I have finally ridden a commando! And brake questions.

I finally got my 850 running two days ago! I haven't been able to wipe the smile off my face since. Prior to this I had never ridden a commando before, and had only ever even heard one running when it passed me going the opposite way out on the road. I only took it around my neighborhood a few times due to it not being licensed or registered yet, and the fact that my brake light and left blinkers aren't working. It seems to run great. I was particularly impressed with the shifting, It's really smooth. (at least through the first 3 gears I haven't got into fourth yet). The front brake however, is very unimpressive. I am trying to decide how I want to go about sorting it out. I am sure that the master cylinder and caliper need to be rebuilt. I have bled/flushed the old brake fluid out (it was pretty crappy looking). Here is my question, starting with the master cylinder.
Option 1- Upgrade to a sleeved down rebuild stock master cylinder. Option 2- Get the brembo master cylinder from CNW. I would like to keep my right switch cluster, has anyone tried to adapt the brembo to keep the switch? It looks to me like you might be able to bolt the brembo into the two outside holes in the switch and maybe make a part to clamp around the bar for the inner two holes. I don't like the look of the brembo as much, but is seems like a better, probably lighter, part for less money than a sleeved down stock master. On to the caliper. How big of a performance difference is there between the stock caliber and a lockheed racing caliper? I priced out the cost of rebuilding my caliper with all new parts and came up with about $120. Clubman Racing sells the racing caliper for about $200 (I guess I would need a mounting plate to, I forgot to price that) and I could just put it on and ride. I kind of like the look of the racing caliper as it still looks like a vintage brake. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have pretty much learned everything I know about this bike from this forum and contacts I have made here. Thanks, Gabe

If it has the standard Lockheed set-up the first thing to do is either fit a master cylinder with a smaller bore or have your's sleeved down. This will dramatically improve braking performance, do this before thinking about changing caliper etc,
Dave.

Pay attention to the hose, the old rubber ones expand losing effort so goodridge type works well.

Gabe, good news to hear about your little monster getting back on the road.

I did several things to improve my stock front brake;
I sent Raber's my old master cylinder and caliper, and they sent me back a re-sleeved master with a smaller cylinder and piston, and a rebuilt caliper with stainless pistons and "soft pads. I replaced the rubber hose with braided stainless, and had the disk vented. Altogether I think I spent more than $500 on all of it... but it really works well now, worth the money, IMHO.

DonOR said:

Gabe, good news to hear about your little monster getting back on the road.

I did several things to improve my stock front brake;
I sent Raber's my old master cylinder and caliper, and they sent me back a re-sleeved master with a smaller cylinder and piston, and a rebuilt caliper with stainless pistons and "soft pads. I replaced the rubber hose with braided stainless, and had the disk vented. Altogether I think I spent more than $500 on all of it... but it really works well now, worth the money, IMHO.

Click to expand...

Get the master cylinder sleeved and get a single floating disc setup from any of these guys RGM NORVIL CNW etc Check prices they vary a lot!!

I just got mine back on the road too

I'm running a standard disc, rebuilt standard caliper with stainless pistons, EMGO pads, stainless hose and a re-sleeved standard M/Cyl, dome by RGM.

I'm used to modern brakes, and while this setup won't get the back wheel off the floor at 70mph, it does work well.

I'd like to compare it with a floating disc with racing caliper setup, but I'm not in the market for one just yet.

I'd welcome everyone's thoughts and recommendations on pad material, as I know from other bikes that this can make a huge difference too.

The front caliper, assuming it's in good shape/been rebuilt, is plenty adequate. A sleeved oem MC will make a big improvement - I'd call it at least 50% better if not more when coupled with a SS brake line and sticky Ferodo pads. Change to a Brembo MC and the brake is transformed to essentially equal a current braking system. I did the sleeve of the oem and then, some months later, went to the Brembo MC. The Bremo/SSline/agressive pads provides all the power that can be applied to the road with the largest front tire you can fit on a Commando, coupled with excellent feel.

I understand your wish to keep the oem switchgear. I felt the same way but the Brembo is a 100% increase in power/feel over the sleeved oem MC and I decided it was well worth it. I bought the Brembo from CNW as well as the switch gear for both sides and the clutch lever to match the Magura that comes on the brake. In my opinion it is one of the very few "upgrades" to the Commando that actually delivers improved "performance."

British Bike Connection and a few others carry an upgraded M/C that bolts right up to the stock switch gear. I think they are out of stock now but you can see it on their website and someone else will likely have it in stock.

Hello - I got the "improvement kit" from Andover and installed it myself. Was very straightforward, looks nice, and bolts into the stock switchgear. It also allows the original mirror stem to thread right in, if you like that sort of thing. Was impressed with the braking on the road, although my experience is very limited and I never had the stock mc installed. It's sitting in a plastic bag...

The kit is illustrated on this page (with photos), just scroll down:
http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/Accessories.htm

Part#13-1600
Price UK£190.00

Get it while the pound is wobbly...

Using the "search" function, you could have found this:

front-brake-upgrading-t5550.html

(and many other topics...)