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Hydraulic Brakes
Custom After getting sick of having no rear brakes, I decided to make a custom rear brake. My dealer (Village Cycle Center, Starkville Mississippi) gave me an 85 Yamaha V-Max front caliper. It had obviously not been used in quite a while, so the first step was to disassemble and clean the caliper.
The brake fluid had turned in a really nasty goop. The caliper looked bad too. After disassembling it, cleaning it in a parts washer and letting it soak overnight in a gallon of parts cleaner (it ate the paint right off the caliper) it looks like it will be OK. I also got a master cylinder from a place that does racing go-carts. It is similar in design to the Trenga Master Cylinder, only this one actually works. We are also using the Trenga linkage for now. First we made a template for the caliper mount out of cardboard. We then transferred this to 3/8" plywood, so we could actually mount the caliper. The first bracket came out a little strange so we made another one, which turned out better. We had a local machine shop make us a steel caliper bracket, for about $15. I painted it red to match the plastic.
Next, we needed brake lines. A Harley custom shop in Atlanta made us a set for about $90. A little high, but the master cylinder has a really odd design. So we bolted it all on and bled it (bleeding took less than five min.). And let me tell you it works. Really, really well. I mean like hitting a brick wall. I only have about 25 miles on it, but I'll give you a long term report in a few months. I also have some pictures that should be done in the next week or so. Keep coming back for more updates!
Update: 10-2-99
So far I have a few hundred miles on the rear brake, and it works as well as it ever did. The pads seem to be holding up pretty well to the mud. I was worried that street pads wouldn't last, but they do. The brake lines look a little odd, and I still don't like the way the master cylinder mounts, so we got a used Banshee master cylinder to put on it. So I guess the project isn't quite done, but it is a success.
I took a couple of pics, but they didn't turn out. Don't worry, I'll get some.
Update: 1-9-00
I finally got some decent pics back. What do you think?
Update: 6-19-00
I got a Banshee master cylinder, and had a bracket welded onto the frame to accept it. The brake pedal was also modified with a tab to push on the new cylinder. The fluid reservoir was mounted in the storage box. A steel braided, rubber coated brake line was used. The installlation is now a lot cleaner, it almost look like a factory job. Braking power was also imporved significantly.
Update: 7-14-00 New pics
The new master cylinder. You can also see the polished sidecase.
A much better picture of the caliper and mount.
Here's another page that might help you if you are building a hydraulic rear brake:
Philip Moore's Custom Hydraulic Brake Page
