The task was to make the Gen1 busa a genuine Track Day bike capable of stopping which the standard setup doesn't do very well. These mods have really transformed the braking performance to next level.
Hi. I’ve done the brakes on my Gen 1 and am super happy with them now. 2 finger breaking and loads of power. I did the upgrade in stages, my findings are as follows: The Brembo master ups the braking significantly. Monoblock calliper are a must. Any calliper that splits will be a weak point in the braking setup in a bike the size of a Busa. You have the 108mm adapters so you have access to all the best monoblock callipers. Yes they can be pricey but they will improve the setup. I am running second hand Yamaha Blue Spot callipers from an R6 £100 eBay and Brembo pads, fantastic performance for the road. Brembo make callipers for most budgets or you can get some pre used. Discs made a huge difference when I upgraded them, much more than I thought, maybe equal to the master. I fitted EBC V Rotors, 300g lighter, each!! Not sure if they have enough meat in them for track use though? After going through the upgrade over a few years my takeaways are: Monoblocks are a must. You have to replace the whole system if you want great/modern braking. Mine cost about £1200 all in over the years which I guess sounds a lot. But if you don’t change everything the system will have a weak spot which will affect the performance. I have fitted titanium brake pistons to my rear calliper and will do the fronts when the next service come around. Saves a decent amount of weight 👍🏻 they are available for most callipers.
Thanks mate for your valuable info. This is exactly what I've been after. For me, I knew the main problem with the gen1 is the master cylinder followed by a close 2nd of the 6 pot calipers. I changed the mc, calipers and lines at the same time and it worked great until I had corrosion grow under a dust seal which was slowly jamming the brake on....getting very hot! I overhauled the calipers but some of the new seals don't seem to let the pistons move freely. Hence why I said I'm going the investigate my overhauled K3 calipers. But I was running out of time so I threw my K6 calipers on that I had doing nothing and also changed the disc rotors because they are pretty well stuffed. I just used what I had. Yes you're right, with the 108mm pitch adapters we have a great choice and I haven't decided what to buy yet in both calipers and new rotors. And yes, I agree, titanium pistons for weight reduction and less heat transfer would be awesome.....Thanks mate.
Great info. The titanium pistons are a brilliant idea, as is a great master cylinder with a good ratio on master piston to slave piston area. More master area provides more mechanical advantage translating to less hand effort and outright clamping force. Braided lines are a must too. I agree with the monoblock design for the street, but baulk at them for the track due to heat. Aluminium (and alloys) loses strength as it heat cycles. From memory every time aluminium's temperature gets over 400-450C it weakens. Eventually each side of the caliper will flex across the bridge causing the calipers not to be parallel and the pads wont seat on the rotor evenly. Two piece calipers for the track are best as the steel bolts holding each side together will get STRONGER with heat cycles. If the steel bolts are too small in diameter and cause flex, then my suggestion would be to have them machined to accept larger high tensile bolts, or find a different set of calipers which are up to the task. I learned all this researching brakes for a heavy performance car. I talked to braking engineers, and eventually went with two piece AP Racing 6 piston calipers and bigger diameter and thicker rotors. Heavier rotors increases thermal capacity before brake fade. On bikes the rotors are directly in the airflow which helps to keep them cooler, longer. The downside of increased rotor mass is an increase in unsprung weight and rotational inertia. A balance needs to be found.
@Tepid Tuna I really appreciate the awesome info from you guys, just fantastic. OK, some back ground, my trade was aircraft sheet metal structures and tig welding. 21 yrs of it. So I know the main spar of a 747 flex's and it's the spar itself not the fasteners so my point is, I do wonder about the rigidity of mono block calipers and then we have the issue of cast alloy or machined from billet with a strongher grain structure...so, hmmm, makes me wonder. And then we have HEL who went ahead in recent years and made their line of calipers two piece. But getting back to my budget, there are real gains in getting the mc to caliper piston ratio just right for the feel/action you prefer. I did touch on that feel in the video. There is a proper formula for this ratio, I did read about it once but I forget now...
Can't wait to get started on my 02 Busa project. Picked it up from a guy that let it sit for 6 years. Gotta do the tank clean first. Then it's battery, plugs, oil, filter and diagnose time!
Hi, I certainly intend to buy the gen3 when I can financially afford it even though I haven't ridden one yet. I keep hearing the handling is impressive. Same power as a gen2? Sounds like it but I'm not a professional drag racer so that's not a big factor for me and if you want to race, those guys change everything anyway. Could lose some weight though.
Sir, how important are these upgrades for the normal street rider? I ask because, of course, I immediately want to copy what you're doing but never see the track. Also, the stock setup has never bothered me but we could always use extra stopping power. What do you think?
Hi, good point. Mine always bothered me! From the test ride when I bought it. Too much lever travel and not a lot of power without squeezing the lever really hard. Fast county riding was just as terrible as the track. The track just makes everything hotter because it’s more intense. I think it’s when you jump from one bike to another you get a liking to a favourite feel. My little zx6r stops great and then things get worse with the extra weight of the busa and the weak brakes. And that’s another thing, I’ve tried to make my busa’s lighter but it all costs money. If you’re happy with it maybe consider just new stainless steel braided lines and new brake fluid… and keep those caliper pistons clean. The racers service the calipers are every race meeting and us road riders never do anything… :-)
Hi.
I’ve done the brakes on my Gen 1 and am super happy with them now. 2 finger breaking and loads of power. I did the upgrade in stages, my findings are as follows:
The Brembo master ups the braking significantly.
