'75 Front brake refurbish

willis

xsive compulsive disorder
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I am gearing up to re-do my front brake system on my '75xs restoration. I have ordered replacement 2pc steel braided brake lines from Apex Brakes as an upgrade. I will be re-using the steel lines to retain a factory look. The caliper is in really good shape, but the master cylinder had leaked previously and lifted the paint. I've already done a lot of research on what types of paint are best for brake fluid resistance and I am leaning towards Eastwood or POR-15 caliper paint, but was also wondering about powder coat. Has anyone ever powder coated their front master cylinder? Are there any concerns about the heat adversely affecting it?
 
I had a left and right side caliper as well as the fork lowers, 80 % gloss, headlight shell and ears metal flake powder coated.
The calipers are holding up great. Just wipe with a damp cloth and look like just done.
The Metal flake didn't look like the pic showed, it showed it like the metal flake in the stock Star Black, but came out a rainbow flake.
Leo
 
Got my new brake lines delivered from Apex today. They look and feel like high quality pieces. The cost was $43 to my door and included 2 new banjo bolts and crush washers. Both lines are 12” with 45degree bends, should provide nice routing with the cb750 replica bars I’m using. Going to try and carve out some shop time this Saturday to install them.
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*edit to add Apex info.*
http://www.apexbrakes.com/custom.asp
I ordered #4 banjo fittings (45' bend) with #19 ends to fit the factory flared steel lines.
**2nd edit - 12" was too short for the bottom line. Reordered a 15" replacement line with straight banjo fitting that worked better.
***3rd edit - the 45degree banjo ends were a mistake. If someone is reading this in hopes of ordering a similar setup I would encourage you to order straight banjo ends on all lines.
 
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Are the lines in the pic the ones you got? Just wondering because those are both lower lines. I don't see an upper line.
The upper line will have a banjo bolt fitting on both ends.
Leo
 
Those are my lines. They have a banjo at the master end and then a female 10mm x1.0 fitting for the steel line that feeds into the junction for the brake light switch. Then the bottom line has another banjo from the junction to another female fitting for the steel line into the caliper. They match up to the factory rubber lines.
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Very nice Willis! I’m looking foward to seeing some photos of the end result! They look like really nice lines.
 
I went out on a limb buying these brake lines. While the lines are very good quality, I Made a few mistakes on my initial order. The top line will work great and the fitting ends will work with the stock steel lines, but I rolled the dice ordering shorter than stock bottom line hoping to tidy things up. The bottom line would have worked with some tweaking on the routing but I am trying to keep a factory look going. I just reordered a replacement bottom line of 15” so I can route properly like a factory line. I also eliminated the 45 banjo bend in place of a straight one. The 45 bend put the line uncomfortably close to the fork leg. Will report back once the new line arrives.
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I also tore apart the master cylinder for rebuild and paint. I ran into issues with the rebuild kits that are available for the early master cylinders though. Several dealers offer the kits with prices ranging from about $35 up to $85. The issue I ran into was the listed replacement pistons were different than what the factory had in there. Even my 75 factory service manual provided inconsistent photos. http://www.mikoede01.de/downloads/xs650.de/xs-wsh-de/5_Fahrgestell.pdf
I searched as many posts in this forum as I could looking for answers. I turns out the new kit should work fine as several others have had good luck with them. Then during my search for replacement kits, our friendly resident restorer Bob...aka Mailman pm’d me that he had an unused kit that I was about to order that did not get used in his ‘72 restoration. A big thanks to Bob for offering it to me free of charge and shipped it right out to me. Since my piston was in decent shape I decided to use the seals and clips from Bob’s kit to restore mine with.
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Now it’s been cleaned, stripped, sanded and taped ready to paint. Once painted I’ll reinstall the innards. I just need to decide on a paint kit to use.
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When I tore down the master I ended up finding quite a bit of crap in there, so decided to go through the caliper while I had it down this far. The caliper was in really good shape, but once I removed the pistons I found quite a bit of sediment in the fluid. Everything else was in good order, so just a quick clean and inspection of seals and back together it went and just waiting for the new line to arrive to finish.
 
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That’s too bad your new brake line didn’t work for you. But it looks like you’re going to have your brakes working like new in no time! Nice work!
 
They make specific caliper paint now, available at most auto parts stores. It's heat resistant, which applies more to the caliper, but also brake fluid resistant, which is good for the MC too. It comes in both spray cans and little normal cans so you could brush it on.
 
The problem is that I dont have a means to bake it. We are supposed to see 70 degrees on Thursday so may be a decent opportunity to paint. Might have to figure a way to cure it with my propane heater????
 
That’s too bad your new brake line didn’t work for you. But it looks like you’re going to have your brakes working like new in no time! Nice work!
I actually ordered 2 replacement bottom lines. If this works like I plan I will have an extra setup that I will sell. I’ve got an extra distribution block and brake switch too. Better to have a complete setup than just an extra upper line in my opinion.
 
I don't think you absolutely have to bake the parts, it just speeds drying and curing. I've used this stuff on quite a few car brakes and I never baked anything.
 
I got the new lower lines in today. The 15” with straight banjo is the ticket and fit well. Now I just need to get my master painted. Warmer today but way too humid to paint. I guess I’ll be playing the waiting game.
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After a little hiatus i finally got the master cylinder painted and cured. I’ve spent the last 2 evenings trying to get the rebuild kit installed. That damn snap ring holding the plunger in had me at my wit’s end. I finally broke down and bought some new snap ring pliers to replace my janky ones. I swear my 78 master did not give me near this much trouble. Anyway, it’s in and all installed. Now I just need to buy some DOT5 fluid and bleed it all. Pictures were an afterthought since it was everything I could do to not throw the fucker across my shop!!!!
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Looks good Willis! I feel your pain buddy, my track record with master cylinders is poor. I’ve always ended up replacing them. Yours came out nice!
 
I’m going with DOT5 so I won’t have any further issues peeling paint. The whole system is fresh and new so I won’t have any issues of cross contamination within.
 
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