Brake solution for Grand Daddy kart

[MTScott]

I'll post a build thread soon.... still sourcing parts right now. I have the frame base done and working on the upper rail and cage now.

Brakes parts is one of the items I've stalled on ordering. The MCP master/slave hydraulic setup looks very nice, but is also very pricey.

Is there a solution out there that is more cost effective, but reasonable quality? There is a ton of chinese kits on ebay, but I don't know enough to know if they're heavy duty enough for this cart. I'll be running 20" wheels in the rear, so I figure I'll need something with decent stopping power.

 

[Denny]

Check on amazon or flea-bay the Chinese stuff has worked for others. Just use the matched rotors in the kit. Don’t by fancy stainless steel or something. They won’t work.

 

[madprofessor]

Here's the chiny finy hiny hydraulic I bought to replace previous one. Previous was actually identical to this one insofar as the MC itself is concerned. The problem was that it only had a sightglass where this one has the tube connected, and had to be constantly refilled as brakes are bled with about half a teaspoon of fluid through the plate on the end of the MC cylinder. This one gets filled with enough fluid to bleed my entire 84" brake line and the caliper, refills in a few seconds. Almost able to lock the axle with caliper on an 8" solid disc...............
Rear Hydraulic Brake Master Cylinder Go Kart Sport Sprint Cart Kit Bike Chopper | eBay

 

[MTScott]

This kit here looks decent:
Ebay brake kit

It is a front and rear setup.... which I may attempt to adapt to one day, but for now if I just run the rear, can the ports for the front brakes just be blocked/plugged?

The rear rotor is 8.66", which is plenty big enough, I think.

 

[redflash]

If the hoses are long enough...,.,,check, check, and double check !!!!!

Da Flash

 

[madprofessor]

Surprised that those brake kits have 75" rear brake line, very nice. Make no mistake though, if you need slack in it for a swingarm's motion to prevent wear, it won't go as far as you might think. I had to mount an MC under where my thigh sits to reach my rear caliper including a nice swoop for the slack of a long travel swingarm, using an 84" line.

if I just run the rear, can the ports for the front brakes just be blocked/plugged?

Yes, you can plug off the front port on the MC, but with the dual plungers it will go cockeyed as rear plunger depresses and the front plunger doesn't move. Best to just coil up front hoses with calipers intact and strap them down out of the way. Kit's already full of fluid and bled off anyway, so that wouldn't have to be done again later.

 

[MTScott]

Surprised that those brake kits have 75" rear brake line, very nice. Make no mistake though, if you need slack in it for a swingarm's motion to prevent wear, it won't go as far as you might think. I had to mount an MC under where my thigh sits to reach my rear caliper including a nice swoop for the slack of a long travel swingarm, using an 84" line.

Yes, you can plug off the front port on the MC, but with the dual plungers it will go cockeyed as rear plunger depresses and the front plunger doesn't move. Best to just coil up front hoses with calipers intact and strap them down out of the way. Kit's already full of fluid and bled off anyway, so that wouldn't have to be done again later.

Now I'm wondering how exactly I would mount the rear caliper? I'm having a hard time finding a rotor hub for the 60mm bolt pattern that is intended for a 1.25" keyed axle. I suppose a guy could make an adapter, but getting that perfectly centered and true could be a trick if he's not a machinist... which I'm not.

I guess I didn't take notice that there was a different plunger for front and rear... that tells me that this is really like two MCs built into one unit, sharing a reservoir, basically.... if I took off the plunger bracket and rigged up something to only use one side, I could run the rear brake independently...???

 

[madprofessor]

if I took off the plunger bracket and rigged up something to only use one side, I could run the rear brake independently...???

That would be my guess. Slipping a screwdriver blade in there to push one plunger at a time (if possible) could tell you what caliper(s) moves.