Un-linking the Linked Brakes on 02-06 VFR

I did the job on my 5th gen, I havent heard anybody doing it on a 6th yet short of going to different forks. The linked brakes are a pet peeve on the viffer for me. Here's the link.

http://vfrworld.com/forums/brake-ti...ad-s-delinking-brake-saga-interceptor-ss.html

You need to plan it out and do a good job. Doing it with the stock brakes make no sense. Good luck!

MD

 

What sealed the deal for me on not delinking with the stock brakes is if you look at the left side caliper its mounted on a lever arm that has an extra master cylinder on it that pressurizes when the front caliper starts to grab the rotor. I'm not saying do this, but if somebody told it must be done, then I would first defeat the middle pistons and plumb the outer 2 pistons of the front calipers to the front master cylinder. Then I would keep fluid in the front left master cylinder on the torque arm and plug it on the casting. Then strip all the extra lines off the front and the two long steel lines that are bolted to each side of the steering head and run by the left side of the tank. Then rip out the porportioner valve. You would still have to change rear master cylinder as the stock one for rear only will not be powerfull enuff. I bought a new RC51 part and it works fine. For the rear plumb up, take the line from the porportioner valve and double banjo it to the new master cylinder. Thats the job.. The front not really pretty and all that dead weight.

Now from a calculator viewpoint it could be fine for brake torque. What makes me nervous and as I said the deal killer is the caliper mount on the left side of the front fork. I dont know if it would survive over the long run. This is the engineer side of me - I have designed stuff in cars and airplanes and the #1 point of paranoiya on anything is - is it strong enuff? Will it break? Will it break 5 year from now?
The difference is it will be a stiffer system than stock, as stock the master cylinder is kind of a shock absorber.

Thats why I couldnt bring myself to just replumb everything up. I have no way of saying from a engineering viewpoint - stress/fatigue that it will be ok.
It was my butt and I'm not in the business of risking it.

So I still think that the best (cheaper) approach is replace the lower fork legs. I did the SH thing and I have seen another use 4th gen lowers and brake calipers too. (on a 5th gen bike)That seems reasonable too. The guy told me he bought the forks off ebay for $350 and the brake calipers were attached, used all the stock guts and spent maybe $500 total on the job.
(SOB!!)

On the 6th a maybe is to use the F4i lower forks. - The issue here is fork length, the F4i's are shorter. It may be able to make up the length by shimming it in the assembly.

I ended up where I ended up alot because I was seduced by the RC51 gear that I picked up on ebay cheap. I just thought they were beautiful pieces and wanted to make them work. I put the chicken before the egg and here's where I ended up. I admit it was basackwards. The project went cut, hack and oh shit maybe I better step back and really figure out what I'm doing. In retrospect - I could have done the Ohlins fork route for roughly the same amount of money.

BTW - yeah looking at the bleeding procedure pushed me over the edge too.

MD

 

Reg - check post above - I think its a risk with the stock front left caliper.
Maybe it would be ok or.. maybe material fatique would break the torque arm and jam between the forks and the wheel, locking it while your moving down the road. ---- WHOOOPS!!

MD

 

- You have the rough idea of it - The torque arm/secondary M/C will be a stiffer system and will take higher brake torque forces than stock. While it may work out for a year, I cant say with certainty that it work out for the next year or 5 years from now. It is an unknown, and therefore a risk. The result may be a catistropic failure and spit you off the bike.

With changing to new fork legs, I do then have a high confidence level that since it is damn close to an OEM system, it will survive many years of abuse and life.

The above is some general engineering logic. Discussions on new products run like that every day in Corporate America.

Typically on a new product you run many computer simulations to start to prove out questions like that. And then, you have to build prototypes and test the living shit out of it to prove its fit for public consumption. The term confidence level is a technical term too. Like a nuclear power plant system to be safe would have to have 99.99% confidence level. I would say brakes would run at that point to. If its unknown its a crap shoot and 50/50, like the torque arm stuff above.

I hope I didnt bore you with this - welcome to my world/job.

Good luck,
MD

 

Whoa - a pretty heated debate goin here... I never said linked brake were bad, in fact they are pretty damned good. They really work well in hauling the bike down from speed. And for a generally inexperienced rider they are excellent, they take some of the thought process out of braking and yes sometimes even for cornering setup. Like you say an unearned skill.

Linked brakes give cornering problems? Thats a new one on me. I have been riding 30 years + and my brain firmware is programmed for right foot - rear brake, and right hand lever - front brake. So on the linked system especially rear - when you hit that and get some front fork dive, it just messes my brain. So it took me about a whole month of 5th gen ownership to decide the linked setup was toast. (Check out my gallery for my ride or read the link in the above post.) I redid the bike with RC51 gear.

Now I can use both brakes together,or rear only in some situations and front only in other situations, and/or a combination thereof, add more front if I want or some more rear if I want. Sometimes this is in performance riding in the twistys and sometimes its just laying back on my big ass Valkyrie. (It has separate brakes too). So the braking is determined by me, not by some dreamed up save the public from themselves preprogramed system mandated by corporate Honda.

I might as well throw out that my brake skills are very good and I can hold my own in twists too. (Not much better thing in life than to be leaned over on the gas)

I dont know what gave you the wedgie, to each his own but for me the link brakes still suck.

MD

 

Hi Wes,
I havent looked at the above stuff in a while - but the increased stress would be on the left front brake torque arm - the one with the funky extra master cylinder, not the forks. I not sure you comprehend the whole pie above.
I still think that if your gonna want a delink, using the stock forks and existing brakes is folly.


MD