Linked brakes or independant?

[Silverado6x6]

On my 83 Venture restoration I have completely removed all of the rear brake components and cleaned them of 17 years of crystalization, all my other bikes including the 2009 Star xvs1300T is independant.

So when the system works properly is it really better than seperate front and rear?

At this stage I can seperate the two, I have a shop down the street that has the stainless lines, I can make my own as I am a hydraulic specialist. Does the Venture benefit from independant braking or integrated?

[Wizard765]

You are going to get various opinions on this one. I personally like them de-linked. Most of your stopping power is on the front wheel. Also if you watch a ride like a pro DvD the slow speed maneuvering is much more difficult with linked brakes.

Skydoc17 has a kit which does this very nicely.

You will get arguments for keeping them linked though.

 

Either way replacing the lines with stainless is an amazing upgrade to your braking power. I highly recommend it.

 

AND WELCOME TO THE SITE!!!!!

[bongobobny]

Yup, Wayne is right, you are going to get different opinions mostly on personal preference!! I for one like the linked brakes and wish my 2nd gen was linked (before it was triked). Never had any problems with slow speed maneuvering with my 1st gen...

[Yammer Dan]

I love my linked system. If you want more front just grab front handle. Great system after you get feel for it.

[Snaggletooth]

I still have mine linked and like it. The key to being satisfied with the linked system is having the proportioning valve working properly.

 

If that don't work right the braking don't feel right.

[Condor]

I liked the linked on the 1stGens also. I only use the fronts on the 2ndGens after reading all about brake lock ups by barely touching the rear pedal....no guts!! I will be adding R1 or R6 calipers when I get around to it, but so far no complaints....

[GaryZ]

On my 83 Venture restoration I have completely removed all of the rear brake components and cleaned them of 17 years of crystalization, all my other bikes including the 2009 Star xvs1300T is independant.

So when the system works properly is it really better than seperate front and rear?

At this stage I can seperate the two, I have a shop down the street that has the stainless lines, I can make my own as I am a hydraulic specialist. Does the Venture benefit from independant braking or integrated?

 

I de-linked my '85 for a couple reasons, some of these can apply to your situation;

I have my VR and a 1999 ZX11 Ninja and I wanted the same type brake function on both bikes. The stock system (linked) offered a very poor front brake feel and I have 45 years of front brake use. I was not comfortable with the linked front brake action when going downhill on my daughter's gravel driveway.

 

The de-linked brakes on my VR work well. The front has OK stopping power, considering the mass it has to slow. I will also recommend stainless brake lines to improve the braking power and feel. The only downside seems to be that I have accelerated wear of the front brake pads (probably my front brake bias).

Edited January 6, 2014 by GaryZ

[Silverado6x6]

Thank you for the opinions. I have no hills so to speak for a driveway, when I pulled the rear master cylinder, reservoir , line and caliper apart I thoroughly cleaned everything, disassembled the proportioning valve and cleaned it as well. So basically I am after a stock restoration here. So I will put it all together after I flush out the left front caliper.

makes sense when I was trying to unload bike from trailer and I needed some form of a hand brake, so I filled the reservoir and bled both from calipers but could not get anything out of the left, never dawned on me on this bike the left front is controlled by the rear brake.

Granted all my other bikes are independent I will at least see what its like, I believe I can even adjust the ratio of fluid to the front as I can get adjustable proportioning valves.

 

used to install them on street rod cars.

[jimmyenglish]

My wife and I do a long (2500+ mile) trip each year pulling a trailer. I'm certain the linked brakes caused us to crash back in 2009.

 

Granted the tongue weight was a bit high and the front end was running light (I've since corrected that). We were pulling into a gas station in Hawley, CO and there was road construction. Going maybe 15 mph, there was new pavement with an invisible layer of dust/sand/whoknows grit on the lane next to the station entrance. Having pulled the trailer plenty before ( I thought I knew better), I grabbed a smigdeon of rear brake. The front wheel broke and it was over. We went down really hard and it hurt like hell. The bike was fine, trailer didn't unhook but my ankle was gashed. My wife would've been dead if it weren't for her helmet (smashed her head in the ground).

 

With a heavy bike such as this (especially laden w/or without passenger and especially w/ trailer), in my opinion, the linked brakes are ridiculous. The art of braking on a motorcycle is the combination/option of front/rear or both. I delinked last year w/stainless lines, R6 calipers, progressive springs and new rotors. I feel MUCH more in control and the bike behaves like every other motorcycle I've ever ridden.

 

Laden, particularly two up, unless you're going really fast, there's a lot of braking power in the rear wheel alone (which I would rather lock up any day compared to front. Almost impossible to do linked) ,especially if you're pulling a trailer. Just one man's experience.

[Silverado6x6]

I have installed inline electric shutoff valves on surge unit trailer brakes, these are hydraulic brakes on trailers that uses braking inertia to pump the brakes, but if you are backing the trailer up hill it will lock the trailer brakes up, so I install a hydraulic switch wired to the reverse lights, that shuts off brake fluid when vehicle is in reverse.

Easy enough to install before left front brake, hit a switch and your system is electrically independent.

[JohnT]

The art of braking on a motorcycle is the combination/option of front/rear or both.

 

In a nut shell. Do you want your brain or a proportioning valve doing the deciding? The very minute I can afford to de link, I will. 33 years of riding without linked brakes demand it.

I will stick with the stock calipers, go with stainless lines, and call it a day.

Saving $$$ so I can do it this winter. (among other things, tinkering on this bike is getting,,,, habit forming )

[GaryZ]

The art of braking on a motorcycle is the combination/option of front/rear or both.

 

In a nut shell. Do you want your brain or a proportioning valve doing the deciding? The very minute I can afford to de link, I will. 33 years of riding without linked brakes demand it.

I will stick with the stock calipers, go with stainless lines, and call it a day.

Saving $$$ so I can do it this winter. (among other things, tinkering on this bike is getting,,,, habit forming )

 

There are lots of opinions about how to go about de-linking. I gutted the rear master and plugged the outlet for the front disk. The rear brake is a little "wooden" feeling, but, serviceable. On the front I installed a Kawasaki coupler on the lower tree with new stainless brake lines to the front calipers and disconnected the anti-dive units (Progressive springs are used on the forks). The front master has plenty of juice to run both front calipers (there is an adjustment to increase the stroke under the handle). In the near future I will install two stainless brake lines from the front master to each front caliper.

PS . . . Tinkering with the Beast is my new normal:whistling: