I had to tell somebody...
I have an '81 street tracker with a stock motor and the original front end. The front brake reminded me of the effectiveness of rubbing a chunk of 2x4 on the hard rubber tire of a kid's wagon - there was a lot of planning ahead, which I'd done for the first 8,000 miles I'd put on the bike (and given the tendency of the motor to hang at higher revs after the throttle is closed makes brakes that much more important - but that's a subject for another post).
On 650Central.com it says "superior pads are the single best improvement for stock brakes," so I got a set of Vesrah semi-metallic pads from my local shop. Braking performance was immediately two or three times better than the aged stock pads, but it still took a full four-finger grab to haul it down.
The other day I installed a new set of Progressive fork springs, a Brembo 11mm front brake master cylinder, and a one-piece stainless steel brake line, all from Michael at 650Central.com. The difference is huge. It now takes a fairly easy two-finger pull to stop quicker than the four-finger pull. The action of the Brembo master is SO nice.
The new fork springs (the heavy duty model, since the rear is 2.5" higher than stock and I weigh 200 lbs) replace stock springs with a 1" spacer on top. The front dives only a little under hard braking and recovers from the dive quickly, giving way better confidence and feeling of control. As a comparison, my friend has a stock '81 with a second disk added to the front (stock calipers and master cylinder, steel lines). It stops in a hurry, but with the stock springs (and spacers) the front dives tremendously under medium braking.
With the new springs the front is planted and predictable in corners. This may shame me into replacing the front tire...
I can't keep from giggling in my helmet...I loved riding this bike before but it was more of a vintage experience, y'know?
Dealing with Michael Morse at 650Central was a pleasure. I had left a message earlier in the day and he even called me back after his closing time. He had great advice, shipped the stuff out within a day and I had it a couple days later.
I have an '81 street tracker with a stock motor and the original front end. The front brake reminded me of the effectiveness of rubbing a chunk of 2x4 on the hard rubber tire of a kid's wagon - there was a lot of planning ahead, which I'd done for the first 8,000 miles I'd put on the bike (and given the tendency of the motor to hang at higher revs after the throttle is closed makes brakes that much more important - but that's a subject for another post).
On 650Central.com it says "superior pads are the single best improvement for stock brakes," so I got a set of Vesrah semi-metallic pads from my local shop. Braking performance was immediately two or three times better than the aged stock pads, but it still took a full four-finger grab to haul it down.
The other day I installed a new set of Progressive fork springs, a Brembo 11mm front brake master cylinder, and a one-piece stainless steel brake line, all from Michael at 650Central.com. The difference is huge. It now takes a fairly easy two-finger pull to stop quicker than the four-finger pull. The action of the Brembo master is SO nice.
The new fork springs (the heavy duty model, since the rear is 2.5" higher than stock and I weigh 200 lbs) replace stock springs with a 1" spacer on top. The front dives only a little under hard braking and recovers from the dive quickly, giving way better confidence and feeling of control. As a comparison, my friend has a stock '81 with a second disk added to the front (stock calipers and master cylinder, steel lines). It stops in a hurry, but with the stock springs (and spacers) the front dives tremendously under medium braking.
With the new springs the front is planted and predictable in corners. This may shame me into replacing the front tire...
I can't keep from giggling in my helmet...I loved riding this bike before but it was more of a vintage experience, y'know?
Dealing with Michael Morse at 650Central was a pleasure. I had left a message earlier in the day and he even called me back after his closing time. He had great advice, shipped the stuff out within a day and I had it a couple days later.
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