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Better front braking on a 1993 GS

jsmorph

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I'm the new owner of a 1993 R100GS PD. The front brake is a little underwhelming.

I've done a little research, and I've encountered a spectrum of suggestions including Kevlar pads, four-piston calipers, larger disc, better brake line, and a different master cylinder. But I haven't really gotten into the details yet.

I'm sort of a minimalist, do-no-harm kinda guy, so I was just going to try Kevlar brake pads at the next change. And just ride knowing that I don't have fancy brakes.

Thoughts?
 
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I have a 1992 Bandit 400. I rebuilt the stock master cylinder, installed a SS line, EBC HH pads and an EBC petal rotor. It is much better.

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Congratulations on the GSPD; they're great bikes. OldTLSDoug pretty much covered the first steps. I'd definitely consider stainless steel brake lines, new fluid, and good pads, and see if that helps.
 
Here's what I would do in order of expense/hassle.

I would bleed the brakes and completely change out ALL of the fluid. $10-15 for new fluid.

Next, I would try the EBC HH pads. Make sure they are okay with your existing rotor. The pads are usually in the $40-50 range depending on what you need.

The next step might be the stainless hoses. Old rubber hoses can really expand and you lose a good bit of your braking force. This should not be more than $100-200. You will need more fluid again, but most bottles should have enough to have done the flush in step one and still have enough for this step as well.

IF those steps still leave you wanting more, then maybe do a new rotor and/or even rebuild the master cylinder if you think it might be leaking by on the piston. Rotors aren't usually cheap, maybe a few hundred bucks. Rebuild kits aren't too bad. Of course, that means more fluid... ;-)

I had a KLR 650, notorious for its weak front brake. I went with stainless hoses and EBC HH pads. It made a world of difference and was easy to do.
 
Also, if you are just changing pads, you should sand off the old brake pad residue, it will make the new one's bed nicely. I have 290 mm rotor I bought and never sent back, new in the box. I think it fits a 600 Bandit, might fit yours.
 
If you want seriously more powerful braking check out a new master cylinder with a different size piston than what you currently have. Maybe one from a newer BMW. That combined with EBC HH pads can transform it to one/two finger braking.
 
I just installed the modified R1100 front caliper to my R100GS (big tank but not a "PD" ) and with stainless line is a great improvement.

The SS line by itself will give you better braking over stock but will be slightly more wooden

the issue of using something much more powerful is the associated increase in fork dive - very often leading to front suspension changes such gold valve emulator/spring rate increase or full front suspension sway with something like a DR650 or KTM forks and custom triples
 
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the issue of using something much more powerful is the associated increase in fork dive

This is so true. Fix or improve one thing and it reveals another weakness.
 
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