2004 model 4-pot brake upgrade

[centex]

First, thanks to Gary in CA for sharing his brake upgrade experience, thanks to Slybones for sharing his experience through his excellent website of Connie information, and thanks to COGger zrxmopar (Shaun) for his original 4-pot brake brackets which, based on Slybones' brake upgrade webpage, I’ve probably copied.

This approach is similar to another example recently posted but I did not do any milling on the calipers, all the fitting is done on the brackets.

My bike is an '04 model.  The calipers are 4-pot Suzuki GSXR 750, 2001 to 2003 model, fresh seal kit installed.  The rotors are EBC 320mm Contour.  The pads are EBC HH.  The Galfer brake lines have been on my bike for years with the OEM calipers, not changed for this upgrade.

I started by making a full-size prototype out of Plexiglas sheet to get the locations for the holes and the shape to fit the calipers.  It took 2 trials to get the calipers perfectly aligned for the pads to track correctly on the 320mm rotors.  The prototype proved that the flat plate centers the caliper perfectly on the rotor when used on the inside face of the caliper lugs.  The bracket is tapped for the 4 bolts, the threads in the caliper lugs are drilled out to pass the M8x1.25x16 flange head bolts.  No other modification to the calipers at all.  The OEM C10 brake bolts are used at the fork leg.

The pics tell the story … the brackets are 3/16” steel plate.  Holes were done with a benchtop drill press through the Plexiglas template and hand-tapped.  I was not able to get time on a mill as I’d hoped when I started this project, so finally I just carved the brackets using abrasive cutoff and grinding disks on a 4.5 in Bosch angle grinder – very easy and quick.  A few licks with a file to round the sharp edges and a couple of coats of rattle-can caliper paint on the brackets to finish.

View of the bracket from the wheel-side shows the basic shape

Close-up from the outside; flange head bolts through the calipers are zinc plate, class 10.9

Looks like I'll have to watch that speedo cable to ensure it doesn't hang on the corner of the caliper

 

[slybonesjesse]

Nice job.

Can you make some for stock rotors too. Lots a people are gonna be interested.

These are still hands down my favorite mod. There are many other things I love, the 7th gear unit, etc. But this is my fav. so far, with the possibility of 17"wheels being the only thing to dethrown the brakes. One one hand I am happy to tell you... that this is awesome. On the other hand, sorry to tell you... that I think every COGger out there who has not done this should be PM'n wanting to know when they are getting theirs. -- IMO whether you stick with the stock 300mm rotors or go to 320mm rotors, if you ever see caliper brackets available for the Connie buy them the second you see them. Even if you dont have calipers yet, etc. Do not hesitate. Oh look......

 

[centex]

Anyone undertaking this mod should be aware that the upgrade 4- or 6-pot calipers all use pads too wide for the stock rotor.  This is well documented on Slybones' webpage (linked in my original post) and cannot be avoided with any bracket configuration.  You'll have to grind-back the pad material if you use the referenced GSXR 4- or 6-pots on stock rotors.

Not sure about 310mm rotors but the 320's are made for the GSXR 4- and 6-pots so pads are a drop-in and go proposition.

I'm not in the parts production business and don't intend to go there.  My effort proves that anyone can do this mod with a bit of thought, patience, and bench tools.  No milling machine required.

:beerchug:

PS - to all of y'all lucky enough to go to The National .... safe travels and hope you have a blast in Vermont  ;D

 

[gfinca]

Looks great, Alan, very clean looking.  I know one thing we discussed is how much improvement you would get, so what are your impressions now that you've done it?

 

[centex]

I know one thing we discussed is how much improvement you would get, so what are your impressions now that you've done it?

I must be getting soft in my old age, the steady stream of 100+ degree days has put a damper on my riding, so it's taken awhile to get things fully sorted.

First note ... starting from freshly re-built and dry, the calipers were a total bear to get fully bled (top-down, bottom-up, mityvac, etc).  The units I got have one crossover passage between the castings at the top, I've seen pics of some with an additional passage at the bottom - maybe those would be easier to bleed.  Anyway, finally got things air-free to my satisfaction.

Took me awhile to get things broken-in (pads and rotors) since stop-and-go urban riding is not my native environment and that's what EBC recommends for the first few hundred on the miles n the pads.

But, I can finally report that the brakes are significantly better in terms of both stop power and control/feedback.  I'm still spoiled by the brakes on the Duc in terms of absolute feedback and feel.  If I get bored I may temporarily swap the master cylinder from the Duc to the Connie just to see what difference that makes.

FYI, the Duc is running OEM Brembo 4-pots with Ferodo pads against Brake Tech ductile iron rotors with a Brembo radial MC.  I was surprised how much difference the change from a Brembo 'coffin style' MC to the radial MC made on that bike.  250+ pounds lighter and the rotating mass of both of the Duc's smaller magnesium wheels is prolly less than just the front on the Connie.  Totally unfair comparison but that's what I've got, ya know?  Sorta like jumping from my F150 to my Miata on the 4-wheel side of life.

 

[gfinca]

Alan,

It sounds like you're pretty satisfied, Ducati not withstanding, so I'm glad to hear it was worthwhile for you.  I have the exact same brakes on my bike, plus I have a 17" front wheel, which also increases the stopping power, and the brakes are very impressive.  In fact, based on my research, the only way to get better stopping power is to go to the Nissin 4 piston calipers from the CBR600 F4, or perhaps a Brembo setup.  The Tokicos that we have have a larger piston area than even the 6 piston models. 

The only thing I wish was better is the amount of lever travel before I get a hard lever.  It isn't a lot, and once I get a hard lever the feel is great, but I can't help thinking it could be better.  I think the main contributor to this is the brake switch design.  The micro switch requires a certain amount of travel to work, as opposed to a pressure switch.  I have a set of the F4 calipers that I bought with the Nissin master cylinder, so I plan on trying that setup to see if it is noticeably better.

Again, great job, and enjoy your new brakes!