Master Cylinders
The master cylinder is the heart of the whole system. Going with inferior parts here is just asking for trouble. Say youre 100 miles from home, youre cheap Chinese billet MC just sprung a leak and now your clutch doesnt work. Doesnt seem like such a good deal now huh? Your best bet for quality is a trusted name. Brembo, Nissin, and probably Tockico and a few others. Lots of bikes came with hydraulic clutches stock and can be donors. Some CBRs, some big Kawis, Hayabusas, etc all had hydraulic clutches stock. You could use the MC from any of them, but Ill focus on a few that are most common.
YZF750
Its a conventional Nissin MC and matches to a YZF600/R6/R1 brake master nicely. It uses a reservoir cup like the brake MC. It is also one of the cheapest. I can find these for $5-10 on UK ebay. Sure you have to pay a few dollars extra shipping, but its still a good deal.
FZR1000
The 1k isnt as common a choice but will work. It uses a coffin cup integrated reservoir though. Not very attractive, but will match the stock 600 brake MC(if you're in to that sort of thing). These seem to be a bit pricier, maybe $25-100.
Ducati/Aprilia
Ducatis use Brembos. I like Brembos a lot. The quality is never in question and performance is always reliable and smooth, and parts are readily available if need be. Plus the piston size is suited to the FZR. If you start mixing and matching masters and slaves you want to make sure they are of compatible size with each other and the engine. The cheaper route would be to use a Ducati Monster MC. It is Brembo but has an integrated coffin cup. I got this MC with stainless hose and slave cylinder for $40. A complete system.
If you step up to a 748/996/998 master cylinder, it uses a res cup and a better MC, but they are a bit more expensive, maybe $50-100. You can always tell a Ducati MC because the reservoir cup is held to the MC by a bracket. Aprilia RSVs up to 2003 use the same kind, but without the reservoir bracket.
Late model Ducatis like the 848/1098/1198 use forged Brembo radial MCs(YUM!). These are probably the best you will find in the used market. The 749/999 version uses a weird coffin cup shaped reservoir, but it is not integrated into the master cylinder, its a cup. the 1098/1198/848 uses a res cup on a bracket. For some reason, the Ducati MCs seem to run more expensive, $100+. Aprilia RSVs from 04+ used the same kind MC, but with a normal round reservoir cup that mounts to the triple, not the MC. This is the type I am using. Mine came with a CRG long billet lever and only cost $110. They seem to be cheaper than the Ducatis although its the same MC, I find them on ebay UK quite a bit for under $50, but dont be surprised if theyre more. Pictured is an Aprilia Brembo radial MC(with CRG lever).
New
You can buy a new MC if you so desire, but if you do, there is only one choice IMO. Brembo. If not Brembo, there are one or two others out there worth a hoot, but theyre high end custom and top $$. That Chinese/Taiwanese brembo knock offs on ebay are not an option. Period. Theyre crap, and the machining standards are nonexistent. Parts dont fit, stuff leaks, blah blah. Dont even waste your time and money on these. Do it right. And even the best parts need to be serviced, what happens when you need to rebuild the MC and need parts? But if you are buying a Brembo, go radial, and there are a lot of options out there, but make SURE its an authentic Brembo and not a knock off. Even the people at Brembo cant tell the difference between those cheap knockoffs and their products just from looking at it.
Slave Cylinders
Not a lot of options here. Traditionally, this conversion is done with the Ducati(Brembo) slave cylinder. It is smaller than the Yamaha slave found on the YZF750 and FZR1000. The Yam slave probably wouldnt even fit, but I havent checked. The adapter plate that is available is designed for the Ducati slave. One downside to the Ducati slave is that it is a sealed unit and not rebuildable with the exception of an oring on the outside. They are known to spring leaks at times, but replacements are cheap and plentiful, usually $20-40. There are plenty of aftermarket slaves available for the Ducati with different sized pistons, these can range from about $60-150. Just about any model Duc is acceptable from the 916 up I think including monsters and STs. Just verify by looking at it, you want the one with the sun shaped recesss.
Line
Again Ducati is the way to go, its about the correct length and can be routed to hide the hose. Steel braided lines are going for $40-60 new on ebay. I got mine with a slave and a Monster MC for $40, so check for deals. Or you could always make your own or have one custom made to length, but expect more cost and lead time.
Slave Cylinder Mount
If you didnt know already, Modking is the man!
and makes the plate that replaces the stock sprocket and allows the mounting of the Ducati slave cylinder over the FZR pushrod. If you need one, MK is the man to contact. They are reasonably priced and easily installed. Pics soon.That should give you a good start. Installation pics coming soon! Hopefully ThatKid will chime in on his swap.
