GSX1400 Owners .org

The following calipers are options (depending on availability, some may be easier to source than others):
-   Suzuki SV1000 03-04/K3-K4 Callipers
-   01-03 Suzuki GSXR600/750  (4-Pot Tokico front brake Callipers)
-   Suzuki SV1000 03-04/K3-K4  4-Pot Tokico front brake Callipers)

Fitting 600 k3 gsxr & braided lines this winter. Hopefully see an improvement. Debating whether to change m/cyl or replace seals.

I'd certainly consider changing the seals - the cylinder pots you will have to take a view on when you take them out.
The seals though do deteriorate over time and go hard, when they go like that it makes it difficult to remove the cylinder. It also reduces braking performance.
Whilst they may look good, it's not until you take one out that you can see hairline cracks once they start to deteriorate.
If you do pull your calipers down and the seals are still good - or you fit new seals - then do put a thin smear of Castrol red rubber grease on, as it helps keep the rubber nourished.
Also worth splitting the calipers to check the rubber seal in between the 2 halves

I think that year 2000 model GSXR750 were also 4 pot tokicos so: suitable direct changeover 4-pots are 01 - 03 GSX-R600 or 00 - 03 GSX-R750

Quote from: VladTepes on Tuesday, 14 February  2017, 04:10 PM
I think that year 2000 model GSXR750 were also 4 pot tokicos so: suitable direct changeover 4-pots are 01 - 03 GSX-R600 or 00 - 03 GSX-R750

Which is what I put in my original post (second bullet)  :onya:

Yes, almost.

this is a pic ftom the old org
unfortunately all the details are there with no access

Further discussions and pictures of different calipers fitted here
http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=697.0

Quote from: seth on Thursday, 16 February  2017, 04:04 AM
this is a pic ftom the old org
unfortunately all the details are there with no access

It is radial brake adapter from ebay or japan webike and brembo M4 or M50 calipers.... I have this in my to do list in future....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z800-GSX1400-CB1300-CB400-Nissin-Tokico-Brembo-Adapter-Hanger-Bracket-108mm-/222418731393

Quote from: V_i_c_i on Saturday, 11 March  2017, 06:52 PM

Quote from: seth on Thursday, 16 February  2017, 04:04 AM
this is a pic ftom the old org
unfortunately all the details are there with no access

It is radial brake adapter from ebay or japan webike and brembo M4 or M50 calipers.... I have this in my to do list in future....

I think that's a picture from Veemanzero's bike.

Which master cylinder do you run with the 4 pot calipers? Just bought a pair of SV1000 calipers, and I'm wondering if another master cylinder is needed to compliment the smaller calipers.

I think you will be fine with the standard master cylinder - it is a Nissin unit and a fairly good one - the area used on the 6 pots and the 4 pots should be relatively the same surface area as the 4 pots having larger pistons

I know a fair few folk that have done this conversion on the ZX9r and they all (or mostly) use the standard M/C

Just a quick update, I stripped and rebuilt a pair od SV1000 calipers with new pads, but I also had to swap the oem discs for some others I had, not only are the four pot Tokico's an absolute doddle to bleed up, but wow, I now have one finger brakes!

I have 4-pot Tokico's with the standard M/C and its absolutely fine. As kja says the braking is nice.....

Quote from: VladTepes on Thursday, 11 May  2017, 11:18 AM
I have 4-pot Tokico's with the standard M/C and its absolutely fine. As kja says the braking is nice.....

The difference is remarkable, should have done this ages ago.

Don't see the advantage other than less pressure on the lever which you could achieve with a larger bore master cyl..be interesting to see if braking performance-stopping distance is different..probably be more prone to locking up the front end..

Quote from: dangles on Monday, 15 May  2017, 07:42 PM
be interesting to see if braking performance-stopping distance is different..probably be more prone to locking up the front end..

That's very difficult to assess objectively as it would generally be the case that if people are changing the calipers they would be changing to new pads, and possibly even new rotors at the same time. So if there were any perceived performance increases that could just be a function of those new consumables.

Subjectively speaking my brakes require less pressure which is really nice and allows me to cover the brake with my index finger most of the time - has been quite useful.  I haven't noticed any difference either way in stopping distances / brake effectiveness. It certainly doesn't lock the front more easily. You really have to grab a handful of brake to do that on a dry road.

The standard comment about 6-plops is its a maintainence issue.

Personally, I've ridden brand new 14's and Gen-1 Hayabusa's and owned a new Gen-1 Busa.  There 6 pots were never anything special even when brand new.

