Fazer Blue Spot Caliper

[KevC]

Took my front wheel & disc set up off today, so I could get some dimensions of the disc adaptor. Below is a drawing of the aluminium disc adaptor that came with the disc.

New disc diameter = 298mm
New disc offset = 10mm (measured from mating face to outer face of disc)
New disc thickness = 3.9mm
New disc bore = 66.2mm (ie: 0.2mm bigger than adaptor)

Original disc diameter = 298mm
Original disc offset = 20mm
original disc thickness = 6.85

By my calculations this gives an
offset from mating face to centre line of disc = 16.575mm (Original) and 15.95mm for new disc with adaptor. So just 0.625mm (0.024") in it. Dont know why this would be but thats the measurements I got. Hope this helps

 

[raptorhertz]

Can you update on the master cylinder you are using with the Caliper?Did you change the Banjo bolt as well?

 

[KevC]

No updates Im afraid due to losing 3rd gear, so the engine is out at mo.
If memory serves, the banjo is a different thread pitch, still M10, on the Triumph master cylinder but I already had one so no big deal. Im running stainless braided hoses & stainless banjo bolts all over. Readily available & last a lifetime.
If you need any other information, just say
Cheers Kev

 

[hein weijers]

Hi Kev,

Looks great and I like to build it on my bike. The first question I have is : can I use the blue spot caliper in combination with the original disks (7 mm thick) ? Would save me a lot of money.

Second : Is there only one type of Fazer Blue Spot capiler? Do you have a part #?



Hein

 

[KevC]

Hi Hein
The disc I used is a direct replacement for the XS650 & will work with the original caliper but I don't know if it will fit the "Blue spot". Like you say, the original disc is 7mm thick & I doubt if the modern bikes that the Blue spot were fitted to had such a thick disc.
If you can wait until the weekend, I will remove my caliper & measure the maximum caliper thickness it will take.
Listed somewhere, possibly this thread, is a list of calipers that fit, perhaps you could find a secondhand one?
As far as the "Blue spot" caliper itself, to the best of my knowledge, all Yamaha Blue spot calipers are the same (left & right handed tho) until they changed to upside down forks, so a caliper off a Yamaha Fazer 600, Fazer 1000, R6 or R1 from 1999 to about 2004 will do the job.
hope this helps
Kev

 

[hein weijers]

Hello, Kev

If you could measure that for me (and others of course!), great!
The list you mention: you mean rotors, not capilers?

hein

 

[KevC]

yes, sorry Hein, I meant rotors not calipers

 

[dimka pdx]

KevC,

Thank you for all the wonderful info in this thread! After reading this, I decided to try my own brake upgrade (on a '79 XS650 project) thanks to eBay. Since you have completed the upgrade, I wanted to run my design by you...and see if there is something I overlooked.

The setup:
> '03 R1 front caliper (running a single...was told running duals will be way too much for this bike)
> Master from the same '03 R1
> Rotors from a Ducati Monster (320mm setup)

My thinking:
> For the caliper bracket, I was going to use a 1/2 piece of billet aluminum, flat all around (with possibly some decorate stuff on the outside)
> This requires the new rotor (which has much less offset over stock) to be spaced away from the wheel by ~12.4mm.

Here is a picture of a current mock up. I used some 11.16mm nuts I had laying around for a mock up spacer, and the caliper is still roughly 1.24mm shy of being flush with the forks.

Would love any insight you have to share on the idea!

 

[Pierrax]

If you're using only one caliper, the MC may not be OK.

 

[oz650]

If you're using only one caliper, the MC may not be OK.

- the m/c ratio has been designed to work with two calipers. Still got a set of 298mm discs lying around and a trx850 m/c + calipers that I will hopefully fit one day! appreciate the measurements on this thread Kev!

 

[dimka pdx]

- the m/c ratio has been designed to work with two calipers. Still got a set of 298mm discs lying around and a trx850 m/c + calipers that I will hopefully fit one day! appreciate the measurements on this thread Kev!

Thanks for the info guys! Since the master was designed for two calipers, what would happen if I run a single? Too much pressure, or not enough?

Would a stock XS650 master work for the purposes of this brake upgrade?

 

[hein weijers]

The pressure will be the same, but is working on half the number of capilers. You will need a MC with a smaller diameter to achief a higher pressure on the capilers. I think that also will be the cheapest solution.

