Big Brakes on Airheads

[mattcfish]

I guess I'm one of the old school guys who doesn't see any issue with the older ATE setup. At least on my '74 R90s, if properly adjusted, provide plenty of stopping power. I still have the stock rotors but added stainless steel braided linesand EBC pads years ago. (the Ferodo's never did work for me.)

I do Track Days with the bike every few years and a lot of spirited riding and don't have any real issues with the brakes. Maybe it's just me.

I will concede that modern brakes are light years ahead of these old bikes, but I have no real desire to swap out the old setup. Come to think of it, I was perfectly satisfied with the performance of my '73 Toaster's clampers as well.

My daughter says I should be in a nursing home so maybe she's right.

jimmyg

When I converted from the single /6 set up to the dual 90S configuration, I thought I was happy. The brakes were much improved. The thing is, I still kept covering the brake lever with almost my whole hand while operating the throttle simultaneously when navigating the blind turns, of my favorite mountain roads. Not very comfortable and I was unable to get the performance I aspired for because I was so worried about my ability to react to what was around the turn. This has all changed. I can cover the brake with one to two fingers or not at all. Brake reaction time is so quick, I can concentrate on the perfect line and setting up the next turn instead of worrying about how I'm going to stop when I see the next deer. Also....The big brakes look really cool.

[Rob]

My '66 Honda Superhawk had a twin leading shoe front brake.
After setting it up with new shoes, bedding them in until the they had full contact, and adjusting them to contact simultaneously, I took it for a high speed run.
I braked hard from 120 kph. I was surprised at how effective they were. For about 5 seconds. Then the dreaded "drum brake fade" raised its ugly head. That brought back memories of things I don't want to experience again.
The Superhawk is gone. I now have a Yamaha R3 that STOPS! As soon as the snow flies it will get a ss braided brake line and some high tech pads.
If your bike won't go, that's a drag. If it won't stop, that's scary, and often painful.

So you finally broke down and bought a 250!

I thought you were pleased with your Honda Hawk? Or am I confusing you with another Cannuck?

[dougie]

So you finally broke down and bought a 250!
I thought you were pleased with your Honda Hawk? Or am I confusing you with another Cannuck?

The Superhawk (305 cc.) was from 1966 and very "old tech" and had the drum brakes.
The Hawk GT (650 cc.) was from 1989 and performed flawlessly. Sold it with 100,000 km. Great bike, but I wanted smaller, newer, a bit lighter, and modern technology. The R3 is actually 320 cc., plenty quick, and literally "gas 'n' go".

[mattcfish]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1114082 ... 446829185/
I have confirmation from one builder now that the stock under tank MC works with at least one 4 pot Caliper!

"Hi all,

After replacing the brake pads that came with my Ebay purchased R6 caliper (they were brake fluid/grease soaked) the brakes feel great and work just fine with a marked improvement over the stock setup using the single disk setup."

[Gibson]

Nice Job!! I was not at all happy with the brakes on my 85' RS. Wish I saw this then as the brakes were the biggest reason I sold that beauty. BMW was clearly well aware of the weak brake thing as the later models have excellent brake set up with full floating rotors (two finger stops). I think this is a real safety necessity...especially in high traffic areas.