Monoblock calliper are a must. Any calliper that splits will be a weak point in the braking setup in a bike the size of a Busa. You have the 108mm adapters so you have access to all the best monoblock callipers. Yes they can be pricey but they will improve the setup. I am running second hand Yamaha Blue Spot callipers from an R6 £100 eBay and Brembo pads, fantastic performance for the road. Brembo make callipers for most budgets or you can get some pre used.
Discs made a huge difference when I upgraded them, much more than I thought, maybe equal to the master. I fitted EBC V Rotors, 300g lighter, each!! Not sure if they have enough meat in them for track use though?
After going through the upgrade over a few years my takeaways are:
Monoblocks are a must.
You have to replace the whole system if you want great/modern braking. Mine cost about £1200 all in over the years which I guess sounds a lot. But if you don’t change everything the system will have a weak spot which will affect the performance.
I have fitted titanium brake pistons to my rear calliper and will do the fronts when the next service come around. Saves a decent amount of weight 👍🏻 they are available for most callipers.
Thanks mate for your valuable info.
This is exactly what I've been after.
For me, I knew the main problem with the gen1 is the master cylinder followed by a close 2nd of the 6 pot calipers.
I changed the mc, calipers and lines at the same time and it worked great until I had corrosion grow under a dust seal which was slowly jamming the brake on....getting very hot!
I overhauled the calipers but some of the new seals don't seem to let the pistons move freely. Hence why I said I'm going the investigate my overhauled K3 calipers.
But I was running out of time so I threw my K6 calipers on that I had doing nothing and also changed the disc rotors because they are pretty well stuffed. I just used what I had.
Yes you're right, with the 108mm pitch adapters we have a great choice and I haven't decided what to buy yet in both calipers and new rotors.
And yes, I agree, titanium pistons for weight reduction and less heat transfer would be awesome.....Thanks mate.
Great info. The titanium pistons are a brilliant idea, as is a great master cylinder with a good ratio on master piston to slave piston area. More master area provides more mechanical advantage translating to less hand effort and outright clamping force. Braided lines are a must too.
I agree with the monoblock design for the street, but baulk at them for the track due to heat. Aluminium (and alloys) loses strength as it heat cycles. From memory every time aluminium's temperature gets over 400-450C it weakens. Eventually each side of the caliper will flex across the bridge causing the calipers not to be parallel and the pads wont seat on the rotor evenly.
Two piece calipers for the track are best as the steel bolts holding each side together will get STRONGER with heat cycles. If the steel bolts are too small in diameter and cause flex, then my suggestion would be to have them machined to accept larger high tensile bolts, or find a different set of calipers which are up to the task.
I learned all this researching brakes for a heavy performance car. I talked to braking engineers, and eventually went with two piece AP Racing 6 piston calipers and bigger diameter and thicker rotors. Heavier rotors increases thermal capacity before brake fade. On bikes the rotors are directly in the airflow which helps to keep them cooler, longer. The downside of increased rotor mass is an increase in unsprung weight and rotational inertia. A balance needs to be found.
@Tepid Tuna I really appreciate the awesome info from you guys, just fantastic.
OK, some back ground, my trade was aircraft sheet metal structures and tig welding. 21 yrs of it. So I know the main spar of a 747 flex's and it's the spar itself not the fasteners so my point is, I do wonder about the rigidity of mono block calipers and then we have the issue of cast alloy or machined from billet with a strongher grain structure...so, hmmm, makes me wonder. And then we have HEL who went ahead in recent years and made their line of calipers two piece.
But getting back to my budget, there are real gains in getting the mc to caliper piston ratio just right for the feel/action you prefer. I did touch on that feel in the video.
There is a proper formula for this ratio, I did read about it once but I forget now...
Can't wait to get started on my 02 Busa project. Picked it up from a guy that let it sit for 6 years. Gotta do the tank clean first. Then it's battery, plugs, oil, filter and diagnose time!
@@joshuaanothereraseddad Don’t forget the injectors. Should be a fun project!
Wow…another good one🎉the pictures and sounds of the video are very clear!👍🏻👍🏻
Hello Sir! Have you had a chance to ride the new Gen 3 ‘Busa yet? Would love to hear your thoughts it!
Hi, I certainly intend to buy the gen3 when I can financially afford it even though I haven't ridden one yet. I keep hearing the handling is impressive. Same power as a gen2? Sounds like it but I'm not a professional drag racer so that's not a big factor for me and if you want to race, those guys change everything anyway. Could lose some weight though.
Nice Job r they à mono block RF 900 ones r supposed to b good as well
Yes! I have the Suzuki RF900 Nissin calipers on my other gen1. Very good with the Nissin 19 radial mc.
Sir, how important are these upgrades for the normal street rider? I ask because, of course, I immediately want to copy what you're doing but never see the track. Also, the stock setup has never bothered me but we could always use extra stopping power. What do you think?
Hi, good point. Mine always bothered me! From the test ride when I bought it. Too much lever travel and not a lot of power without squeezing the lever really hard. Fast county riding was just as terrible as the track. The track just makes everything hotter because it’s more intense. I think it’s when you jump from one bike to another you get a liking to a favourite feel. My little zx6r stops great and then things get worse with the extra weight of the busa and the weak brakes. And that’s another thing, I’ve tried to make my busa’s lighter but it all costs money. If you’re happy with it maybe consider just new stainless steel braided lines and new brake fluid… and keep those caliper pistons clean. The racers service the calipers are every race meeting and us road riders never do anything… :-)
where did you get the gage cluster
The dash is a TransLogic TLS-MD3-12 They don’t make them anymore but if you want to look into a different dash check out BoostBySmith.com
I cant seem to find that caliper bracket for the life of me!!
Try this mate, MHP on Facebook for Messenger. Email - info@beanos-nuts.co.uk Phone - +44 7974 312522 (Mark Hamey)