Hein

 

[KevC]

hein.......... apologies for not getting back to you on those measurements but I will try to do it this weekend (a serious family illness has put things on hold for awhile)


dimka pdx........ looks like a great set up & Im glad my thread has helped you & others to try the same.

Have to agree with the others on your master cylinder size, as mentioned earlier in the thread I bought an 11mm master cylinder from a Triumph Legend TT2000, its an 11mm Nissin cylinder with a mirror mount, just what I needed to repalce the Yamaha one. Haven't tried it yet but in theory it should be spot on.

The clearance between the caliper & the cast wheeel spokes is tight (about 1mm in my case) but it does clear, not so sure about a spoked wheel tho!

Good luck & make a rough caliper adaptor first to get your sizes right etc.... then make your final one & make it as pretty as ya like

 

[dimka pdx]

So...I went to a couple of CNC and mill shops to see what it would cost to get the bracket made. Turns out, most places want ~$500 for the design work, before they can make one. While I realize there is a design already laid out in this thread, I am running different rotors which would require a different bracket.

IF the bracket I decide to make is flat (on both sides), do you think 3/8" plate is thick enough? I am heavily involved in the 4x4 community and 3/8" is the thickness we use for brake caliper brackets on trucks. However, I realize there are four calipers on the trucks to spread the braking force, not just one like on the bike. If 3/8" is enough, I might just make it myself using a good old angle grinder.

 

[KevC]

Travis
Being honest I just looked around the machine shop at various thickness plate we had and choose the 16mm, taking into account the 4mm recess at the back & the 2mm recess in the front (only decorative), which reduces it to about 10mm in places. So if you were to use spacers 3/8" should be ok

10mm should do you ok
And you really dont need to go the CNC route, there are NO critical dimensions, its all clearance.
I made a mock up using some thin plate to estimate where the caliper should be mounted, drilled holes & filed them out to give a good postion. It was only cos I had the facilities at the time I CNC milled it. Nothing stopping you doing it by hand.
As far as CNC shops wanting $500 for design work, what a laugh!!!! If you provide them with a drawing with all the "X" & "Y" positions like in I've shown , it would take 15 mins to program!

I may be able to work out the position of your caliper with your rotor compared to mine & draw something up for ya

 

[dimka pdx]

So I thought I would post an update on my brake upgrade...especially since this thread motivated me to get off my butt and switch to the Fazer calipers. Please note this is still a work in progress and I will need to do some paint work, clean up and upgrade the hardware.

There are two parts I had made for me:

The first is a rotor/hub spacer. Here is a pic and specs if you choose to have your own made. Note this hub is desigened with a 320MM Ducati rotor in mind:

I had two of these made for $100 (a minimum for this vendor).

The second part I designed myself using a template and had a friend of a friend scan it into a laser cutting machine. They were able to produce seven of these caliper brackets within their $100 minimum...who wants to buy one? These are made of 3/8":

Here are a few pics of the bracker mounted to the forks, and another with the caliper on it. Like I said, I still have to make it a bit more visually appealing, but this setup appears to be working like a charm. Everything looks to line up perfectly:

Thanks again for this thread! It's the kick some of us need to get a project started.

 

[Pierrax]

Very good job !

 

[KevC]

Very nice job, nice idea on the lazer cutting, you should easily sell those & more than cover your cost

 

[hein weijers]

Hi Kev,

I now have 2 nice Blue Spots an 2 disks from a Yamaha TDM 850
I have started to measure the adapters for the disk offset and the capilers and I see that with my spoked Heritage wheel the clearances are very critical. The spokes force the capilers so far to the outside that the disk position has to be within 1 mm of the fork leg. If I could remove some material from the inner piston housing, that would help a lot, but I don't know how thick the material is.

Another question, Kev: on your photo the lower blue piston seems to be out of the middle of the disk. I assume that I see that wrong

Hein

 

[KevC]

Hi Hein,
Your clearances for your spoked wheels will be very critical, they are tight on the cast wheels. In fact if you pull this off, you may well be the first to do so on spoked wheels.
I don't really understand what you mean by "remove some material from the inner piston housing"
On your second point, I think you are probably right but both pistons are in contact with the disc & it works very well. Trying to get both pistons perfectly central to the disc would be complicated & in my opinion unnecessary.
Good luck with your project & I look forward to seeing the finished job
Kev