I’ve wanted to upgrade to some stainless steel braided brake lines for a while and it’s about time for some new pads anyway so I figured I would knock it all out at once.
Any suggestions on what brand lines and pads to get and where to get them from? Are the 6-pot GSXR calipers worth it? What year GSXR should I try to get them from? Anything else I should upgrade while I’m at it? Thanks in advance for any help!

Michael

 

HH pads and SS lines by Galfer (sp?) is what I run.

DOT4 seems to absorb any color from the line it runs through. All my fluid lines get flushed...not just topped off.....3 or 4 times a year. Over kill? Not in my mind. Fresh fluid works better and removes all impurities. A nice toothbrush and a semi-wore green scrub pad clean the caliper pots up so they remain smooth.....thus saveing the seals.

I think by keeping all parts in good working order....I don't need and would never fully use 6 pot upgrades. I don't ride THAT hard!

That money was spent on full Vanson leathers. 8)


Mike

 

Just this week I made some overhauls to my brakes.... here's what I noticed...

I had total stock system with EBC HH Pads.... was ok, but seemed to be "all or nothing" when using the fronts at lower speeds (less than 40mph), I always felt I either did not have enough brake, then all of a sudden I got alot of brake. Made the ride somewhat rough, jerky at times.

Went to a RC 51 Master Cylinder and SS Lines last weeknd.... now I had alot of "feel" meaning I could control the amount of brake alot better.... now I had a little/medium/and alot of brake depending on how hard I pulled at the lever. Was much smoother stopping and slowing, defintely better. Don't know if it was the lines or M/C.

Yesterday I fitted a set of RC 51 Calipers with EBC HH Pads on the bike... after the first 10 miles of applying the brake an obscene amount to wear the pads a bit, they started grabbing big time.... felt like I could stop on a dime, 2 fingers and I felt like I could easily lock the front if I wanted too.... I don't have to pull very hard at all, really feels like a completely different bike, now I notice the brake dive even more, gonna take a little time to get used to the new brakes.

So I'd recommend changing everything if you like to tinker and have the cash. I did everything including pads and lines for about 200-250... MC and Calipers off EBAY, new pads and lines cost the most... plus I spent on new seals for the calipers to be on the safe side which was 60... but I wanted to know everything was cool before trusting my life to them. (If you go to RC/929/954 calipers, you'll need to do some modifing (grinding) to make them fit, I can send pics of what I did if your interested.)

J.

 

So the RC setup was a direct fit with no fiddling?

 

jschmidt..... No, the RC calipers will need a little grinding/machining done to make them fit. You can probably do it pretty easily with a dremel tool and the grinding bit.

The top mounting hole fits perfect, the bottom hole won't line-up unless you grind away a small area. I have access to a drill press, so I was able to put the calipers in a vise and use a milling bit to remove what I needed very precisely... but then again, I'm **** about these type things. I'll post a pic tommorrow showing exactley what I did... this is the only "modification" needed to make it work.

I am not 100 percent sure, but my understanding is RC51/929/954/F4i calipers are pretty much the same, so any of those will require the same grinding/machining to fit the Hawk.

J.

 

Thanks. That's what I thought, but its nice to be able to confirm it.

 

Here are some pics of what You'll need to do....

 

Here are a few others....

 

Do the superhawk stock pads fit with the RC51/929/954/F4i calipers ?

 

No.... the RC/929/954 pads are larger and have 2 pins at each end holding them in place within the caliper.... if you look at the comparison photo, you'll see the Hawk pads are held in by 1 pin located in the center, and are smaller as well.

 

Galfer makes a nice array of colors in their nylon-coated braided stainless lines:


Link to Galfer Vendor and Pic of Tricked-Out Brake System

By the way, the bike in the picture looks to have Ohlins forks and hi-performance--albeit a bit goofy-looking--front calipers.

Some people really go for it, I guess.

cheers,
--HotStreetVTR

 

For what it's worth, I bought a front brake system from an F4i for my Hawk. The RC51, 929,954 and F4i calipers all appear identical outwardly, but they have different size pistons on the calipers and master cylinder. I did have to do some grinding on the calipers to make them fit the Hawk forks, but it didn't take too long.
Braking power is much improved, even with stock F4i pads. I recently changed to Vesrah street sintered pads and the braking power is incredible. I really didn't expect too much difference, but I was surprised by the amount of bite from the Vesrah pads. I don't know if overall power is increased, but the amount of initial bite is substantially greater from the new pads. The difference is enough to make me wonder if the Vesrah pads with the stock calipers and master cylinder might be sufficient. Some day I'll have to try that combination, but for now I'm happy with what I have; I can overpower the front forks and tire easily now.
If I had the stock calipers and master cylinder, I would certainly try aftermarket pads before making the change, and I would try Honda parts before changing to six piston calipers from a Suzuki.

