Norton Commando E/S 850 1975 disc brakes improvements ???

Hi again I have just been told it has had a new front master cylinder in the last 12 months supplied by the mechanic who fitted it and who is now unreachable sounds suspect I know !! Is there anyway I can tell if this is the smaller bore upgrade or an original without removing from the bike the reason I ask this is the summer will soon be over and I am going to view progress on recommisioning on tuesday so if there is an outwardly visible difference I will know which route I need to take, I already have a conversion kit but do not want to give it to the mechanic to fit if it is not needed and can get my money back for it, many thanks Chris

chrisf1 said:

Hi again I have just been told it has had a new front master cylinder in the last 12 months supplied by the mechanic who fitted it and who is now unreachable sounds suspect I know !! Is there anyway I can tell if this is the smaller bore upgrade or an original without removing from the bike the reason I ask this is the summer will soon be over and I am going to view progress on recommisioning on tuesday so if there is an outwardly visible difference I will know which route I need to take, I already have a conversion kit but do not want to give it to the mechanic to fit if it is not needed and can get my money back for it, many thanks Chris

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Think you'd need to measure the piston bore within it to know for sure.

Baxter Cycle sell a nice quality 3 piece braided line set for the MKIII. $57. clear coated lines, they look and fit well. A small part of the braking picture, but if you're doing other upgrades on the MKIII, you should upgrade the lines at that time.

For the front disc: CNW brembo MC, SS lines, and Ferodo platinum pads will make the front disc equal in feel/power to a modern bike. If you want to retain the OEM Lucas switchgear, CNW has an adapter plate for the MC that will allow that.

Rear - I have no idea.

FWIW I had two failures of re-sleeved Norton MCs and would NEVER recommend them. One failure occurred from one stop light when the brake was normal to the next stop light when there was absolutely NO front brake.

MexicoMike said:

For the front disc: CNW brembo MC, SS lines, and Ferodo platinum pads will make the front disc equal in feel/power to a modern bike. If you want to retain the OEM Lucas switchgear, CNW has an adapter plate for the MC that will allow that.

Rear - I have no idea.

FWIW I had two failures of re-sleeved Norton MCs and would NEVER recommend them. One failure occurred from one stop light when the brake was normal to the next stop light when there was absolutely NO front brake.

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What brand of resleeve were they?

chrisf1 said:

Hi everyone could someone please enlighten me with some suggestions that are not going to put me in the poor house for the rest of my life to improve the braking on my commando 850 1975 discs front and rear, I think they are working to the standard braking at that time, but when all said and done they were not very good when new, and also very much on the heavy side when operated, my discs are not new but more than servicable at the moment but I will be replacing them for next year, I have heard of different calipers I think they were made by AP but am not sure, Many thanks Chris

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Hi Chris

I have a MK3 and you can make some big improvements to brake performance with out braking the bank. Start with decent Pads I fitted EBC organic. Next Braided hoses all round closely followed 13mm/12" master cylinder front and rear.
Starting with the rear £63 ish (ebay) will buy 13mm stainless steel master cylinder barrel advertised as a T140/t150/t160 front brake upgrade, "some ads say not suitable for rear fitment" I am using one on my t160 rear and it works just fine in fact after making the rear sets it was essential with the short rear brake lever.
If you enjoy a little metalwork and want a super cheap option I use a 13mm master cylinder from a 125 Yamaha (£10 from ebay) images links below. Moving on to the front, as you have a Mk3 your rhs switch gear is not dependant on the master cylinder to clamp it to the handle bars personally I wouldn't give sleeved master cylinders house room! If you want to keep the std look it's down to Andover and slip Joe £320 for one of his 13mm master cylinders! Another option and my preferred route to a very reasonable front brake is the 1/2" front master cylinder from a Suzuki Burgman 125 Even If you chose not to stay with the Burgman option at £25 its a cheap way to see if the 1/2"/ 13 mm option floats your braking boat see link below.

Thomasa said:

Before you go down the upgrade path make sure you can get the caliper bleed screws loose. If you brake one, a new caliper is in your future; perhaps a better one.

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One of the cheapist improvements is to get the chrome coating ground of the discs. I did this on my rebuild 4 years ago and it transformed the braking. I later fitted an Andover 13mm front master cylinder wich improved the front brake somore.

ELLIS

ELLIS said:

One of the cheapist improvements is to get the chrome coating ground of the discs. I did this on my rebuild 4 years ago and it transformed the braking. I later fitted an Andover 13mm front master cylinder wich improved the front brake somore.

ELLIS

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Hi , I’m looking to refurb my Mk3 discs , who done your disc grinding ? Anything to recommend ?
Thanks
Allan

I fought the front front brake for years with my 75 MK III. I was convinced the whole setup needed to be replaced after resleeving the master cylinder and getting no real improvement. I then put a Brembo Master cylinder that I was not going to use from another project on the front, I believe it is a 12mm and it works beautifully. I now have no plans to change the caliper, but with the brembo master change over I did go to a stainless braided line.

I am now looking at Esmerela's rear master setup.