My Busa has good condition master cylinder and calipers, good pads, fluid and braided lines.  It's not a patch on my other bikes radial brakes, even with 10 year old lines, and fluid and several years neglect.

I prefer 4 pots to 6, but love radial brakes.

I did mine as well.
Got mine for $300 on fleabag from Germany.
Took them out of the wrapping, didn't even check them.
Put them on, put new Hel lines on, bled the system an all's good.
My bike is not as clean as the one above.
The six pots on the bike when I bought it were crappy.

I've got a pair of gold 4 pot Nissin callipers in the shed. Got them off a mate cheap. I believe they from a H*nda Fireblade.

Hole spacings are the same as GSX1400 anyway. I just need to find some pad pins, spring pad retaining plates and pads for them..Should be good to go then if I do decide to convert from 6 pot to 4 potters :onya:

No doubt a stupid qustion but I assume once the 4 pot conversion is done then the original pads are useless?
Or do I file them down a bit? :devil:

Obviously joking about the filing down...

Quote from: Speedy1959 on Friday, 01 December  2017, 11:04 PM
No doubt a stupid qustion but I assume once the 4 pot conversion is done then the original pads are useless?
Or do I file them down a bit? :devil:

Obviously joking about the filing down...

Yes..You'd need to source pads for the replacement 4 pot calipers.

Thank you Froudy..

I've tracked down pad springs, pads and stainless pad pins and caliper bolts for my pair of 4 potters...Going to cost me around £80 on top of the cost of the calipers.
I'll also need stainless bleed nipples and possibly new banjo bolts too if the thread pitch is different...Not a cheap conversion.

I may hold off for the time being as I've already got a 6 pot caliper rebuild kit with pistons and also some pads for them as well :rolleyes:

I might have just picked up a bargain.
This pair of SV1000 4 potters, posted from Greece to UK for the grand total of 75 Euro all in. Cheaper than getting all the bits I'd need to use the gold set.

Nice buy Froudy were they the ones on the bandit forum

Yes, the very same ones Del :onya:

I was very tempted myself and if I wasnt doing a radial conversion I would have - I did manage to pick up a set of zx636 calipers from the states for $30.00

I saw them pop up on FB, but the seller wasn't known to me..I was wary.
Then I saw the ad pop up on the Bandit Forum and I knew who it was. Deal has been done and they are on their way to me from sunny Greece :onya:

Calipers arrived from Greece this morning!! That was quick!! Bargain at 75 Euro's posted too :lol:

Bit of luck too...
I bought a 6 pot rebuild kit from Veemanzero a while back and it just so happens that the stainless caliper joining bolts, stainless bleed nipples, banjo bolts, pad pins and the two little Allen screws that hold the pad spring in place ALL fit the Tokico 4 pots :imrgreen:

All cleaned and stainless fitted. Just got to order the pads now and all good to go.
The brake lines are the same orientation as the 6 pots too, so all good there as well.

I am amazed at the brilliant condition of the 4 pots..
What a brilliant buy you got..

I am quietly jealous.. :bugga:

is it me or do i just ride too slow to need to change the existing calipers?  :smile2:

Quote from: Notty on Wednesday, 13 December  2017, 02:24 AM
is it me or do i just ride too slow to need to change the existing calipers?  :smile2:

Same Notty, I'm fine with my original brake set up. Each to their own.

I just want the 4 pot calipers for less maintenance and cheaper rebuild kits when they need doing :onya:

I agree KiwiCol.
I use oem six pots at the track and I almost never out braked in the B group.
It is my opinion that if you show your oem brakes some love they will be plenty good for anything you are likely to face on the road.
I stripped mine, cleaned them with a toothbrush and a bowl of used brake fluid for a couple of hours, replaced all seals, fitted Hel lines and EBC HH pads, and they are good enough to pull me up from well over 200. I am 100kgs with gear.
I really don't understand the fuss.

Also agree with Col and Notty. I did/do as Teufel says, and I am very happy with the oem. As some of the washers of the floaters of my oem rotors disappeared, I replaced them with EBC Vee rotors. They are now one-finger brakes.

But I do understand the "need" to screw around and upgrade bikes. Everyone has a different taste.

Less maintenance and cheaper rebuilds are a good argument though. However, I think the pistons of the oem fronts last longer as their surface is titanium-nitrite. The rear (chrome-surface) pistons on mine were pitted while the front look pristine after 15 years and 45k.

I do agree with the above comments. Properly maintained, there is nothing wrong IMO with the standard 6-pots. But they do require regular maintenance to keep the pistons free.

A much better and effective upgrade to the brakes IMO though is to fit radial master cylinders and dog leg levers. This will give better and more controllable braking performance (so long as the calipers are maintained)

my 6 pots serve me well. maintenance not that hard. even stock lever.

