888 brake upgrade

[dig7465]

having just ridden a guys 748 at the twins ralley, i have come to the conclusion that the brakes on my t8 need to be improved, the bike is in std trim, and the brakes had a major winter overhaul, but im still not happy. any suggestion. cheers dave.

[DC]

What about the p34 calipers? And perhaps a radial brake master cylinder?

Dont know if they would fit right on, probably not. Must be able to get some new mounting brackets made up though??

DC.

[dig7465]

Hi dc, whats a p34, im new to this t8 game. cheers

[aka.eric]

P34,s are the calipers used on later models,they are a 65mm mounting as opposed to the 888s 40mm mounting.Adaptors are available.The other options all depend on the depth of your pocket,Brembo GP calipers,radial master cylinders,master cylinder from later models etc.Maybe an idea to start with a good set of pads,I prefer Bendix and aftermarket hoses,HEL are excellent.Then if you need more braking power,a new master cylinder,calipers etc.And a decent front tyre to handle all the braking!.

[doogalman]

You need these
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/showthread.php?t=35605

[DC]

You need these
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/showthread.php?t=35605

WoW, If I had the 40mm spacing and was after new calipers these could be pretty good stoppers and the ones for me.

DC

[dig7465]

what bikes do the p34 come from 916? 996? 748. i have carbon lorriane pads and michilen pilot sport tyres at the moment. would different discs help.

[doogalman]

Radial master cylinder and braided lines more probably make bigest differance without changing calipers. Changed to a radial master on the 996 as first upgrade. Well worth it.
P34's from 998 and early 749 999 and aprillias mille. Great calipers but 65mm bolt spacing.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DUCATI-749-999-S-Bremse-BREMBO-FRONT-CALIPERS_W0QQitemZ200022280548QQihZ010QQcategoryZ1 0448QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[aka.eric]

You need these
http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/showthread.php?t=35605

Expensive paper weights.

[loony888]

if you still have the standard rubber hoses they would be the first thing to change. they deteriorate badly over time and bulge when you apply the brakes, meaning the force from the master cyl isn't being transferred to the calipers. if you have decided on new calipers and are happy with 40 to 65mm adapters go for the 4 pad brembos, they are great value and are very strong (i have em on my S4R). note though you need a specific hose for these, so don't go buying new hoses for your existing calipers thinking they will fit the 4 pad version, they won't. radial m/cyls are great but i decided on 996 goldline m/cyls after thinking they are hard to fit (no experience with radials, i chickened out!) in short it depends on your budget and how far you want to go.

[Nattyboy]

The main problem I think is the small bore of the standard brake master cylinder..change it for a brembo radial, and with some good pad material youll notice a huge difference..

Nat

[dig7465]

what pads do you think. dave.

[Jools]

I know what you mean, when I got my T8 the brakes were the first thing I wanted to update after a couple of "Oh my gawd the lever is back to the bar and I ain't slowing down much" moments.

Don't go down the P34 caliper route. P34's are later Brembo brakes with a brake pad for each of the 4 pistons in the caliper. I'm not knocking them, I have them on my ST2 and they are without doubt awesome. In fact my ST has the best stopppers of any bike I tried at the recent Cadwell trackday. Trouble is that for a T8 they are just plain wrong. Because they have 65mm spacing on the mounting holes you can only fit them to the earlier 40mm spacing forks on a T8 with an adaptor plate. It works, and you'll have fabulous brakes but it will look awkward and clumsy (not to say plain ugly).

I would go for the Brembo radial caliper and the GP billet brake mod, either one or both in any order. You'll have to be pretty flush to buy both straight away...I got the GP billets first because they're pornographic, but they do need the master cylinder uprated as well to get the best from them.

[dig7465]

where can i see these objects i lust after. cheers.

[Screwy]

Hmmmm
I,m more than happy with the standard set up on the 851 though I will admit to never having taken it on a track day so couldnt comment on there absolute stopping power but for fast (for me :D) road use they have been fine and even managed to haul the bike down quite well in France the other week when a Gendarme stepped into the road and indicated I should pull in for a chat about my eeeer excessive speed :rolleyes:, I think we where both quite relieved that Ducati,s have decent brakes :D

[Douglas851]

Even racing mine I have found the standard setup adequate.
However you must have SS lines and decent pads, I have always used Ferodo Platinum.
Also make sure that the fluid is bubble free, a small bubble can get stuck and make you think the setup is too spongy. The best way is to take the m/c off the bar and hold it an angle overnight so that any small bubbles can escape. Alternatively crack open the banjo bolt on the m/c, pull the brake lever and nip it up when fluid appears. Or get a banjo bolt with a bleed screw.