As for grinding your rotor, I would take a measurement of the thickness and start calling machine shops. Worst case scenario it is new rotor time.

Tornado said:

Don Pender (aka madass140 on this site) does several brake upgrade setups for Commando.
Re-sleeve (DiY or ready to go); modern MC which mates to stock OEM switchgear; full floating disc with modern caliper to fit stock mounts; dual disc setups.

All reasonably priced.
His web store:

Online store - Online store

Online store - Online store

www.tritonmotorcycleparts.com

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I put the Don Pender complete front brake kit on mine and cannot be more pleased.Everything fit properly and works extremely well. I think it was money well spent.
Mike

Might just be pads.?

I have an RGM disc, braided line, sleeved down m/c and an AP caliper, pads with plenty of meat on them. My braking was poor requiring the rear to slow at a rate approaching close to effective. Refreshing the fluid and cleaning the pads made no difference. I replaced the pads and the performance was transformed. Not modern level, but perfectly fine.

I'm guessing, if a corrosion blocker is ever used on forks or wheels, it's only too easy to contaminate the pads and ruin the performance.

Hi again everyone can someone please give me more info on Don Pender like where is he located, website address or simply contact address

chrisf1 said:

Hi again everyone can someone please give me more info on Don Pender like where is he located, website address or simply contact address

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Philippines

Member 'madass140'.

Hi AK152,
I used my local engine rebuilder. They have a complete machine shop with all the tools needed for total engine refurb. They ground all the chrome off my discs and I fitted a Andover Norton 13mm front master cylinder. I am really pleased with the braking now. Just call JED or BRIAN.
Road & Rally
Unit 3 Hoo Hill Industrial Estate, Hoo Hill Lane Blackpool FY3 7HJ
Tel 01253 394022

I was looking for a caliper upgrade for my MKIII as the rear-brake performance was dismal. Eventually I noted that the rear disc had not rusted despite much use and sitting in an unheated garage. Hmmm... I know I ground the chrome off the front one. Did I do the rear one? Looking around in a parts box I come across a freshly ground rotor that I never installed. Three-quarters hour's work and some better pads from stock and I'm off bedding in the rear pads. What a difference! Only that change and the brake has gone from nearly useless to not-too-bad-at-all. Eventually I'll still have to find a replacement caliper as I broke the bleed screw off. I ruined one caliper trying to drill the bleeder out and I'm not willing to have another go at that. Just setting it up on the drill press is half an hour's work and if you drill too far... just bin the caliper.

Mart UK said:

Might just be pads.?

I have an RGM disc, braided line, sleeved down m/c and an AP caliper, pads with plenty of meat on them. My braking was poor requiring the rear to slow at a rate approaching close to effective. Refreshing the fluid and cleaning the pads made no difference. I replaced the pads and the performance was transformed. Not modern level, but perfectly fine.

I'm guessing, if a corrosion blocker is ever used on forks or wheels, it's only too easy to contaminate the pads and ruin the performance.

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I agree. I think I have permanently ruined the pads on my front disc with anti corrosion spray. I need to order some new ones.

chrisf1 said:

Hi everyone could someone please enlighten me with some suggestions that are not going to put me in the poor house for the rest of my life to improve the braking on my commando 850 1975 discs front and rear, I think they are working to the standard braking at that time, but when all said and done they were not very good when new, and also very much on the heavy side when operated, my discs are not new but more than servicable at the moment but I will be replacing them for next year, I have heard of different calipers I think they were made by AP but am not sure, Many thanks Chris

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Go to the wreckers and.buy.a complete Japanese front end. Then remanufacture the spindle.

ELLIS said:

Hi AK152,
I used my local engine rebuilder. They have a complete machine shop with all the tools needed for total engine refurb. They ground all the chrome off my discs and I fitted a Andover Norton 13mm front master cylinder. I am really pleased with the braking now. Just call JED or BRIAN.
Road & Rally
Unit 3 Hoo Hill Industrial Estate, Hoo Hill Lane Blackpool FY3 7HJ
Tel 01253 394022

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Thanks, I‘ll give them a call .

ELLIS said:

One of the cheapist improvements is to get the chrome coating ground of the discs. I did this on my rebuild 4 years ago and it transformed the braking. I later fitted an Andover 13mm front master cylinder wich improved the front brake somore.

ELLIS

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Hiya. Sorry this is a late reply to your post. I'd like to try the Burgman 125 master-cylinder option on my 850 Mk3. Are all years the same bore, or is there a specific year / model I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance for any help.


Cheers. Jem

Jwemmy said:

Hiya. Sorry this is a late reply to your post. I'd like to try the Burgman 125 master-cylinder option on my 850 Mk3. Are all years the same bore, or is there a specific year / model I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance for any help.


Cheers. Jem

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Hi Jem, you don’t specifically need a Burgman master cylinder. All Nissin cylinders have their diameter cast into the body. You can use 13mm or 1/2” here is one example from a reputable breaker….

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18664499...7QTvAIXnj2dSbf0aN4KOK/FPI=|tkp:Bk9SR-zA-d7VZA