R6/FZ6 brake conversion

16072 Views 40 Replies 7 Participants Last post by mexicanwaldo, Dec 14, 2016

Navin

Discussion Starter · Oct 28, 2015

On my final version bracket. 3/8" 2026 aluminum, 1999 R6 four piston caliper, 2006 FZ6 16mm master.

Waiting on HH pads from EBC and a SS hose but using the old, contaminated pads it came with and the rubber hose braking force is much better and fade is gone. The rear wheel skims off the road quite nicely under heavy braking now.

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Navin

Discussion Starter · #2 · Oct 28, 2015

Pic

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Kojiiro

· #3 · Oct 28, 2015

Nice. How much did you put into the project?

Navin

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 28, 2015

About $60 total on eBay caliper and master cylinder, and I bought my friend who milled my final bracket lunch!

Ad the $30 SS hose and $28 EBC sintered pads and it's gonna be a good bang for the buck mod.

My friend said he will kill up a batch if there is interest. I'm not a vendor, not interested in being one but I'll take a list of buyers to him and give you guys his PayPal address if anyone wants to get one. I'll be painting mine black. I don think he wants to start sending stuff out for anodize and all that.

If I get some free time I'll test with the stock master just to see how it is. On my Ninja 300 with GSXR four pot cal, the 13mm master had too much lever travel for my tastes and I used a 5/8" Ninja 650 master which was a pretty nasty set up too.

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Kojiiro

· #5 · Nov 1, 2015

I am surprised no one else has interest in this.

pattonme

· #6 · Nov 1, 2015

for street it's overkill, not saying it's not nice to have. For racing it probably runs afoul of class regulations. $120 + adapter (probably 30) and you're looking at $150+. Not a bad price, considering.

Kojiiro

· #7 · Nov 1, 2015 (Edited)

pattonme said:
for street it's overkill, not saying it's not nice to have. For racing it probably runs afoul of class regulations. $120 + adapter (probably 30) and you're looking at $150+. Not a bad price, considering.

$120 if new maybe. I just found some on eBay for $30 with SS lines. I got both sides for that price so I guess I can salvage the other side for Pistons and other parts.

Edit: forgot to factor MC price, so another $30-40 for that.

There is currently an MC/oem rubber lines/Left and right caliper for $58.

Navin

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 2, 2015

No such thing as overkill on street brakes when you glide into a car or curb due to fade. The stock R3 brakes are eh. Yes, better than the stock Ninja 300 but that's not much of a mark to shoot for.

After 200 miles the unknown pads in the R6 caliper had bedded in very nicely and I could skim the rear tire off the ground with two fingers at will. The HH EBC pads went in and they have about 50 miles on them and I think they will bed in further still.

SS hose is still a few days away but this is a really big upgrade in braking power. The FZ6 master is 16mm. I might like a 15mm to get more feel and lever travel but that's nit picking. I'm running it at the closest lever adjustment position of 5 and it's just a hair too far to be perfect. I'll wait till the hose goes on to see how it all sorts out.

Hey Yamaha, build a "R" version with adjustable suspension and a 320mm 4 piston brake!

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Kojiiro

· #9 · Nov 14, 2015

Hey Navin any updates on the brake system with SS lines? I'm about done with my experiment. Just need two more bolts tomorrow and fresh fluid.
Set up is a 2014 N650 master, stock rubber R3 line, R6 caliper and unknown(probably stock) pads

Navin

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 24, 2015

Update, yes, it's pretty darn good! I want to try a slightly smaller master like the Kawi 650 unit I had in my Ninja 300 and boy, would I like to get a 320mm rotor on the R3! Too bad the aftermarket kinda falls flat on our options in The USA. I had to pay out the nose for a friend to ship me a beautiful rotor for my .n3 out of Thailand. They have just about everything available over there.

Nothing better for confident riding than "overkill" braking and if I could I'd have a radial mounted mongo brake on this R3 I would.

I come from a background is motocross and super moto racing. To me, braking power and feel are critical.

I'd love to hear about how yours is working too!

Kojiiro

· #11 · Nov 25, 2015

I almost didn't like it at first and almost put stock back on. Took it for a ride and it now definitely feels like t stops with much less distance than the stock caliper/SS lines/ stock MC. Now my dilemma is I want to use my new vortex clip ons but can't with the N650 MC. Boo.

Navin

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 25, 2015

It takes awhile to bed in the pads. I'm pretty heavy on the front brakes, even in the street. I found the harder I use it, the better it is than stock. I have yet to get it to fade at all.

