Weight of front disc brake(s)

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chaztuna said:
Are those caliper weights with or without brake pads and small hardware?
Click to expand...
I did not weigh the calipers myself, but quoted the weights form post #5 which has since been updated after Matt's post.

Matt did quote hardware.

I did weigh the rotors.
 
chaztuna said:
Who is the manufacturer of your caliper? Nice looking brake rotor!
Click to expand...
It is a Nissin caliper, salvaged from a CBR600F4 - basically a Brembo clone. It came with Friction Code HH pads, and it works great with the cast iron rotor. Great feel and lots of power.

My bracket is likely over kill - but it has been rock solid since I built and installed it.

04CD2FE0-6084-4B75-ACD3-B574C6468E9C.jpeg
 
Derek Wilson said:
It is a Nissin caliper, salvaged from a CBR600F4 - basically a Brembo clone. It came with Friction Code HH pads, and it works great with the cast iron rotor. Great feel and lots of power.

My bracket is likely over kill - but it has been rock solid since I built and installed it.

View attachment 94545
Click to expand...
Is that weight for just the caliper and pads? If so, any idea on the weight of the adapter bracket? What is the bore size of the master cylinder piston?
 
Caliper with with pads is 900 grams.

Adapter bracket may weigh a 150 grams maybe - I am not taking it off to weigh it - lol.

I am running a 12.7 mm bore master cylinder - salvaged from an early 90’s Kawi 750 Ninja.

My whole goal with this brake set up was to get as much braking power as possible for a minimum of $$. I have less than $100 tied up in it.

I did all of the engineering calculations at the time to prove that it was a sound design, and it very much has proven to be.
 
t ingermanson said:
If you can stop faster, you can ride faster, safer.

I use two discs on the front. One rotor for the bike, the second rotor to stop the first rotor.

Acknowledging the weight, it's worth it.
Click to expand...
I have done the same with the 920 Special, twin disc GSXR brakes on the front of that.

The 850 has a single Madass 320 mm with 6 pot caliper.
Riding as fast as I dare go in the mountains, using all available power most places then braking into turns, that brake never faded at all. Just lay two fingers on it close in to the corner and very rapidly drop speed as needed.

The twin disc GSXR brake is essentially from a full on racebike, which is really what a GSXR is. As such it needs to be capable of braking at much higher speeds than the Commando is capable of, or that one should ever see on the road.
The 320 mm twin disc is a lot more brake than is needed on the 920, however there's no real harm in that, other than the weight penalty ( which does drive me a bit crazy)

Glen
 
worntorn said:
I have done the same with the 920 Special, twin disc GSXR brakes on the front of that.

The 850 has a single Madass 320 mm with 6 pot caliper.
Riding as fast as I dare go in the mountains, using all available power most places then braking into turns, that brake never faded at all. Just lay two fingers on it close in to the corner and very rapidly drop speed as needed.

The twin disc GSXR brake is essentially from a full on racebike, which is really what a GSXR is. As such it needs to be capable of braking at much higher speeds than the Commando is capable of, or that one should ever see on the road.
The 320 mm twin disc is a lot more brake than is needed on the 920, however there's no real harm in that, other than the weight penalty ( which does drive me a bit crazy)

Glen
Click to expand...
I have always maintained that you can never have too much front brake - just have to respect it and know how to use it effectively
 
Stephen Hill said:
I wonder if the stock Norton front end is so primitive that making marginal changes in front brake (unsprung) weight will make no real difference in the front end suspension performance.
Holding aside braking efficiency, which is a separate issue entirely.
Click to expand...
If you went to the effort that has clearly gone into the bike that Matt presented, I suspect the damping at the very least would be improved with either Lansdowne, Cosentino or full cartridge damping.....
 
Derek Wilson said:
Caliper with with pads is 900 grams.

Adapter bracket may weigh a 150 grams maybe - I am not taking it off to weigh it - lol.

I am running a 12.7 mm bore master cylinder - salvaged from an early 90’s Kawi 750 Ninja.

