Classic TT Build - Braking Story

Here is a story of braking woe...

When I bought the Ducati 851 SP3 back in April - it had crap brakes. I think it had been standing a while and don't think the callipers had been cleaned in a few thousand miles. Brembo's are awesome callipers, but they get brake-dusted-up easily and need a bit of maintenance.

So I gave the callipers a clean and changed the fluid. We had brakes again :-)

 

I changed the pads to sintered race jobs. The braking was absolutely fearsome! Sintered pads on iron discs = mega friction. I was more than happy with the performance, but I wasn't comfortable with the setup. A few folk advised against sintered on iron and my mate ending his race career from a shattered iron disc at Brands was in the back of my mind. The rotor carriers were also a bit worn. Racing is a confidence game. Especially on the IOM - you HAVE to have complete faith in your equipment.

Stick with what you know. I dug up a set of good Brembo discs that were on an Aprilia set of 'wet' wheels. Popped them on and shazam! Great brakes again. Not fearsome... but great.

When prepping for the next test ride, I was torqueing the calliper bolts. It hit 20Nm on the dial and I felt that sickening sudden slacking off on the wrench. The carrier had split and the calliper bolt stripped. Fan-bloody-tastic!

Fear not! A mate supplied me with a set of slightly later 40mm gold Brembo callipers. Problem was... they had been on a shelf a few years and were minging!

One of the great things about living a few miles from Silverstone are the cool 'race shops' and performance focussed businesses around. I dropped the callipers off at Mode Performance (Brembo importers). Two days and 60 quid later I had a fully serviced set of callipers with two corroded and seized pistons replaced and new pins and clips supplied. Great value!

 

I didn't like the split brake-line standard conglomeration bolted to the lower yolk. Wanted a Race setup... so got some Goodrich lines online.

I pop them on... only, by then I had fitted the trick Oronero carbon air runner and needed longer brake lines for clearance around it. Doh! Down to Goodrich at Silverstone. They seemed not too keen on making up some lines but said they would... but it would take 2 weeks. At that stage I had a few months to go to the Manx so could afford the time to wait.

Two weeks later and they hadn't done a thing. Don't support Goodrich. Good product - awful service. Chatted to the bloke at Mode performance... he said try Earl's Performance... in the next building. They were worth a try... just for the name.

So the friendly bloke at Earl's take's order. I ask: "Can I settle up now... and how long will it take.". "Have you got 10 minutes?"
"Sure."
I expect him to come back with an invoice. He hands me some just-made, beautif brake lines. Packaged and everything. He then hand's me an invoice: 36 quid. Awesome service and value! Use Earl's Performance! (even if it's just for the name...)

 

Okay... new callipers, new lines. Fill 'em up and bleed. Hmmmm... not getting the feel I want. A few test rides and bleeds later and they're better. But not great. The stop a-ok... but the non-adjustable lever just feels a bit soft and comes too far back to the bar to allow comfortable two-finger braking. 4 finger braking is great... but not how I use brakes. I guess the master cylinder just isn't up to the job of the new callipers. Not happy.

 

Was looking at radial master cylinders. But the budget is already blown on the is project. I sit in the garage and scratch my head. Ah! "Cannibalism." My older Aprilia race bike is slowly getting robbed of parts. Battery, levers, clip-ons, a footpeg... and now a master cylinder. Parts donated to other race bikes... its for good cause. She's very understanding.

So... just pilfered and fitted the radial master cylinder. And... it has clearance, Earl's brake-lines were completely reusable and is pukka! Haven't road tested it yet... but sitting on the bike in the garage, making "Drrrrrrrrrrrr" sounds - it feels the business!

But. The saga continues... my nipples weep. Need to sort that. Maybe the wrong nipples. But at least the feel is there... and the bike will stop.

Holy crap! This sure is a long story! I'll let you know if there is a happy ending soon :-)

Update: 13.08.2013 - 14h00
Just got these puppies from Mode Perfromance - as used in World Superbikes... they're 'quick bleed' nipples. We'll see if they end my woes...