Junpower

· #13 · Jan 7, 2016

Cool mod and good to know what works tho I'll probably never do this mod.

R0b0tN1nja_BKNY

· #14 · Jan 8, 2016

Those are really cool brake hack mods Navin & Kojiiro. Do you know the size of the line? 6mm or 8mm? I want to do something like that and add a Lighttech or SR anodized aluminum remote reservoir cup but they only have them for R6's which is a different size. If you're swapping master cylinders then the sizes should match up.

Here's a PSR remote reservoir brake cup

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Kojiiro

· #15 · Jan 8, 2016

That all depends on the master and res. Brembo uses 6mm. I believe Japanese brands such as tokico and nissin are 8 but don't quote me. If you are just modding for a better caliper and master, you won't even need to put on a new res. I used a 650 master with the built in res. If you just want to make the bike like cool with aftermarket res, then you gotta research the hose sizes of both the res and the master you plan on attaching it to. I used a brembo and obviously they match their res to their masters, so there was no guesswork in the hose size.

R0b0tN1nja_BKNY

· #16 · Jan 18, 2016

Kojiiro said:
That all depends on the master and res. Brembo uses 6mm. I believe Japanese brands such as tokico and nissin are 8 but don't quote me. If you are just modding for a better caliper and master, you won't even need to put on a new res. I used a 650 master with the built in res. If you just want to make the bike like cool with aftermarket res, then you gotta research the hose sizes of both the res and the master you plan on attaching it to. I used a brembo and obviously they match their res to their masters, so there was no guesswork in the hose size.

Yeah, that's what I figured. I should be good. Have to make sure the thread pitch is good on the banjo bolt. If/when I upgrade the MC to a Brembo 15 RCS and get a PSR aluminum res, I should be good as long as I match fittings and the extra parts. Might just do the master cylinder, reservoir, and brake pads along with my Speigler brake lines. However, I might do the Brembo P4 caliper upgrade for the front too.

R0b0tN1nja_BKNY

· #17 · Jan 18, 2016

Kojiro & Navin, there are R6 calipers available on Ebay in spades. Is 99 a good year OEM caliper? What about 2001-2004 models, or post 2004 models? Are brake pads readily available for 99 calipers from Galfer, EBC, Ferodo, Vesrah, etc?

Thanks. I might try out an R6 OEM right side caliper like your brake hacks. I am decent at fabricating. I can use my 3D printer to make caliper bracket models. I'm saving for a master cylinder, rear shock, and Andreani front fork cartridges which is already a lot of loot. No need to waster $ on pretty wave rotors, but can save some loot on the caliper.

Kojiiro

· #18 · Jan 18, 2016

R0b0tN1nja_BKNY said:
Kojiro & Navin, there are R6 calipers available on Ebay in spades. Is 99 a good year OEM caliper? What about 2001-2004 models, or post 2004 models? Are brake pads readily available for 99 calipers from Galfer, EBC, Ferodo, Vesrah, etc?

Thanks. I might try out an R6 OEM right side caliper like your brake hacks. I am decent at fabricating. I can use my 3D printer to make caliper bracket models. I'm saving for a master cylinder, rear shock, and Andreani front fork cartridges which is already a lot of loot. No need to waster $ on pretty wave rotors, but can save some loot on the caliper.

Mine were from a 99 bike. You will need to cross reference part numbers with the newer years, as I didnt need to check on those since I wasnt planning on using that year caliper. Anything off a bike with USD forks will not work since you start dealing with radially mounted brake calipers at that point.

No need to use a 3D Printer but if thats your thing then go for it. Mine took 4 cuts on the aluminum bar that I bought and 4 holes. About 20-30 minutes of cutting with a hacksaw and drilling. The drill needs to be done on a press, which I did at work.

You need to check yourself if those pads are available or not. I had no reason to check on the availability since I kept the OEM pads which were more than good enough, but I am fairly certain that there are still NOS pads out available for that caliper, or even new, not old stock.

If you dont plan on using clip ons, a N650 MC is a good alternative since its the right size MC and is cheap compared to a Brembo. I had clip ons on the bike and the N650 (which is already a good MC for that caliper) wouldnt mount up due to the reservoir. you can save yourself around $300 if you get a N650 MC and get over the fact that it doesnt say "Brembo" on it. Dont forget the SS lines and new crush washers too.

