R1 brake calipers on 1st Gen (88)

[dna9656]

Will R-1 brake calipers "Bolt on" (fit w/o mods) on my '88?

[CaseyJ955]

An 88 is a MKII, so yes, they bolt on. I slapped a set of R6 pinchers on mine. The brake line mounting position is a little different than stock and holds the 30 year old line at a precarious angle, I opted to use some braided aft mkt lines at the same time. It stops now, boy does it! You can use the stock lines, they can be manipulated to fit but the price of brake failure is so much higher than a set of new lines. There is a year range that works/fits best and I dont have that in front of me, wanna say 99-03 but please verify, my memory is for **** anymore haha. A very worthy upgrade IMHO

[84VentureMatt]

Oh I am for sure interested in doing a brake upgrade like this but i have an 84 

[Pasta Burner]

6 hours ago, 84VentureMatt said:

Oh I am for sure interested in doing a brake upgrade like this but i have an 84 

I believe you need to swap the forks out for MkII forks.  @skydoc_17 offers some great service and brake kits.

[Squidley]

21 hours ago, 84VentureMatt said:

Oh I am for sure interested in doing a brake upgrade like this but i have an 84 

You will have to swap the forks with a MKII '86 thru '93 to be able to use the R1 calipers. Stainless brake lines and EBC HH pads will do a world of good for stopping your MKI without doing the swap. Delinking the brakes will, IMO, give you a better feel, I never cared for the linked brakes on the 1st gens.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Squidley

[saddlebum]

On 10/5/2021 at 1:18 PM, Squidley said:

You will have to swap the forks with a MKII '86 thru '93 to be able to use the R1 calipers. Stainless brake lines and EBC HH pads will do a world of good for stopping your MKI without doing the swap. Delinking the brakes will, IMO, give you a better feel, I never cared for the linked brakes on the 1st gens.

I agree with the d-linking the front brakes. Back when I first got my venture around 2006 the linked brake almost did me in when the front wheel locked on me trying to stop on a gravel and sand covered paved intersection while attempting to slow down with rear brake only. Two gentle attempts at using only rear brake caused my front wheel to slide out sideways and almost dropping the bike. I aborted a third attempt as it would only bring me to a stop in the middle of the intersection so I tucked my tongue back into my cheek, rolled hard on the throttle and shot the intersection. For the life of me I could not understand why my front wheel locked up while applying rear brake. Getting home I checked on the brake system and discovered the concept of linked brakes and decided one way or the other this had to go. I have since came to the conclusion that though this linked brake setup may be great for straight line stops on paved highways they are dangerous on corners were there is often loose gravel and probably why so many 1st gens have gone down in the corners.

Edited October 7, 2021 by saddlebum