Colorado Norton Works Brakes Installed

="montelatici"There must be a reason why CNW instructs the installer to fill both MCs with DOT 5

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I would think it may be the hydraulic lines used. Usually it is rubber seals etc that cause problems unless they have different compression characteristics.

Some classic car owners changed to silicon fluid as it doesn't harm paintwork.
I believe there is about a 5% reduction in braking efficiency. Also not so moisture resistant, so could do with changing more often.

http://pubsindex.trb.org/view.aspx?type=CO&id=79703


"Dow engineers undertook a program of field tests involving 168 vehicles, more than seven years, and some four million km. Three methods of incorporating silicone fluid were used: mixing of silicone and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) fluids, flush/fills, and complete rebuilds. To a great extent, silicone benefits were directly proportional to the efficacy of its replacing OEM fluid. The following conclusions were reached. Mixtures of silicone and glycol will operate with no adverse chemical or physical effects. Silicone flush/fills reduce corrosion and wear, and improve brake performance. However, this technique will not give a pure silicone system, no matter how thorough its execution. Full benefits of silicone fluids come only with original fills. These benefits include elimination of system wear and corrosion for at least 110,000 km. Life expectancies greater than 160,000 km appear feasible."

Going off at a bit of a tangent, my guess is there's a lot of vibration on this bike

What makes you believe that from this picture? In reality the bike is quite smooth. It is quite a hodge podge as it was assembled from a bunch of bits, but with it's 22 tooth sprocket and a mild camshaft and RH10 head has become one of my favorite rides. It has a few nicks and dings but is pretty reasonable cosmetically.

Hi Guys,

Wanted to comment on the brake fluid used for our Brembo brake systems.

When we initially developed the kit together with Brembo North America in 2000, our build #019 was the first bike to get it, we were told to use DOT5 in the system. Yes, even the master cylinder cap said DOT 3 or 4, but we went with their recomendation. As a matter of fact we did talk about it years later as well since customers were questioning the instructions on the master cylinder cap.

Bottom line is this. The Brembo kit we offer is designed to operate perfectly with the DOT 5 fluid. Master cylinder, brake line and caliper are all ok with this fluid.

Brembo, arguably the premier manufacturer of brake systems in the world, dont just change things on a whim. They often need to get a certain amount of time with their product before making official changes.

Having said that. All the master cylinders we get today have the 'new' Brembo cap that says ' Use only 3-5 fluid from a sealed container'.

So all of those that are currently using a CNW brake system have nothing to worry about. If for any reason somebody would rather use 3 or 4....well that works to.

Thanks

Matt

Thanks for the clarafication Matt, by the way, the front and rear brake systems are installed and working faultlessly.

BTW, after reading about silicone (DOT 5) brake fluid, its longevity and non- corrosive nature, it makes sense using it in classic vehicles which may not get used as often as a modern vehicle. Good choice on the fluid although the bleeding process can be a pain when DOT 5.

My front brake is on order. Thanks for the info. Will post how the instal goes. Ordered a few other Items as well, very excited.

Matt 's customer service is excellent, probably emailed back and forth 10 times before I made and order.

I don't think there are any disadvantages to using DOT 5 on a classic vehicle. CNW's brake systems have been designed to work and work well. Perhaps the more talented of Norton users are more clever and can come up with less expensive but not better solutions, but for the normal owner, using CNW stuff is a guarantee of fit, quality and performance.

Ron L said:

What makes you believe that from this picture? In reality the bike is quite smooth. It is quite a hodge podge as it was assembled from a bunch of bits, but with it's 22 tooth sprocket and a mild camshaft and RH10 head has become one of my favorite rides. It has a few nicks and dings but is pretty reasonable cosmetically.

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Apologies, posted and abandoned. It looked like the primary was in contact with the Z plate from the photo, or extremely close. Thought about later and suspected it was probably on a centre stand which would close the gap down, I've only got a side stand so am used to seeing a bigger gap.

Apologies, posted and abandoned. It looked like the primary was in contact with the Z plate from the photo, or extremely close. Thought about later and suspected it was probably on a centre stand which would close the gap down, I've only got a side stand so am used to seeing a bigger gap.

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Ahh, no apologies necessary, I just kept staring at that picture wondering what prompted the comment. Now I see what you saw.

The angle of the photo is deceptive, as there is actually an even 1/4 inch gap all around the arc of the z-plate. You are correct in that it is on the center stand, but there is very little difference when the weight is on the wheels.

In fact, it is a pretty poor photo taken in a hurry in a dim garage. The brake braket is actually polished out and not smeary as it shows in the photo.

Nice brake... I think I'll go for it too... Too bad the caliper is chromed, I would like it in gold! What are the headlight ears you are using?
Thanks
philippe