[Jasper]

I have a radial m/cylinder,used to have P34's with adaptor plate,awesome brakes,but look so wrong on the SP5.I changed them for the P4's now they are truly awesome.Costly mind you.

[dig7465]

The p4 caliper looks awsome, where did you get them from, how much etc, have you a pic of the m/cylinder. cheers dave.

[dig7465]

Even racing mine I have found the standard setup adequate.
However you must have SS lines and decent pads, I have always used Ferodo Platinum.
Also make sure that the fluid is bubble free, a small bubble can get stuck and make you think the setup is too spongy. The best way is to take the m/c off the bar and hold it an angle overnight so that any small bubbles can escape. Alternatively crack open the banjo bolt on the m/c, pull the brake lever and nip it up when fluid appears. Or get a banjo bolt with a bleed screw.
I think there must be a small problem with my std set up, must get it checked out by someone who knows t8s, any recommendations, i live in walton on thames, surrey. cheersdave.

[Iconic944ss]

I have a radial m/cylinder,used to have P34's with adaptor plate,awesome brakes,but look so wrong on the SP5.I changed them for the P4's now they are truly awesome.Costly mind you.

Sorry Jasp, posting a pic of my caliper is going to cost you dearly - maybe a radial master cylinder ;)

In all seriousness - changing to the P34's is by far the best upgrade I've done even with braided hoses, ZX9r cylinder and softer pads.

Frank

[Jools]

Yep, the billet calipers are pure porn, that's what I've got on my T8.

The best place - bar none - to get them is

http://www.gprdirect.com/epages/GPRDirect.storefront/44fb40fa001417c82717d9c7b8050670/Catalog/1227

You'll get the best deal at GPR, sound blokes all round. The ones to have are top row far right, second row far left.

But. There's no denying it, the calipers thenselves are pricey, even from GPR. Best part of £600 for the pair once you've got the required brake pads (and after all, the best calipers in the world ain't much use without pads)

[DucatiRoss]

My 888 SP2 brakes are standard Black brembo calipers, SS lines, and a remote reservoir M/C (some old thing that was on there when I bought it). Not hugely powerful immediately, and take a little while to warm up (cast iron disks ?) but subtly effective. Doesn't have the immediate bite of my 750SS, but those are a little snatchy at slow speeds. Will the standard Brembo Gold calipers of the 750SS fit the 888 I wonder ?

Matthew

[dig7465]

Yep, the billet calipers are pure porn, that's what I've got on my T8.

The best place - bar none - to get them is

http://www.gprdirect.com/epages/GPRDirect.storefront/44fb40fa001417c82717d9c7b8050670/Catalog/1227

You'll get the best deal at GPR, sound blokes all round. The ones to have are top row far right, second row far left.

But. There's no denying it, the calipers thenselves are pricey, even from GPR. Best part of £600 for the pair once you've got the required brake pads (and after all, the best calipers in the world ain't much use without pads)
What m/c do you use.

[dig7465]

My 888 SP2 brakes are standard Black brembo calipers, SS lines, and a remote reservoir M/C (some old thing that was on there when I bought it). Not hugely powerful immediately, and take a little while to warm up (cast iron disks ?) but subtly effective. Doesn't have the immediate bite of my 750SS, but those are a little snatchy at slow speeds. Will the standard Brembo Gold calipers of the 750SS fit the 888 I wonder ?

Matthew
What year is your 750ss. cheers dave.

[yellow916]

I've got the standard setup on my SP3, they're OK for me. If you have a look on the Yahoo 851/888 web site, there were some interesting posts by Mike Cecchini about the merits (and otherwise) of different friction materials. Let me know if you need the link.

Andrew

[DucatiRoss]

What year is your 750ss. cheers dave.

1994 - I think it's fully standard and original (and up for sale if anyone's interested !)

Matthew

[Rob B]

BTW, I think they are going to discontinue the GP3's soon.

rgds, rob