Matching a hydraulic Brake caliper and Master cylinder.

[mckutzy]

I have been a proponent for a long while of the mechanical brake calipers as they are cheaper and relatively efficient way of stopping... Have spent alot of time on diagnosing problems associated with them, and their setup.

Lately, I have wondered about potentially upgrading completely on my bike to hydraulic brakes.

I bought a used Brembo foot MC from a swapmeet a while ago and forgotten about it till recently. Not sure if Ill use it any time soon. But got me thinking again...

On the amazon, I see a bunch of cool looking brake MC for hand grip levers and also for foot operated versions aswell.

SO..the question being... How do you know what can work together as far as what calipers can work with what MC(hand or foot versions) anyways.... Or can they all work but more or less work is applied to get a proper clamp to stop.......

Im kinda leaning towards hand operated as they have nice levers, In either a Line direct or a cable to operate a foot MC.

 

[itsid]

I think the only real difference between MCs is bore..
especially for hand operated ones, there's nearly no way to increase stroke, right

And even with a rear one you cannot change lever ratios too much to increase the stroke,
else you'll end up with a pedal resistance that is simply uncomfortable.
So again.. bore it'll be

In the end, all you need to care about is, that the displacement of the MC
is enough to close the airgap between disc and brakepad
(i.e. extend the howmany pistons you have by whatever it needs)
I have a fairly heavy bike (205kg) with a
fairly significant forward momentum (top speed 270 km/h)
and my front brake piston is maybe a 10x10 (bore x stroke)
[can take a look tomorrow if you need to know]
forcing two six piston calipers shut without issues

So, in the end I'd say there's hardly a chance to undersize the MC
as long as your caliper and discs match up nicely.

and the other way around: the bigger the bore the less stroke you need
to clamp the caliper down and the less force you need to do so.
And since you don't want to hit an invisible wall because a fly sat down on the brake pedal,
I wouldn't install a car MC let's say


'sid

 

[Joe-405]

Most motorcycles atvs and karts are 5/8 bore. As I’ve recently figured out due to my yerf dog project needing a foot tandem style master for atv calipers.

The barstool has the mcp hand lever and brake caliper and stops like a champ. Like locks the rear axle up if you pull it hard enough !!!

 

[mckutzy]

Wow.... Thank you...
Defiantly gives me a thing to think about...
I'm going to take a better look and compile a few items that strike my fancy... I'll list here to see what you guys think on a potentially compatible matchup...

 

[itsid]

mine's indeed a 5/8 (Tokico) according to the internet,
cannot find any designation on it...
looks WAAAY smaller maybe because the actuator pin is just half that size...

That's in fact huge, considering my 1200kg car got stopped (fast and hard) with a single 17mm piston without any form of brake booster.

Anyways, the one on my sisters bike is a 1/2" Nissin (so indeed smaller)

which kinda washes out the "most bike" comment a bit, but yeah...

'sid

 

[mckutzy]

Well I took a look around... difficult to find stuff with ease...
So I relented to the Amazon....
Seen some interesting stuff and found a few thing I might like..

This caliper... reasonably priced...
https://www.amazon.ca/Sportsman-For...le=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=2&vehicleType=atv

And these MC Hand levers... cool style and adjustable...
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0787ZN6WF...colid=4TPBFXP8F63P&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it


What do you guys think about these as a match....Are they potentially??

Obviously need to get some fluid, washers more banjo bolts( a blank one aswell as I see there is 2 feed holes on the caliper), a brake line....Ect...

 

[mckutzy]

Any thoughts of yeh/neh ??

 

[itsid]

never been a fan of floating calipers tbh..
but I kinda like the hand levers judging about the style and nothing but the style.
Funny enough; I wanted a similar set of levers for my bike (just the folding adjustable levers mind you)
and while there are chinese levers for 30 bucks a pair, the road legal ones cost 120 a set
(some even 99 for a single one!) And there must be more than money making reasons for that ...

personally, all safety related parts IMHO should come from a known source,
If all else fails you still want the brakes to work,
it's usually easier to trust in that, if you know the manufacturer..
So I would buy a used Nissin hand lever off ebay before I buy a new noname one off amazon.
but again.. that's personal gut feeling not "backed by experience" advice

I guess I'd buy a used brake set (MCP and caliper) from a known bike
(Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki etc.. not chinese pitbike stuff that is) that's about the weight of whatever I want to stop with it.
just to be sure it not only matches MCP and caliper but the set to my vehicle.

*shrugs* not what you wanted to hear I'm afraid, but I can't help it..
brakes is nothing I want to be worried about.

'sid

 

[mckutzy]

Fare enough... I see what your saying... I'll shelve the thoughts for now...
I did however already did buy a little while ago on a good deal, a 4" band brake, and there is just enough room to fit with my chain guard... ...

Now I know all the pro's/con's of clutch braking systems...additional imparted heat and chain failure/no brakes the big ones....
I was thinking using this a suplimentry lower speed brake that I can use with my exsisting "pedal setup" I originally had used with my rear brakes back in the day...
I'll keep my sprocket disc, and just work on improving my current disc caliper setup as a main stopping method...

I did look up MCP kart brakes... They are pricy for sure... Obviously worth it... Just a little too much at the moment...