My whole goal with this brake set up was to get as much braking power as possible for a minimum of $$. I have less than $100 tied up in it.

I did all of the engineering calculations at the time to prove that it was a sound design, and it very much has proven to be.
Click to expand...
Neat job. The only thing that some of us might find a little suspect are the slots milled out of the rotor. However, the disc in this picture is also made from a standard Commando rotor milled to fit on an alloy carrier. That should mean my disc is lighter......It has done a few race seasons now. I am going to change it for one with a PFM pad track that I bought last year. Hub is Seeley style. I am also running a 12.7 mm bore master cylinder, but it is a '70s style Brembo a la Moto Guzzi.
 

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My Lockheed alloy calliper and fitting bracket with mounting bolts weighed 3lb 4oz my pre tech 6 pot calliper that needs no mounting bracket weighs 2lb 6oz both use the RGM floating disc
 
SteveA said:
Neat job. The only thing that some of us might find a little suspect are the slots milled out of the rotor. However, the disc in this picture is also made from a standard Commando rotor milled to fit on an alloy carrier. That should mean my disc is lighter......It has done a few race seasons now. I am going to change it for one with a PFM pad track that I bought last year. Hub is Seeley style. I am also running a 12.7 mm bore master cylinder, but it is a '70s style Brembo a la Moto Guzzi.
Click to expand...
Okay, so you are making me dig out my brake calculations from 20 years ago. Lol!

Based on the bike being loaded to a GVW of 860 lbs, and a tire to road coefficient of friction of 0.9, the braking torque required to lock the front wheel is 6090 in.lb or 508 ft. lb.

The rotor spokes are 3/16” thick and 1.0” across at the thinnest point, and the radius at this point is 2 5/32”. Based on ASTM A48, the tensile yield strength of grey cast iron brake rotors is 29 ksi (29,000 psi). So the safety factor in this area is 12.4 to one under maximum load. I am not concerned.

It has been on there for 40,000 miles, no issues.

Also, the thickness of the rotor is original. The throat of the caliper was large enough to accept the stock thickness.

When I was laying out this design, I also owned a Ducati Monster Dark (single disc front), which I used as a benchmark. It had a wonderful front brake. I was able to pretty much replicate this performance with my Norton brake.
 
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phippsy said:
My Lockheed alloy calliper and fitting bracket with mounting bolts weighed 3lb 4oz my pre tech 6 pot calliper that needs no mounting bracket weighs 2lb 6oz both use the RGM floating disc
Click to expand...
Is that with or without pads?
 
worntorn said:
I have done the same with the 920 Special, twin disc GSXR brakes on the front of that.

The 850 has a single Madass 320 mm with 6 pot caliper.
Riding as fast as I dare go in the mountains, using all available power most places then braking into turns, that brake never faded at all. Just lay two fingers on it close in to the corner and very rapidly drop speed as needed.

The twin disc GSXR brake is essentially from a full on racebike, which is really what a GSXR is. As such it needs to be capable of braking at much higher speeds than the Commando is capable of, or that one should ever see on the road.
The 320 mm twin disc is a lot more brake than is needed on the 920, however there's no real harm in that, other than the weight penalty ( which does drive me a bit crazy)

Glen
Click to expand...
Couldn't you lose one of the calipers and rotor, a single line and use an appropriate mc to lighen the load?
 
Yes, that could be done and I will likely try it at some point.
It would remove about six pounds, a big chunk.

Glen
 
Stephen Hill said:
I wonder if the stock Norton front end is so primitive that making marginal changes in front brake (unsprung) weight will make no real difference in the front end suspension performance.
Holding aside braking efficiency, which is a separate issue entirely.
Click to expand...
Reducing even small amounts of unsprung weight is always a good thing. PS I re-valved my Norton forks, new bushings extensions and progressive springs. It handles terrific, just like any other standard naked bike or sport-road machine. May not be "modern". But then. Fork internals have not changed much in 50 years, only the "fine-tuning" of the internal parts, springs, valves, etc. Small improvements and upgrades make a "primitive" front suspension almost as good as a newly designed one...
 
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