Brake and Mirror questions from a newbie

[ratbikesforever]

From the research I have done it seems that you have to change the forks to convert from 2 piston calipers to 4 piston calipers ( All Fzr OE parts ). Is this true ? What about the rotors and master cylinder ?

Also I hear the YZF600 mirrors are the best upgrade. Can you see directly behind you with these mirrors ? I can not see behind me with the mirrors that I have regardless of how I twist my body. Thanks for the help !!

[sweekster]

The YZF's are a direct bolt on. From what I've read the visibility is better than the mouse ears but not great I have gsxr mirror using the fzr bases. They stick out further (and make the bike look a little funny) and I can see completely behind me.

As far as the forks, yeah you would need to swap the forks to 1990 and newer. I'm not sure about the rotors but I think they are the same. Everything else should swap over as well. If you decide to go that route I'll suggest to with a complete YZF front brake setup-meaning at least the calipers and master cylinder. The calipers don't provide any better braking, they just look better. You can use the OEM 4 piston FZR calipers and achieve the same effect. The YZF master cylinder provides a better "bite" with the result being better braking. I've ridden a few YZFs and a couple older R6's and the braking is much better than the FZR. Oh yeah, braided lines will also be an added bonus in the equation as well.

Hope that helps.

[cad600]

You have to use FZR rotors if you are using a FZR rim. They are interchangeable between all years. You can use the YZF or pre '05 R6 Master Cylinder. I say pre '05 because you don't want to use the newer radial mount type. The same is true for the brake callipars - YZF or pre '05 R6 units will bolt on. The only reason to change the forks (in terms of brakes) is if you have the '89 model. Which since you talked about 2 pistion units I assume that you have an '89 FZR600.

[yamaha_george]

Y. I say pre '05 because you don't want to use the newer radial mount type.

Cad600,
That begs the question as to why not radial style (apart from they are expensive even 2nd Hand on Fleabay )

[cad600]

Cad600,
That begs the question as to why not radial style (apart from they are expensive even 2nd Hand on Fleabay )

I think it is relivent here. The reason not to go with the Radial Master Cylinder is that there is no way to mount Radial Calipares onto FZR or YZF forks. The Radial Calipares are mounted differently so the hydraulic forces are spread more evenly onto the rotor and this also helps to counter act the rotational forces the rotor is applying. This in turn allows more force to be applied by the Master Cylinder. Will the master cylinder mount to the clip-on? Yes. Is it a good idea to use with conventional (FZR style) brake calipares? Not really. You could very easilly overload the front end with one.

Hell, I almost stood the rear wheel up in the air once when I looked up from the tach and saw a car stopped in front of me once. That was just with a R6 brake setup and some steel braided lines.

[yamaha_george]

Cad600,
That begs the question as to why not radial style (apart from they are expensive even 2nd Hand on Fleabay )

I think it is relivent here. The reason not to go with the Radial Master Cylinder is that there is no way to mount Radial Calipares onto FZR or YZF forks. The Radial Calipares are mounted differently so the hydraulic forces are spread more evenly onto the rotor and this also helps to counter act the rotational forces the rotor is applying. This in turn allows more force to be applied by the Master Cylinder. Will the master cylinder mount to the clip-on? Yes. Is it a good idea to use with conventional (FZR style) brake calipares? Not really. You could very easilly overload the front end with one.

Hell, I almost stood the rear wheel up in the air once when I looked up from the tach and saw a car stopped in front of me once. That was just with a R6 brake setup and some steel braided lines.

Cad600
So basically what you are saying is that the radial type master cylinder is far more efficient than the old style m/c so that you are more likely to have a "wooden" feel to breaking rather than a good feed back of the brakes to your hand ?

Sorry but having never used a radial M/c with any thing but radial brakes I am VERY interested in your experiences especially as I have a spare LH & RH radial m/c sitting here on the shelf.
Thanks

[cad600]

I think the "wooden" feeling is probably the best way to describe it. The Radial master cylinders are suppose to be able to generate higher hydraulic forces. I do beleive that being a little more efficient adds to this as well. It would be like putting a R6 master cyllinder on a set of 2 puck calipares. The extra force would overload the system and you wouldn't get any feedback.

My bike already had the fork and 4 puck calipare upgrade when I bought it. So I can't speak to the 2 vs 4 puck difference. But the difference between the FZR and the R6 system was dramatic. I haven't got the bike running yet so it will be interesting to see how the radial mounts are when I get it running. The only reason I'm familiar with the therory is from some research I did when I was looking into the first R6 switch I did. I had never heard of Radial Mount before and started searching to find out what it was. But I don't mind
being proven wrong. So if someone wants to try it and let me know the results, I'm willing to listen. I also think it would be possible to make an adaptor to mount the calipares to a FZR. But I also think their effectiveness woult be deminished because of the rotational forces from the rotor iteslf.

[yamaha_george]

I think the "wooden" feeling is probably the best way to describe it. The Radial master cylinders are suppose to be able to generate higher hydraulic forces. I do beleive that being a little more efficient adds to this as well. It would be like putting a R6 master cyllinder on a set of 2 puck calipares. The extra force would overload the system and you wouldn't get any feedback.

My bike already had the fork and 4 puck caliper upgrade when I bought it. So I can't speak to the 2 vs 4 puck difference. But the difference between the FZR and the R6 system was dramatic. I haven't got the bike running yet so it will be interesting to see how the radial mounts are when I get it running. The only reason I'm familiar with the theory is from some research I did when I was looking into the first R6 switch I did. I had never heard of Radial Mount before and started searching to find out what it was. But I don't mind
being proven wrong. So if someone wants to try it and let me know the results, I'm willing to listen. I also think it would be possible to make an adaptor to mount the calipers to a FZR. But I also think their effectiveness would be diminished because of the rotational forces from the rotor itself.

Cad600,
Thanks for sharing that if and when I get some spare time I just might try the swap and see what happens. On old RD 400 with USD forks and 6 pot calipers (320mm rotors) & radial levers the owner had a little air in the setup to give a less "severe" feel was his description. I had better explain that the bike was putting out about the same HP as our FZR's

[thatkid]

For you '89 owners out there I've been SLOWLY working on an adapter to use 90+ calipers. Problem is I don't have stock forks anymore so testing becomes a pain and can only be done when zero comes to visit me in chicago from milwaukee. I'm hoping to get a set done soon cause I know people are looking for them (and I owe zero a pair) so just keep looking for a post from me about them. If you find a good deal on a set of calipers on ebay, snag them up, cause it's only a matter of time before I have these things done.

[95FZR600]

From the research I have done it seems that you have to change the forks to convert from 2 piston calipers to 4 piston calipers ( All Fzr OE parts ). Is this true ? What about the rotors and master cylinder ?

Also I hear the YZF600 mirrors are the best upgrade. Can you see directly behind you with these mirrors ? I can not see behind me with the mirrors that I have regardless of how I twist my body. Thanks for the help !!

You might be happy just switching to 99-02 R6 with MC. Great stopping power, about all you need. The back brakes is what I would like to upgrade. Good luck whichever route you go.

[haunter]

I only use my back brake to keep me from rolling when stopped