Need Help! Front brake kit?

[Sodakrunner]

Hello new to this forum and recently bought a xs400 it runs and drives quite well but has no front brake! I need everything from the lever to the line to the caliper to the router. was wondering if they made some kind of universal kit with a more modern components that I could fab to fit my bike. Thanks in advance.

 

[spectra]

Well what year ? There are a few rotors that work if you dont want stock............also a few master cylinders available and as for lines have used a few different ones also............

It all depends what your working with..............post up a pic of your bike with some info...............

 

[Spitfire_X24]

This conversation intrigues me as my front brake reservoir is broken on my 78 XS400E. I would like to go bigger, but then again, I had thought of going with a different set of forks as well if I could find something cheap. Is it just a matter of trial and error until you find something that bolts up?

 

[JPaganel]

The brake master is pretty standard. There are tons of aftermarket and swap options. I forget what bore size it is, but it is cast into it. Use one of the same bore size, and it will work the same.

Lines, I have them made at a local hydraulics shop. I highly recommend getting an upgraded steel braided line, they work better and last longer. Again, tons of aftermarket. Spiegler, for example, makes ones where banjo fittings can be rotated, so they are pretty universal. Just get the right length. This is a single caliper, so you don't need more than a single line to it.

Caliper is exactly the same as XJ750 and RZ350. Used XS calipers also show up. They don't really wear, and with a new set of seals will be good to go. Pistons can be damaged or rusted, but there are people making new ones from stainless steel. A worthwhile upgrade, IMO.

Swapping caliper and rotor for something else I'm not sure about. I don't know that there is anything that directly bolts on without custom brackets.

 

[spectra]

I have a master in the garage that is aftermarket will have to get info.........I used one that I bought from Mikes XS on a previous build and loved it........I also like the plastic brake lines from goodridge...........also love there fittings..........

https://shop.revivalcycles.com/buildaline-high-performance-brake-fittings/

 

[amc49]

Single disc masters are typically 9/16 diameter.Twin discs 5/8".

I typically junk masters over internal bore corrosion, a new piston is worthless if the bore is eroded enough to still leak around it. I usually first thing open a master up to rehone the ID and then look at it in strong sunlight to see for sure the entire ID picked up to not have a big gouge in the bottom where water typically collects to corrode the metal. If the bore is bad the pressure forces the piston seal off into the gouge and it tears up the seal to fail pretty quick.

 

[Spitfire_X24]

Caliper is exactly the same as XJ750 and RZ350. Used XS calipers also show up. They don't really wear, and with a new set of seals will be good to go. Pistons can be damaged or rusted, but there are people making new ones from stainless steel. A worthwhile upgrade, IMO.

Swapping caliper and rotor for something else I'm not sure about. I don't know that there is anything that directly bolts on without custom brackets.

The thought of a "custom" bracket to hold your from brake caliper on scares me. If it's not a direct fit, I would be hard pressed to use one.
Are the triple tree bores a fairly common size and would a different set of forks be easy to find that would have a larger front brake assembly?

 

[JPaganel]

Are the triple tree bores a fairly common size and would a different set of forks be easy to find that would have a larger front brake assembly?

33mm, I believe. This is more common in dirt bikes than road bikes these days. Anything with a fork that small likely doesn't have much bigger brakes.

Going with different fork legs, you are probably in for custom triples, or a complete fork swap.

 

[Sodakrunner]

It's a 1981 xs400s just looking to get a brake on it nothing special. I have been riding the last month with just a rear brake so an oem one would be just fine. Just having a hard time finding one.

 

[JPaganel]

It's a 1981 xs400s just looking to get a brake on it nothing special. I have been riding the last month with just a rear brake so an oem one would be just fine. Just having a hard time finding one.

There are a couple of people in the classifieds here selling parts. I bet one of them has a caliper.

Get a new hose - old OEM ones can have hidden rot inside. And any master cylinder of the right bore size.

 

[Gra900]

Just FYI on the master cylinder, the i.d. of the master cylinder On the std bike is 14mm, my 83 came with a Chinese cheapie of 12.5 mm. On reflection I didn’t trust that it would always be there when needed, so binned it. Also the remote reservoir looks vulnerable and untidy. Looking around this forum I saw someone who had fitted an 11mm master. I bought a s/h one of these off a YBR 125. It works great. Very sensitive, very light touch, although you can pull the lever to the bar which is a bit worrisome. However braking is as good a a single can be and you’re unlikely to lock up the front wheel.

 

[amc49]

For what it is worth.............one day I was running the 20 miles to a Dallas Yamaha shop know for exceptional machine work. Got to a high school about 2 blocks away from it and the school was in full let out for the day, kids swarming everywhere. On my Kaw 400-3 and suddenly with zero warning a kid pulled out a '63 Impala under full throttle from parallel parking on my right and did a super tight 180 bat-turn across and in front of me to catch the median turnaround to my left. I sh-t bricks yet still clamped down super hard on the front brake and the kid just had this dumbfounded look at what was supposed to be nothing there, now filled with about 650 lbs. of very angry motorcycle/rider about 2 feet away from a direct hit into the middle of his driver door. A 6 million $ man slow mo moment took forever to go by. The kid never slowed down but the bike stopped about 6 inches away from the door and it took me a second to figure out I wasn't dead. I literally could have simply reached out and slapped him through his open window. He took out as fast as he could, sure he had struck me. I'm sitting on bike still balanced with both feet on pegs and suddenly with a ka-thump! the back wheel came back down to hit the ground, I had done a stoppie and didn't even realize it. The wheel had locked up solid with smoke coming off it. I had a backpack on at the time with a 30 lb. Yamaha 2 stroke twin crank in it to be rebuilt.

I ALWAYS want enough power to lock the wheel if I can get it, you can see why. Past that you learn to modulate the braking as needed.

 

[Gra900]

Next time it’s dry I’ll try a stoppie