Twinpot Brake upgrade on 78 Skunk

[kingofvenus]

I'm a convert!...well, I'm going to be soon.
I welcome the added front stopping power for my old girl, heavy as she is - user name is my bike {how clever, I know} - but what I have to question is this; what is every one doing for the rear brakes? It's opposed singles back there, but couldn't that be improved?
I know, the majority of stopping is done on the front{s}, but wouldn't it be even better for a rear brake upgrade as well?...and to have it "match" too?
My main concern for the upgrade was improved stopping power, but let's be honest here, it looks good {win/win} and runs nearly the same cost as twin oem rotors but better stopping.
I sort of worry about the looks of the back end.....since I'm guessing that even though mine weighs more, my buddy on his CB750 will be getting a good look at it from that view. {unless he gets a jug kit, then I'm in trouble}....seriously though, rear kit?

I have the fronts done on my '79, stock rear is plenty just the way it is.

I'm a convert!...well, I'm going to be soon.
I welcome the added front stopping power for my old girl, heavy as she is - user name is my bike {how clever, I know} - but what I have to question is this; what is every one doing for the rear brakes? It's opposed singles back there, but couldn't that be improved?
I know, the majority of stopping is done on the front{s}, but wouldn't it be even better for a rear brake upgrade as well?...and to have it "match" too?
My main concern for the upgrade was improved stopping power, but let's be honest here, it looks good {win/win} and runs nearly the same cost as twin oem rotors but better stopping.
I sort of worry about the looks of the back end.....since I'm guessing that even though mine weighs more, my buddy on his CB750 will be getting a good look at it from that view. {unless he gets a jug kit, then I'm in trouble}....seriously though, rear kit?

[salty_monk]

Nice! - Thanks for the pic

[Thumper88]

Thanks for the brackets Dan! Just got back from a spirited ride--huge improvement.

[salty_monk]

Looking good!

Here is a picture of mine with the brake mod fitted.

bugad gs.jpg

[salty_monk]

Yes could be!

There are still a few sets of brackets here and I have one full kit with some 2006 Concourse calipers (the very last year you could get these calipers on anything)

[Chuck78]

Well we sorted that out... We now know how to fit them to the 85 550E! No change in parts but slightly different configuration.

I do have some more brackets here if anyone is in need.

I believe the solution that you came to is probably the same fitment that is needed to use this brake mod on the GS 1100 GK with its 204 mm center to center 41mm diameter fork legs, much wider & thicker than most GS's. the brake mounts on the fork legs set in much further and are much thicker, but still, that bike was a very special beast all on its own.

[salty_monk]

One back at ya... Still got some brackets here.

Went for the first proper ride tonight. The brakes are fine with the old pads. Two finger braking. Excellent.

The bike seems to have developed another slight problem though that I don't remember from riding it over the previous few years. After overtaking some cars as I pulled back in I got a bit of a front end shake like the beginnings of a tank slapper. Any ideas?

Pm sent...need some of these brackets.

Re: pad choice, ebc hh is a good pad for street and I've used them for a bunch of bikes, but they do fade under very hard riding or track use. For my fast bikes I use vesrah rjl now. Make sure the surfaces are clean, flat and worn even if you plan to reuse them like other guy said

[salty_monk]

Yes EBC pads are really good. The Stock Tokico ones are pretty good too. The generic "organic" ones around definitely don't have as much bite.

If the pads are in good shape, worn evenly, not scored & not soaked in brake fluid then they should be ok to use... Make your best judgement and remember any pad will need bedding in.

[steve murdoch]

EBC HH pads work great.
If they have plenty of meat i would use them.
Excellent reviews from M-S. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...red-brake-pads

Fitted my rotors and calipers at the weekend. No problems with the fitting. The brackets worked perfectly. I had some binding but that was ok as I was only putting the bike on the road today. The seals for the calipers arrived this morning and after cleaning out the bodies and fitting the seals everything is ok. What pads should I be using? The calipers came with some EBC HH pads that seem to have plenty of life in them but I will be fitting new ones as I don't cut corners with my brakes.

i had some of those China disks on my previous bike (1997 Suzuki TL1000), they worked perfectly, i also was a bit reluctant on using those, but after lots of searching on bad reviews, i couldnt find any, only hearsay, i did find plenty of pictures of broken/sheared Galfers,Braking EBC and Brembo disks.. all after heavy use on a race track i might add..

but on an old GS?? i would put those on in a heartbeat...

I'll keep this in mind of the stock ones I purchased don't work out. It's always a crapshoot going from just pictures, but they supplied some pretty decent pictures from all angles, so I feel fairly comfortable.