 

Here's a picture of my Hawk with the F4i calipers. I also swapped the master cylinder. It's all about leverage ratios, but, like I said above, I would try some good aftermarket pads with the stock setup before changing the whole braking system if I did it again. I think I paid 50 bucks for the F4i setup, so it wasn't an expensive proposition.

[web:c322792ed5]https://www.superhawkforum.com/album_pic.php?pic_id=55[/web:c322792ed5]

 

The GSXR 1000 from 2000 until 2002 is what you're looking for and in my opinon are well worth it. They changed to radial mount in 2003 so those don't work. I could'nt tell you if they are better than the RC 51 or 929 set ups because I've never used those. But I can tell you that the GSXR calipers are direct fit, no grinding and are a huge improvment over stock. You can also change the master cylinder, it has a slightly larger piston but it still works well with the stock one. Don't use any other year or Kawasaki and Hyabusa calipers though because mounting is different.

 

Saw this on EBAY if anyone is looking ot possibly try the upgrade... price seems right as of now.... (* Standard no affiliation with the seller disclaimer)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

 

do you happen to have pics of the gixxer1000's being on there? I seem to remember that they stuck out a little and looked slightly awkward on our rotors... This summer I want to do a full overhaul on my front brakes and get new calipers and master cylinder... I'll either use the gixxer1000 or the rc51's... whatever are cheaper

 

I have different rotors as well so mine look a little different. Here's a picture of Azzkiker's and look for pictures of superblings ride he has them to.

 

thanks. they look good. ill have to keep my eye open for those. gixxer parts are all over though so shouldn't be too hard... if you don't mind me prying but how much did you pay for yours? (to get an idea what's good what's not)

 

That's the only draw back, It's an upgrade for the gexer 600 and 750 so people are looking for them. I paid $90 from a guy I met at the track, they're tough to find for under $100. Keep your eyes peeled to ebay and make them an offer or hope for the best.

 

my buddy who has an sv650 has them too. I should steal them from him. haha. yeah they're awesome brakes... Would be easier for me to upgrade since I don't have a drill press or anything easily available to modify the rc51 calipers

 

Found it, and the pics are a big help...

 

so once I have the calipers on, and they came with pads in them, look like EBC can't tell for sure, how long will it take for these pads to mesh with my rotors? not sure what term to use there....

 

Hopefully someone still reads this forum feed so I can get some answers
I am looking at the RC51 calipers and MC. I would then like to get SS lines. So my question is this: would I still get the SH SS lines or the RC51 lines and pardon the terminology (weekend mechanic here) but is the part on the caliper that the SS line attaches the same size on all calipers? For example is the size the same regardless of if it is a GSXR/RC51/SH ect... going to be a standard size?
With all the knowledge on this forum I know I can get an anwser. Just hope people still read this feed.

 

Get the SH lines as the are longer... other than the length they are identical to the RC's attachment wise...

BTW.. this forum is extremely active.. so enjoy

J.

 

Hey J
Any suggestions on where to get the RC MC? I have been looking around on ebay. Any other suggestion?

 

Speedzilla forum.. lot of RC guys there, with parts.... but Ebay is probably the most popular.

 

Got the RC MC and lines and calipers for $110 shipped to my door. Ordered the Galfer SS lines from Bike Bandit (had on sale 2 weeks ago $77.56). Hoping to start tackling this project this weekend. I guess the first step is to get the calipers ground down. They way it looks, I just have to grind down the area around the lower mounting bolt. Is that right? Hard to tell from some of the pics posted.

 

I already have and are running the RVT MC and have SS lines. I keep trying to get a set of RVT calipers on Ebay but miss out (or they look and sound like junk). If you all keep an eye out for me for calipers, I would appreciate it.

B

 

Just so you all know... I believe the CBR 600 RR calipers from 03-04 are pretty much identical to the RC51's... you can double check the part numbers on Ron Ayers or other sites... opens up the available playing field. I picked up a set of 03 RR calipers for my RC swap.

J.