Radial Brake conversions
 

In the 2004 Demon Tweeks catologue they have radial brembo brake conversion kits for £480 doesn't say exactly whats included but from the pic, you get the brackets that bolt on to original showa fork bottoms and brembo radial 4-pad calipers good price if this is right.

They also have replacement radial fork bottoms for showa forks, no price though.

Cheapest way ive seen so far to get radials,:D:D:D

~Thanks

Lee1980 ;)

[Edited on 27-1-2004 by Lee1980]

Sounds a bit too cheap to me.....
 

....maybe it doesn;t include the calipers?

I reckon you're looking at £1500 - £2000 for the mod, but if I'm wrong, I'll be very happy!!!!

Tim:frog:

The radial 4 Pad calipers are about £250 from motowheels.com, so i reckon the kit does include the calipers - wonder how much it is for the ohlins version though? :(

Dont you also need the smaller disks to get the full benefit? Add another £400 to the bill!

The pic in the cat, shows a bracket made to bolt on the standard showa bottoms and this leaves a big gap with the caliper out further, so maybe more likely to flex thus out weighing one of the benefits of radials.

Maybe the only way is to change the fork bottoms for the big chunky cnc machined ones they have in the bottom pic, prabably a £1000 + £500 for calipers, not so cheap:devil::devil:

Thanks

Lee1980;)

Radial Conversion
 

Have a look at : -

http://www.rsvr.net/pages/specialoff...bsection=&c=17

OK, they're for Aprilia Mille R so I'm not sure they'll be a straight swap depending on the type of Ohlins you have, but at £999 + VAT including calipers and pads that gives you an idea...

Alternatively, find a breaker who has an '03 RSVR - there were plenty around and all had radial calipers with the correct discs fitted to their Ohlins forks as standard.

Happy hunting!

Clippy

Don't want to piddle on the fireworks, but is it really worth it?

Even journalists, whose reson for being is to hype up anything new and sexy, are saying that radials offer virtually no advantage over something like Brembo 'pad per piston' brakes unless your name is Bayliss.

Seems like a lot of money to pay for fashion

Couldn't agree more, Jools. But, hey, to each their own...

I'm not convinced that a converter is really going to do the job anyway...

The reason for using radial is that it eliminates the flex in the normal mounting points. If all you're doing is adding a converter to this, that mounting point will still exist and, in theory, so will the flex. You'll just be transmitting the flex down the caliper and the converter to the mounting point.

£500 quid sounds "reasonable" for radial mount calipers and the converters, but I'd spend the extra and get the proper fork bottoms rather than converters.

Whether you'd notice the difference is another matter, but if you can notice a difference between the standard Brembo calipers and the 4-pad ones, then I'm sure you would notice the difference in radial too.

Besides, if they didn't work then nobody would be using them, right?

Interestingly, I read in this month's Motorcycle Racer magazine that Sir Alan of Cathcart really rates the Braking Wave disks, especially the new "Bat Flight" ones. Maybe this would be a better (and cheaper) upgrade option if you want more braking power?

It's fashion. Period.

First, Antonye is correct that a converter is silly. Since it adds another link in the system, it actually increase flex.

Now assuming you are after reducing the flex and that is your argument for wanting radial brakes, keep in mind that you won't be able to feel any flex with road tyres and your standard caliper mounts. The wheel will lock before you get any flex in your caliper mounts. The reason they had to improve the caliper mounts is that race tyre technology has progressed so rapidly in recent years.

So, if performance is really the main argument, you'll only get that benefit if you are running race slicks and are braking much harder than you ever thought possible.

Lastly, look at the radial mounts on most new road bikes. They are no improvement on flex to the standard setup. The reason people say its better is simply because the advances in calipers, discs, and pads. Not because it's radial.

[Edited on 29-1-2004 by Felix]