VR to R1 Brake Swap Part 1!

[motorbiketim]

Thanks Earl, thats a lot of helpful info.

[Gearhead]

Reviving an older thread...what's the advantage of the floating rotors over solid?

 

And Earl, it sounds like you kept the stock master cyl in front - yes? What about the piston size issue, since it is now pushing two calipers? Wouldn't that cause the lever to bottom out on the grip?

 

Are you using organic pads then with the stock rotors?

 

And finally, why did Yammy fit linked brakes? Aren't most VR riders going to have prior experience with bikes and thus be used to the conventional system?

 

Thanks,

Jeremy

[Yammer Dan]

More work!! Good Thread.

[Geobob]

Well this tread ended abruptly. Must have something to do with the better brakes. So Earl has enlightened me about this swap and his kits. Since I had a couple of FZR rotors hanging around and some old braided steel lines I thought I would dive in to this one myself. The one thing I could not find was the front master cylinder for the 1990 or 1989 FZR brakes. I see that initially Earl was using R1 parts but he pointed out that the FZR calipers are also bolt ups and I think that is what he is using in his kits.

 

So it sounds like the initial swap used the stock Venture master cylinder and it apparently worked very well. Is it safe to assume this is still the case since I would rather leave it. It probably looks and fits better than the FZR unit but I have not looked closely. I suspect I would find something that needs tweaked if I changed out the master cylinder so we will likely give it a go with the stock one to begin with.

 

And thanks to Earls help with other items he has helped with.

[cowpuc]

I have gone dual disc on the front of my 1st Gens a couple times and eliminated the linked brake system but I have never done a complete fork swap and R1 caliper update so consider that with this. I do ride an R1 though and REALLY love the stopping power on that sweet heart so I TOTALLY get the idea of doing the project (especially the front brakes - there is NOTHING better on a scoot than really really good front brakes IMHO).

On the same token though, I think it just might be prudent to make sure the current OEM system is working up to par and experiencing it before investing the time/effort/bucks into such an endeavor. Personally I have found that set up and maintained properly - the OEM's are workable.

I think I would start out with new fluid and bleeding the system to make sure I have full hydraulics. Then I would do the ol clean the pistons routine (as shown in vid) until those puppies slid like a kid with a saucer on fresh fallen white wash. Then I would clean the rotors so clean they squeaked and then I would grab a good set of Organic Pads for each caliper. I would also carefully lube all pivot points on the levers and linkages so I knew she all worked as freely as possible. While none of my 1st Gens EVER stopped like my R1 (that sucker will do a stoppie at speed if your not careful), I very seldom end up using the rear brakes (am an avid front braker) and have been very impressed with the stopping power of those 1st Gen Front Brakes even under the weirdest conditions..