Rear Master Cylinder Issues
- Thread starter dennisgb
- Start date
- Status
The rear master cyl is exactly the same size as the front. I don't know what caliper you have planned but I would not want to improve the rear brake over that of the front, it lockes up fairly easily as is. By the way I'm still running the original front MC on my bike and with braided ss brake line I find the braking to be great as is.
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2008
- Messages
- 199
Left stock, Commandos come with an early version of ABS 
I'd be curious how you're gonna adapt the Brembo to the Norton mounting plate. I'll be reworking a MkIII in the near future and will need to aquire a caliper for the rear, so I'm looking at other options.
I'd be curious how you're gonna adapt the Brembo to the Norton mounting plate. I'll be reworking a MkIII in the near future and will need to aquire a caliper for the rear, so I'm looking at other options.
You are one of a very few I've heard this from. Have you actually checked the sizes of piston of the M/C and caliper? It may have been modified. Possibly, you have extraordinary hand strength. Just about every Norton rider I know of that has a stock front disc brake complains of its ineffectiveness.
trident sam
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 1,524
I'm now running 4 piston Brembo calipers front and back on one of my mk 3's . Bought off ebay for @ £40 each, original fitment was 748 Ducati. I made alloy adaptor brackets for the front and back. Front master cyl is same as a T140E, ie flat back to match up with mk 3 controls. rear master cyl is standard Norton, all braided hosed fitted .Both brakes are much improved, for really not a lot of money. If I ever learn how to post a photo, I'll do it.
sam
sam
I've owned the bike since new and have rebuilt the MC a couple of times with stock parts so I'm sure it's original, but I have no illusions to it's very possible improvement. The ss line made a huge improvement but at the same time made modulation more difficult because the lever got hard "right now". This happend at only about 1" worth of squeeze from a fully extended relaxed lever and about 2 3/4" from the gripp. I trimmed the part of the alloy lever that bares on the MC piston so I have more play before a fully hard lever which is now reduced to around 1 3/4" before the grip. This gives a stronger advantage to my hand. Really, works ok.JimC said:
- Joined
- May 27, 2013
- Messages
- 1,112
trident sam said:
This is basically what I am doing. I have modified billet yokes up front that accept 1" bars so I could upgrade the switch gear and have 2011 Triumph Bonneville switch gear with the Bonneville master cylinder. This is a smaller master cylinder diameter to get rid of the oversized original. I am mounting new disc and Brembo 4 piston caliper from Ducati up front.
On the rear I bought a Ducati Brembo caliper and disc and caliper mounting bracket. The bracket just needs slight mods to fit the MKIII. The set-up is similar to the one that forum member Ron L. did in the following thread. Scroll down to see picture of it.
rear-disc-mk3-t14492.html?hilit=brembo%20rear
The question I have is whether I can use the original master cylinder on the rear because it takes a bit of mods to get the matching Ducati MC to work. I have no problem doing that but wondered if the Norton MC in the rear was the same "oversized" diameter as the front.
trident sam
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 1,524
dennisgb said:
I'm pretty sure they would be the same.
I used the standard Norton rear master cyl on my conversion, but the caliper I used had originally been a front caliper on a Ducati (same as I have on the front of the Mk3 ) I never even thought about using the smaller Ducati'Brembo rear caliper.
My rear disc is standard Norton but my front is RGM 12" , it all works well. The bike has Hyde rear sets and I just couldn't be bothered to try another rear master cyl as I would have had to sort some other rearsets/footrests etc. But since fitting it all up I've got myself an old Grimeca master cyl (shaped like a AP race type , but bigger) and next year I'll probably mount that with some other rear set arrangement as the Hyde stuff although functional, ain't exactly pretty..
I also used a modern Triumph master cyl with remote reservoir on a T160 I have, it came off a 2000 Daytona and is used with
a pair of 12" discs, and AP calipers which were actually fitted to a Paul Smart Rob North triple, unfortunatley after Paul's time with the bike.
sam
- Joined
- May 27, 2013
- Messages
- 1,112
I read all the threads on brake upgrades and options and then started looking at how I could do my own. Mostly because all the options were very expensive and didn't answer all the questions.
When looking at the front master cylinder, the cost to rebuild the Norton one and sleeve it and still have the old switch gear, didn't make sense to me. I didn't want a different MC, throttle and switch mechanism because to me it looks like too much stuff hung on the bars. Looking through available parts, most newer switch gear fits 1" bars so I bought modified billet yokes from NYC Norton that would accept 1" bars. That let me use the 2011 Triumph Bonneville switch gear and MC.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22794316@N03/9923015813/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22794316@N03/9806518833/
While the cost of the yokes was a big chunk all the other parts were relatively inexpensive. I like the adjustable levers on the Triumph parts also. While not following a purist approach I think the package looks good. I added a dash I made and polished everything.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22794316@N03/10300968194/
I bought an EBC rotor and will make a mount for the front wheel. I got a Ducati 4 piston caliper that I will also make a mount for up front. I haven't had a chance to work on this yet because I just had back surgery and am recovering.
The rear I am just starting to figure out. The Ducati bracket with the Brembo caliper will fit the Norton with the axel hole needing to be bored out and some machining needed to get the caliper aligned with the disc. I am also using the Ducati rear disc.
The Ducati Brembo MC can be made to work since the mounting location can be moved with cable acctuation. This is what Ron L. did. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to do this or not if the stock Norton MC would work.
When looking at the front master cylinder, the cost to rebuild the Norton one and sleeve it and still have the old switch gear, didn't make sense to me. I didn't want a different MC, throttle and switch mechanism because to me it looks like too much stuff hung on the bars. Looking through available parts, most newer switch gear fits 1" bars so I bought modified billet yokes from NYC Norton that would accept 1" bars. That let me use the 2011 Triumph Bonneville switch gear and MC.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22794316@N03/9923015813/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22794316@N03/9806518833/
While the cost of the yokes was a big chunk all the other parts were relatively inexpensive. I like the adjustable levers on the Triumph parts also. While not following a purist approach I think the package looks good. I added a dash I made and polished everything.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22794316@N03/10300968194/
I bought an EBC rotor and will make a mount for the front wheel. I got a Ducati 4 piston caliper that I will also make a mount for up front. I haven't had a chance to work on this yet because I just had back surgery and am recovering.
The rear I am just starting to figure out. The Ducati bracket with the Brembo caliper will fit the Norton with the axel hole needing to be bored out and some machining needed to get the caliper aligned with the disc. I am also using the Ducati rear disc.
The Ducati Brembo MC can be made to work since the mounting location can be moved with cable acctuation. This is what Ron L. did. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to do this or not if the stock Norton MC would work.
trident sam
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 1,524
Like your dash panel, looks very good
sam
sam
- Status
