R1 brake upgrade

[sendaro_99]

After reading a couple of posts concerning this upgrade I have a few questions. what year spread on the r1's will fit my 02 midnight? Do I have to spring for the ss hoses at the same time I switch calipers, m/c, and the splitter valve or can I replace them at a later date? My cash flow is not flowing real great so cost is important but my stock front brakes leaving a lot to be desired. any suggestions on how to improve the performance of the stock brakes would be very helpful. thanks in advance for any help.

Edited August 15, 2013 by sendaro_99

[crowrod]

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but I think 1998-2003 r-1s will fit . also calipers from late model road stars will fit. As long as they are not radial calipers. Your older brake lines and m/c will work if that is the way you need to go. I would try to find a complete road star set up, m/c lines ,calipers. that way it is plug and play(simple swap)

[sendaro_99]

thanks, that's very helpful. Will look for the complete setup. any ideas on how to improve performance of stock system. Will the ebc hh pads help any? I've been using the organic pads and they wear fast (7000 on rear). I flush the system every couple of seasons but the fronts don't feel like I was expecting, seem hard just before the bike stops rolling. thanks again:backinmyday:

[crowrod]

Fast wear on back pads will happen when fronts are not up to snuff, front bakes should be 80% of stopping power. HH pads will help some.

[Guest]

A any suggestions on how to improve the performance of the stock brakes would be very helpful. thanks in advance for any help.

Going with SS lines up front would be an improvement over the stock rubber lines as well as EBC HH pads and maybe a caliper rebuild. Below is a link for those stock ss lines. While I have the R1 calipers and they work well I have not found a real earth shattering difference in braking performance. In retrospect I probably would have just rebuilt the front calipers and gone with SS lines but I did go with the R1's and have since polished them too. Dont get me wrong..im not slamming them..they do work well, just not what I had expected though. I did retain the stock M/C as well. Maybe thats part of it but I dont plan on doing front brake/rear wheelies any time soon....LOL.

 

http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FK003D494-3

[RedRider]

+1 on replacing your lines with SS. Your current lines are 12+ years old.

 

On page 7-6 of the owners manual it calls for brake and clutch hoses to be replaced every 4 years. Mind you, it also calls for the seals in the master cylinders, clutch slave, and calipers to be replaced every two years. I don't think so.

 

One simple thing I might suggest, lube the pivot point of your brake lever. If you haven't done this before, you likely will be surprised at the results. Easy and cheap. Just like 1st Gen owners.

 

RR

[sendaro_99]

Ruffy, will those lines fit on my 02? says there for an 05 and up. I see another set by Goodridge for my year range, are they as good quality as the others. thanks again for your help, von only buy them once right now do I gotta get it right the first time.

[Guest]

There is no difference between the years.

[Guest]

Mike, sent you a PM

[RSTDdog]

Going with SS lines up front would be an improvement over the stock rubber lines as well as EBC HH pads and maybe a caliper rebuild. Below is a link for those stock ss lines. While I have the R1 calipers and they work well I have not found a real earth shattering difference in braking performance. In retrospect I probably would have just rebuilt the front calipers and gone with SS lines but I did go with the R1's and have since polished them too. Dont get me wrong..im not slamming them..they do work well, just not what I had expected though. I did retain the stock M/C as well. Maybe thats part of it but I dont plan on doing front brake/rear wheelies any time soon....LOL.

 

http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FK003D494-3

 

I haven't done this mod but researched it quite a bit. Seems Pegscraper came to the same conclusion as you did at first, what's the big deal, and after switching to the 14mm Road Star Master Cylinder said it was like night and day. Some older Road Star Master Cylinders are 5/8 bore same as ours so shop carefully.Seems you do have to match up the components for best performance. Of course then you'd have to polish up another M/C or look for the odd Road Star S Master cylinder, which unlike the venture S, is a fully chromed M/C.

Edited August 20, 2013 by RSTDdog

[Guest]

I haven't done this mod but researched it quite a bit. Seems Pegscraper came to the same conclusion as you did at first, what's the big deal, and after switching to the 14mm Road Star Master Cylinder said it was like night and day. Some older Road Star Master Cylinders are 5/8 bore same as ours so shop carefully.Seems you do have to match up the components for best performance. Of course then you'd have to polish up another M/C or look for the odd Road Star S Master cylinder, which unlike the venture S, is a fully chromed M/C.

 

Ill agree that a matched component set is probably the way to go and Pegscraper knows his stuff but with the current set-up that I am running now there was an improvement over stock. The notchy feeling with the stock calipers is now gone and overall braking is better then stock. I did try to locate a 14 mm m/c a while ago but none were available that didnt have some type of damage to it so I went ahead and polished my stock housings. As long as the bike stops well im happy.