Front Brake rebuild & imporove, what should I replace

[falken]

I've taken apart the caliper, and pads. I have the front brake caliper apart, and the master cylinder and lines off my 1980 XS (Special).

Someone mentioned that the front of my bike might not be a special.

Should I replace the whole lever/master cylinder instead of trying to bother rebuilding/repainting? (been reading that braking can be improved by going to 12.7mm instead of 14mm bore)

Caliper is apart, should I replace pads, piston, seal? Or the whole thing?

Goal is to get good braking without breaking the bank, front brake was severely lackluster on my drive home with the bike.

Stainless steel braded lines are definitly on the docket.

Whole bike pic here: http://i.imgur.com/z5IC2kv.jpg

Thanks, attached are the pics.

 

[Motocue]

Hi, well that's a single piston , u can only get so much out of it . Good pads EBC HH and a better disc will help a lot . Bleed to death . A better master is not a bad idea also. Hope this helps.

 

[aldo5468]

The 11mm m/c that Yamaha used on TTR250's, XT225's, and TW200's in early 2000's is a much better match for the stock single-disc, single-piston front caliper on the later-model XS650's than the 14mm m/c with which they were built. This 11mm unit accepts the stock brake lever, stock RH mirror and stock brake switch wiring - virtually a "plug-and-play" swap. Brake lines attach on the right side of the reservoir instead of the front, but that's not an issue when you're changing to s/s lines, anyway. I found two different Yamaha part numbers for these 11mm units, which may just reflect sourcing from two different suppliers: 4GY-25870-02-00 and 5RS-25870-00-00. As Motocue says, good pads are a must! Right-hand 5mm-thick disc off an XS1100 bolts right up to your wheel, giving you a slotted disc and some saving of unsprung weight (stock disc is 7mm thick) while preserving "factory" appearance. PM me if you're interested in one of these 11mm m/c's - I've got a new one that I don't need.

 

[falken]

I think my plan of action is to look for an xs1100 disc in good shape, get some better pads (mikesxs has some nice looking replacements) and get it all put back together.

Already swapped the bar to a shorter straighter bar that I took of my other bike when I changed it out, so the brake lines are actually getting a few inches shorter anyway; I don't plan on running a long pull back bar like that ever again.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi falken,
FYI, XS750/850/1100 Specials have forward axle sliders and Standards have under slider axles.
XS650 Standard and Special forks are identical, both with under slider axles.
Kudos on swapping the rototiller bars BTW, the only good use for them is for the tenor note on a windchime.
Yes for XS11 slotted disk or drill the stock disk full of holes.
Yes for Stainless hoses.
The stock m/c piston diameter is too big for a single caliper, add the leftside disk & caliper or swap to a smaller m/c.
See if you can make a deal with aldo for that 11mm m/c.

 

[falken]

is there an easy and not too expensive caliper upgrade?

 

[fredintoon]

is there an easy and not too expensive caliper upgrade?

Hi falken,
as in bolts straight on and costs less than a C-note?
Not that I know of.
The easiest and least costly upgrade is an 11mm m/c, new pads, stainless brake lines and drill the disk full of holes.
I went t'other way on mine, buying a $50 used leftside caliper.
That puts the stock m/c's diameter right in the sweet spot.
But adds to the unsprung weight.
Which don't make a difference for a sidecar hack.
If I ever do another for solo work I'll stay with a single disk and use a smaller m/c.

 

[falken]

Hi falken,
as in bolts straight on and costs less than a C-note?

exactly what i meant. haha..

Looking at an xs11 disc on eBay - probably go ahead and get that to save the work of drilling holes.

Vesrah brake pads and caliper parts ordered from mikesXS

 

[aldo5468]

While you've got the caliper off the bike, strip that black paint off it. It looks a lot less clunky in bare aluminum. Either way, I believe you will be very pleased with the stock front caliper when combined with a smaller-bore m/c, new s/s lines and quality pads like the Vesrahs.

 

[fredintoon]

exactly what i meant. haha..

Looking at an xs11 disc on eBay - probably go ahead and get that to save the work of drilling holes.

Vesrah brake pads and caliper parts ordered from mikesXS

Hi falken,
those are all good things but you are not doing the best thing
YOU NEED A SMALLER MASTER CYLINDER

 

[falken]

Hi falken,
those are all good things but you are not doing the best thing
YOU NEED A SMALLER MASTER CYLINDER

I will be doing that. Meant to mention it.

 

[650Skull]

Read through XSLeo's Thread on M/C bore size

 

[falken]

I had actually read that. I will reread it again.

Any recomendations on stainless cables? I see kits to make it exactly the length you need, and custom length premade cables from a few places.

Read through XSLeo's Thread on M/C bore size