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Author Topic: Front Brake Upgrade II  (Read 1984 times)

Lipo423

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Front Brake Upgrade II
« on: July 21, 2012, 07:37:23 PM »

Hello all,

Finally, the brake calliper bracket/support was finished...although I may need to get it done again as the CNC process was not done in the way I requested  >:(

Outcomes

- 10mm disk section increased (310mm to 320)
- 10mm disk surface calliper contact increased (25mm to 35mm)
- Disk is more "floating" than the original one(9 pivoting points vs 6)
- Brake lever position can be adjusted
- More available braking power
- More braking modulation
- Less lever pressure to stop the bike
- No need for sintered pads (cheaper maintenance than the std. brakes), but still available if you want to get extra stopping power -from my opinion is not needed at all...
- Braking is less noisy  :)

I'm not going to measure the "gain" in reducing the braking distance to stop the bike, as I would need another one with the std. brakes, but believe me when I say that this thing brakes now!!!

Please take a look at the attached pictures and let me know if you have any questions

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Bikes: Kawa GPX 600, Suzuki GSX 750-R, Yamaha FZR 1000, Suzuki Lido 75, Peugeot SV 125, Suzuki Burgman 400, Suzuki Burgman 650, KTM EXC 250, 2012 Zero ZF9 - All of them sold -
2014 Zero SR 11.4, BMW C1 125, BMW R 850R

protomech

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2012, 06:35:01 PM »

Since you've done your homework, what are your thoughts on single vs dual rotor front brakes? I know our bikes are pretty light, and we're not braking hard from 150 mph like a sportbike would be.
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Richard230

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2012, 04:47:16 AM »

I have been able to skid my front wheel with just the stock brake.  My feeling is that switching the brake pads to an HH compound should provide the stopping power that you need for most purposes.
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

Lipo423

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2012, 10:17:46 PM »

I also thought about dual disk possibility, but when making the "numbers" -both technically and financially- it was not viable...(fork + wheel replacement + 2 callipers + 2 disks)...for that reason I went for this option, which is still some money, but I love the results...Oh men, is so easy & quiet to stop the baby now  ;D
Sportsbikes use a far better brake-callipers (monoblock). You get scared when trying one of these dual-disks brakes  :o

As you stated the bike is light (there are only a few "reasonable" naked-style bikes in the markeplace close the the weight of the ZF9).

One low-cost solution where you could get some improvement is to change just the pump for a radial one...as the brake pads are already sintered (didn't try this one as I had very little confidence in the std. calliper)
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Bikes: Kawa GPX 600, Suzuki GSX 750-R, Yamaha FZR 1000, Suzuki Lido 75, Peugeot SV 125, Suzuki Burgman 400, Suzuki Burgman 650, KTM EXC 250, 2012 Zero ZF9 - All of them sold -
2014 Zero SR 11.4, BMW C1 125, BMW R 850R

Le Z Turbo

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2014, 11:48:08 AM »

Hello Lipo432,
great job on this mod !!!
I would be interested by a fork mod description. How did you dismount and get your fork opened, put out the spring ? Any picture of this part of the job
Have a good week end !
Laurent
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Richard230

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2014, 08:09:15 PM »

Hello Lipo432,
great job on this mod !!!
I would be interested by a fork mod description. How did you dismount and get your fork opened, put out the spring ? Any picture of this part of the job
Have a good week end !
Laurent

Somewhere on this site are links to a couple of videos from Fast Ace showing how the fork is completely dismantled and reassembled.  The work appears to be performed at the Fast Ace factory. After I saw that video, I decided that it would be easier to just buy a new bike with new forks than try to take the old ones apart and rebuild them.   ;)
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

Le Z Turbo

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2014, 11:03:39 PM »

I saw the videos but I don't know why they've gone SO far on dissambling everything for just an oil change
Any idea ?
Laurent
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Richard230

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2014, 03:59:36 AM »

I saw the videos but I don't know why they've gone SO far on dissambling everything for just an oil change
Any idea ?
Laurent

I think it was more like a fork rebuild than just an oil change.  I guess they wanted to show us how tough it was to rebuild the forks so that we wouldn't try to do it.   ::)

However, sometime during the spring of 2012, I did locate a set of instructions on the internet describing how to replace the oil in Fast Ace forks.  I posted the link in a thread on Fast Ace fork servicing (or something similar).  But the instructions seemed to be a lot more complicated than any forks that I have ever worked on and I never gave them a try.
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

Lipo423

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2014, 11:12:37 PM »

Bonsoir Laurent,

Thanks for your message.
I did not disassemble the fork myself, but another guy, however I have to support Richard's statement.
The fork built quality is very "basic" (being polite), and would not let you play a lot with the adjustments without taking some mechanical risks...my advice is do not do it...as the best scenario is for you ending up having to replace one of the bars, or the two...
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Bikes: Kawa GPX 600, Suzuki GSX 750-R, Yamaha FZR 1000, Suzuki Lido 75, Peugeot SV 125, Suzuki Burgman 400, Suzuki Burgman 650, KTM EXC 250, 2012 Zero ZF9 - All of them sold -
2014 Zero SR 11.4, BMW C1 125, BMW R 850R

Le Z Turbo

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2014, 12:27:31 AM »

Thanks. Well my goal would just be to add a 15mm tube to preload the spring a little more. Oh I see you have a BMW C1, I also stii have my 200cc one !
Laurent
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Richard230

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2014, 03:26:22 AM »

When I had my 2012 Zero S suspension adjusted by a local professional suspension adjuster, he told me that the Fast Ace forks could use more preload.  So I think your idea of increasing the spring spacer another 15 mm is a good one.  If you give it a try take photos of your work and let us know how easy it is to do and how increasing the preload has affected the bike's handling.  Good luck!   :)
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2009 BMW F650GS, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

Le Z Turbo

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2014, 04:46:41 PM »

Thanks, will do ! It's on a 2013 DS actually.
Laurent
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Lipo423

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #12 on: May 05, 2014, 09:28:00 PM »

If you increase pre-load you also loose free-traveling...if you decide to move forward I would change the spring, so you would not loose free traveling.
Keep your C1 safe, and in good shape...they are -still today- the only bikes you may drive with no helmet!
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Bikes: Kawa GPX 600, Suzuki GSX 750-R, Yamaha FZR 1000, Suzuki Lido 75, Peugeot SV 125, Suzuki Burgman 400, Suzuki Burgman 650, KTM EXC 250, 2012 Zero ZF9 - All of them sold -
2014 Zero SR 11.4, BMW C1 125, BMW R 850R

DynoMutt

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Re: Front Brake Upgrade II
« Reply #13 on: May 05, 2014, 11:30:09 PM »

Has anyone ever tried to set up ABS brakes on a Zero S?
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