Back to fabricating, The bracket is really easy to make once you have the correct measurements. Navin will not give you the the measurements, he has reasons why he wont, which I respect. Its pretty easy to get the measurements and distances between the 4 mounting holes though. I have them written down but I have moved and all my stuff is floating in the ocean somewhere in storage containers en route to Japan. What I did was buy some particleboard (just get a small piece from the discount wood bin at Home Depot) and made a bunch of "blanks". I then tested several measurement combos until I got it right.

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R0b0tN1nja_BKNY

· #19 · Jan 18, 2016

Kojiiro said:
Mine were from a 99 bike. You will need to cross reference part numbers with the newer years, as I didnt need to check on those since I wasnt planning on using that year caliper. Anything off a bike with USD forks will not work since you start dealing with radially mounted brake calipers at that point.

No need to use a 3D Printer but if thats your thing then go for it. Mine took 4 cuts on the aluminum bar that I bought and 4 holes. About 20-30 minutes of cutting with a hacksaw and drilling. The drill needs to be done on a press, which I did at work.

You need to check yourself if those pads are available or not. I had no reason to check on the availability since I kept the OEM pads which were more than good enough, but I am fairly certain that there are still NOS pads out available for that caliper, or even new, not old stock.

If you dont plan on using clip ons, a N650 MC is a good alternative since its the right size MC and is cheap compared to a Brembo. I had clip ons on the bike and the N650 (which is already a good MC for that caliper) wouldnt mount up due to the reservoir. you can save yourself around $300 if you get a N650 MC and get over the fact that it doesnt say "Brembo" on it. Dont forget the SS lines and new crush washers too.

Back to fabricating, The bracket is really easy to make once you have the correct measurements. Navin will not give you the the measurements, he has reasons why he wont, which I respect. Its pretty easy to get the measurements and distances between the 4 mounting holes though. I have them written down but I have moved and all my stuff is floating in the ocean somewhere in storage containers en route to Japan. What I did was buy some particleboard (just get a small piece from the discount wood bin at Home Depot) and made a bunch of "blanks". I then tested several measurement combos until I got it right.

Thanks for the feedback Kojiiro. Hope your move is going well if it has begun.

Yeah, sometimes I get impatient and go to fast. Now I try to quasi-prototype and build proof of concepts.

I have a drill press, so no worries there. Yeah, I would want it very clean and professional looking. I am no machinist but have gotten pretty good working with aluminum and other metals in fabrication.

I've already spent a lot on parts and still have to get a rear shock and Andreani fork cartridge kit. I definitely want to upgrade the brakes. Might do the Kawa N650MC & 99-R6 Caliper setup and then can always upgrade to some Woodcraft or Vortex clip-ons, Brembo 15RCS MC/brake, and P4 Caliper. While Galfer wave rotors look cool, it'd just be a waste of money you could use on something else.

Yeah, I can figure out the measurements. No worries there. Oh yeah, since the R6 model life was the same from 99-02, I am thinking any caliper during that time span will work-looks like the caliper hasn't changed much or at all during that time span. I wonder if some other R6 caliper years will work.

Have you kept the OEM rubber hose or upgraded to a SS line?

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Kojiiro

· #20 · Jan 19, 2016

R0b0tN1nja_BKNY said:
Thanks for the feedback Kojiiro. Hope your move is going well if it has begun.

Yeah, sometimes I get impatient and go to fast. Now I try to quasi-prototype and build proof of concepts. I have a drill press, so no worries there. Yeah, I would want it very clean and professional looking. I am no machinist but have gotten pretty good working with aluminum and other metals in fabrication.

I've already spent a lot on parts and still have to get a rear shock and Andreani fork cartridge kit. I definitely want to upgrade the brakes. Might do the Kawa N650MC & 99-R6 Caliper setup and then can always upgrade to some Woodcraft or Vortex clip-ons, Brembo 15RCS MC/brake, and P4 Caliper. While Galfer wave rotors look cool, it'd just be a waste of money you could use on something else.

Yeah, I can figure out the measurements. No worries there. Oh yeah, since the R6 model life was the same from 99-02, I am thinking any caliper during that time span will work-looks like the caliper hasn't changed much or at all during that time span. I wonder if some other R6 caliper years will work.

Have you kept the OEM rubber hose or upgraded to a SS line?

My first mod to the brakes were SS lines actually. The stock ones felt too spongy for me, but that could be from a poor bleed from the factory. Then the R6 Caliper/ N650 master. I then swapped out the 650 master for the Brembo, which I really liked, but as mentioned the 650 Master is just fine. The 650 master in comparison to the brembo has only 5 coarse adjustments which alter the lever distance, while the brembo has alot of micoradjustments, along with the ability to go from 18mm to 20mm for different feel on the lever.

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