Quote from: grog on Wednesday, 13 December  2017, 07:23 PM
my 6 pots serve me well. maintenance not that hard. even stock lever.

Try riding with Winter salt that get's shovelled down over here @grog ;)

I agree with Steve on this one - I have a spare set of 6's that I rotate - the crude that builds up is horrible

Riding in that sort of crud would make anything hard to maintain in good working order.   

Same bike, different hemispheres & completely different riding conditions. We never get that down under, so never had to deal with maintaining a bike being used in those conditions.    Similar to Roos & drop bears as road hazards, ya don't see too many of those round Nottingham or Essex.

That's one of the good things of being an international forum, we all get to see & learn about different riding environments and conditions.

Well said Col,
I bet Roo fur is a pig to get out of the calipers!

I've bought Steve's other Nissin 4 pots off him, partly for cheaper maintenance and partly for looks (having my wheels done soon so I want to show more of them off) the 6 pots I feel are propotionally too big for the front wheel but thats just my mixed up head :tongue:

I look forward to reviewing the performance of the 4's but suspect I won't notice any difference.

Cheers
Red

sorry Froudy, forgot about the bloody salt. read that oz sends 120 th. tons of it to uk for road salting. you can blame us im guessing. roo fur in calipers, id be in hospital thinking about it. not a good scenario.

Related to this topic...
The best front brakes on any bike I have owned were the FOUR POTS off my pevious bike..
My Yamaha MT-01

The later MT-01's had 6 pot calipers in order to keep up with fashions..
I rode one of the last MT-01's with the 6 pot caliper version and can say they were NOT as good as mine ! (With 4 pots).

Quote from: Speedy1959 on Thursday, 14 December  2017, 10:55 PM
Related to this topic...
The best front brakes on any bike I have owned were the FOUR POTS off my pevious bike..
My Yamaha MT-01

The later MT-01's had 6 pot calipers in order to keep up with fashions..
I rode one of the last MT-01's with the 6 pot caliper version and can say they were NOT as good as mine ! (With 4 pots).

Just different brake pads do huge difference.
My OEM 6 pots + OEM brake disk + Brembo Sinter brake pads work perfect. No reason why change it for me.

Have wondered how much better 4 pots could be? I am well happy with my OEM 6 pots, original rotors and EBC HH pads. I have had occaision to emergency brake with the wife on the back and i was worried I might lock the front. So I cannot wish for better stopping than that.
At the couple of track days l've done l dont seem to be too scruffy on the brakes. I like the feel of the front brake. To be fair l have no complaints at all.
So guys what could l be missing out on. I am most interested to know. Could someone please explain what are radial brakes and master cylinders ?

Here ya go Col, have a read of this (I just have) it explains it all.  Interesting.

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-things-are-radial-brakes

My beemer has brembo radial brakes and they are by far the best brakes I have ever used, phenominal  :clapping:

Have a read of the article Mick, says you're more likely to be noticing the stiffer front end.

Quote from: mjgt on Friday, 15 December  2017, 06:54 PM
My beemer has brembo radial brakes and they are by far the best brakes I have ever used, phenominal  :clapping:

I fitted Radial brakes to my Bandit when I rebuilt it. Now I don't know whether it is just the combination of calipers, wavy discs and pads, but the braking is superb. Only ever need to use one finger and the braking power is amazing.
A mate of mine has a Busa 1st Generation. It had 6 pots as standard and he said they weren't up to much. After riding my Bandit he converted his to Brembo Radial calipers using mounting brackets. He said the transformation was unbelievable.

First photo is my Bandit and the second, my mates Busa.

Thanks Col, I've seen that before, the brakes on my beemer are still better than anything else I have used for whatever reason, after that comes my Speed Triple.  The other odd thing is my Speed Triple and MZ use the exact same calipers but different master cyclinders and the Triumph stops a whole lot better than the MZ.  I would say my 1400 has the worst brakes, I was hoping for an improvement when I replaced the rotors and pads, I may change the pads for something different as I am not over impresed with the ferodo's I have fitted.

EBC HH seem to grab quite nicely.

Quote from: mjgt on Friday, 15 December  2017, 07:46 PM
I may change the pads for something different as I am not over impresed with the ferodo's I have fitted.

