to keep the piston parallel in the bore.
The harder you brake, the more effective it is.
Of course, piston orientation becomes critical.
If you are unsure to do it right, then don't..
Click to expand...
Why does that work Ludwig? ...and isn't that 180 - 315 degrees? 135 degree cut-out.
 
Although I have an AP clone caliper I would think that even the stock caliper on a larger disc in addition to a sleeved MC would greatly improve the braking and you'd still have a pretty caliper that said Norton. The bracket and disc that I used from Clubman Racing will take either caliper. Sadly the owner has gone west.
 
robs ss said:
.. isn't that 180 - 315 degrees? 135 degree cut-out.
Click to expand...
Right, I edited it . It can be somewhat more than 135°, but not less.
Why does it work?
ask Mercedes, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, and many others..

Even floating calipers seem to benefit:

OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance
 
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JimNH said:
Although I have an AP clone caliper I would think that even the stock caliper on a larger disc in addition to a sleeved MC would greatly improve the braking and you'd still have a pretty caliper that said Norton. The bracket and disc that I used from Clubman Racing will take either caliper. Sadly the owner has gone west.
Click to expand...
I did similar here:
www.accessnorton.com

Ugrade brake: Lockheed plus Ninja

I am in the process of upgrading my front brake. I had initially planned to mount a bigger, lighter rotor with a Brembo caliper as others have done. I got a disc off a Kawa ZX6 first and mounted it to my wheel. I like the look and wondered if I could use the stock caliper with it. I'm in...
www.accessnorton.com www.accessnorton.com

Jaydee
 
ludwig said:
Right, I edited it . It can be somewhat more than 135°, but not less.
Why does it work?
ask Mercedes, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, and many others..

Even floating calipers seem to benefit:

OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance
Click to expand...
More pressure on the leading edge of the pad, I believe. Read a good tech article by Kevin Cameron once.
 
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IMHO the only thing more important than acceleration is braking.
I knew what the 46 year old technology on my MKII braking system could and could not do, which is why I scrapped the original system and installed the CNW front brake upgrade.
It is a low profile good looking setup that offers the stopping power when needed.

OEM Front Brake Upgrades For Best Performance
 
Some beautiful looking brakes , I just. Think with today’s technology someone could make a calliper that fits the fork leg without an ugly bracket that makes it look like an add on.
 
phippsy said:
Some beautiful looking brakes , I just. Think with today’s technology someone could make a calliper that fits the fork leg without an ugly bracket that makes it look like an add on.
Click to expand...
N*rvil used to market lower fork legs for a different caliper...
 
EstuaryBoy said:
N*rvil used to market lower fork legs for different calipers...
Click to expand...
The more expensive version of the Madass brake is this way as well. No bracket and a really nice looking 6 pot Caliper, 320 mm rotor. Paint the centre black if you don't like the gold. One day I'll get to it.
I found the stock brake overheated in the mountains then faded to nothing. I tried the special pads from Vintage brake , they didn't help.
More pressure from the Master doesn't help those two puny little circles of contact. More pressure just means it will fade to nothing a little quicker.
If you ride away from the mountains, then the stock brake is fine.

 
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Ludwig, the stepped piston idea looks very interesting. I had a quick look on google for more info on this and couldn't find anything. Probably a tough question to answer, but can you say more about what difference you notice with this?
 
MexicoMike said:
Buy the Brembo MC from CNW plus the adapter plate to accept the OEM switchgear. Install a SS brake line and Ferodo pads in the stock caliper and the front brake will feel/stop as well as a modern bike.
Click to expand...
Exactly my setup ….. great performance , someone else rides it now
 
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