Front brake upgrade

[extonyg]

Hello ive got an L1 and i find the front brake to be a bit poor, i mean i can pull the lever back to the bar if i try hard enough. its not so bad when riding but i feel as if i dont get enough 'feel' through the lever and doesnt seem to be very good.it works and got through the mot and that but i just wondered if any one else has had this on there zxr and how they got round it.
the pads and discs are ok i bled the brake fluid not so long ago and that made it a bit better but i just want it a bit sharper.
i was thinking about a bigger master cylinder, would that give me more feel through the lever and give me better braking?if so what ones should i look for that can bolt straight on.
any help would be great cheers

[RedexRobB]

They usually are like that, its pretty common on ZXR's. You can try a new mastercylinder rebuild kit, i think weemoto sell them for about 30 quid.

Gemini will reccomend you a brembo master cylinder, but they cost £££££'s. A number of people have tried different master cylinder with varying results. The 6 pot caliper conversion appears to be pointless, but the 4 pots used on other bikes SV1000, some hondas etc that also fit, appear to make things much better.

[extonyg]

ok thanks for the info, i might try a rebuild kit for my master cylinder first then before i try changing calipers or upgrading the master cylinder.

[Scott221]

A brembo M/C Will not fit unless you mod the clocks.

[extonyg]

o right ok well i think im going to just rebuilb my m/c and see how it goes i was looking at this one on ebay does it look right?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KAWASAKI-ZXR-400- ... 7C294%3A50

is this one also the same as the one above as it alot more expensive?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MASTER-CYL-REPAIR ... 7C294%3A50

looks the same to me. (sorry i dont no how to post a link)
i was going to buy the top one.the bottom one just seems way to expensive.
what do you think?

[RedexRobB]

thats the same pic as the wemoto website, they sell them for a snip over 20 quid. 70 odd quid is just way too much, thats either a mistake or they are kidding themselves.

[extonyg]

ok thanks alot for your help i think i am going to buy the rebuild kit for £20
ill let you know how it goes and what i think of it.
cheers again

[extonyg]

just an update, brought that m/c rebuild kit off ebay.
removed the m/c cleaned it out so it was pristine clean and fitted all the new seals etc,it was actually easier than i thought, fitted back on the bike and bleed through with some fresh new brake fluid. it took a little while to bleed but wasnt too bad.
took it for a ride ............what a difference i get such better feel through the lever now i now cant pull the lever back to the bar and the feel gets better as your riding its so nice to have bit more trust in the front brake
still decided wether i should upgrade the calipers......one day when the bank allows
thanks to redex rob for the advice
i advise anyone to do this if there front brake isnt great i mean the kit was £21 off ebay and i think well worth the money.

[masterofinsanity]

think this is gonna be my next step.

[extonyg]

i think its well worth it, well it was for me as mine hadnt been done in a long time if ever.and the seal on the inside thats around the plunger part was quite worn compared to the new one it may just be worth take the old one apart cleaning it all up and putting it back together with new fluid and see how you get on but for only £20 plus some brake fluid a couple hours work maximum its got to be just worth it as maintance just so you no its done.