I've always used EBC HH pads and found them to be really good...Might be worth a try :onya:
See my post yesterday for good priced EBC pads on Ebay.

http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=2090.msg24207;topicseen#new

Personally I always found SBS Excel pads a tad better than EBC - but difference was negligible in all honesty

I have started the change from 6 pots to 4 pots and made the mistake of listening to others on another well known social media site. Had spent ages looking for sv 1000 calipers(rarer than rocking horse shite) and some said that cbr600 and blade954 calipers fit.
WELL let me tell you the calipers have the same mounting bolts but the brake discs are different sizes which either means having to change discs aswell.

Dont fall for the trap of everyone that gives advice knows what they taking about.

That's why here is the best
The info is correct and if not soon put right and you can read the whole thread .
It's why I never joined facecloth
Have a good look around buddy as the info he is great and correct .

:cheers:

Ha ha ha ha I call it facefuck lol 😂

GSXR600 K3 4 pots bolt up just fine - may be easier to source than SV1000.
:hat:

01-03 gsxr750 fitted to mine.

Quote from: KiwiCol on Friday, 15 December  2017, 06:42 PM
Here ya go Col, have a read of this (I just have) it explains it all.  Interesting.

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-things-are-radial-brakes

Good link, I'll put that in the site links directory when I get a  chance. :)

Swopped originals for Gsxr 600 k3.Straight swop, upgraded hoses at the same time.

Quote from: gsxbarmy on Friday, 03 February  2017, 08:56 AM
The following calipers are options (depending on availability, some may be easier to source than others):
-   Suzuki SV1000 03-04/K3-K4 Callipers
-   01-03 Suzuki GSXR600/750  (4-Pot Tokico front brake Callipers)
-   Suzuki SV1000 03-04/K3-K4  4-Pot Tokico front brake Callipers)

Looking at doing this upgrade..

But was wondering what the difference is with the brake calipers from different year models of the SV1000.

According to online parts listings the front brake calipers are the same part number on the 2003 model and the 2006/2007 model SV1000

Hi
If they are the same part numbers you should be fine.
I used 2004 SV1000 callipers which I bought from "Powerhouse" already refurbished and painted. 
If you get yours from there then just be aware to be VERY careful with the Brake Fluid. The paint seems very sensitive to it!!
I had a water sprayer standing by and sprayed as soon as I leaked any Brake fluid.  When fitting my 2nd calliper I didn't leak any Brake fluid as I had learned my lesson.
Overall a brilliant conversion that I highly recommend to you.
The brakes are Very Very good. 
To quote my mate. "You wouldn't want them any stronger".
S.

Speedy, seems like they are the go.

Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 12 August  2019, 07:23 PM
Hi
If they are the same part numbers you should be fine.
I used 2004 SV1000 callipers which I bought from "Powerhouse" already refurbished and painted. 
If you get yours from there then just be aware to be VERY careful with the Brake Fluid. The paint seems very sensitive to it!!
I had a water sprayer standing by and sprayed as soon as I leaked any Brake fluid.  When fitting my 2nd calliper I didn't leak any Brake fluid as I had learned my lesson.
Overall a brilliant conversion that I highly recommend to you.
The brakes are Very Very good. 
To quote my mate. "You wouldn't want them any stronger".
S.

Cheers.

:cheers:

Also of note, the GSR600 has the same front calipers as well - same part numbers as the SV1000.

I have decided to convert my bike (as I did with my old one) to the 4 pot calipers..
They are ordered as are the new pads..
Once Ive done this there will be a pair of K7 front calipers for sale with 14k miles on them..
Also a brand new set of SBS 686HS (Sintered) pads, which are still in the packets unopened..
I will put these in the for sale section once I have fitted the 4 pots.

S.

Quote from: Speedy1959 on Tuesday, 13 June  2023, 02:25 AMI have decided to convert my bike (as I did with my old one) to the 4 pot calipers..
They are ordered as are the new pads..
Once Ive done this there will be a pair of K7 front calipers for sale with 14k miles on them..
Also a brand new set of SBS 686HS (Sintered) pads, which are still in the packets unopened..
I will put these in the for sale section once I have fitted the 4 pots.

S.

where did you order them from? same as last ones - are they black?  :)
@speedy1959

Quote from: Notty on Tuesday, 13 June  2023, 05:03 AMwhere did you order them from? same as last ones - are they black?  :)
@speedy1959

They are Black and no not from the same place (Powerhouse)
They are refurbished though with new seals and polished interior surfaces etc.

There is another very nice set of 4 pot Calipers on eBay at the moment which I very nearly bought..
I had PM'd 2 sellers and the seller I bought from responded the first (Just)..

Right caliper below:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275871493449?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oV9Qbh9bSHa&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3xMK3ZV0TEK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=EMAIL

Left Caliper below:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275871496214?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oV9Qbh9bSHa&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3xMK3ZV0TEK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=EMAIL



S.