[Guest]

Grrrrrrrr...

The place I usually take my bike for inspections is closed 'til the new year, my inspection expires on the 31st, & the only shop I could find failed me because I have less than 50% of my brake pads left.

So, I bit the bullet & bought some used rotors from Baxter. ($300. Ouch.) I have a 5/8" MC from a Daytona, a pair of Tokico 6-pots from a Z-Rex, & 2 sets of EBC pads for the Tokicos. Theoretically, I will be ready for the upgrade as soon as the rotors arrive.

What I'm wondering is this: What's the difference between theory & practice here? Is this a true bolt-on, or will I be stuck trying desperately to find shims to line things up? Anybody who's done this have any tips for me, or should I not need any tips?

Thanks,
-Kit

(Edited to correct unintentional poor grammar.)

[ This message was edited by: KitNYC on 2006-12-29 10:33 ]

 

[sailfish]

On a Sprint it's bolt them up, bleed the lines and ride, but I didn't have to change rotors. As I recall, the machined surfaces where the lines attach might be a slightly different angle but it shouldn't be an issue. The only question that you will be asking is why you didn't do this sooner.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Sailfish!

Anyone else?

Anybody actually done this with a Trident, or another model that shipped with the floating 2-pot calipers?

Thanks,
-Kit

 

[Lone-Rider]

I haven't used those calipers but, I have the Triumph 6 pots from a Daytona III. What a difference ! LOL with your installation.

 

[Hinckley]

I've not done it with a Trident, but I have with a Daytona 1200 and for a short time on my Super III. On those two bikes it is a direct bolt up, no shimming, no cursing, just bolt them on bleed the brakes and stop much better. :-D

 

[seumas]

Same as the others Kit. I don't know how it will work out on the Trident but it was a straight swap on the Sprint; unbolt the old calipers, bolt in the new and bleed the brakes.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the input, everybody! My new rotors should ship from Arkansas on Tuesday, so maybe next Saturday I'll be able to do the upgrade. I'll post an update on my progress... :hammer:

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[Outrunner]

If I go for a set of six pot calipers on my Sprint Executive will I need to fit a larger master cylinder or will the standard one do just as well?

 

[daveforty]

Most likely your bike will already have the 'larger' bore master cylinder. Take a look at the front of the casting, beneath the fluid level sight glass, and the size of the bore will be cast in. 14mm on the Tridents with 2 piston calipers, yours will probably be 5/8" as you already have 4 piston calipers.

 

[Outrunner]

Thanks for that Dave, mine is 5/8.
I wish I had found this forum years ago when I got my first Trident, so much information and so many helpful people! :-D

 

[YYZSKI]

I had a set of the Tokico 6 pots off a Hayabusa - they were a direct bolt-on to my '94 Daytona 900. (floating rotors).

Plenty of bite, even on the track. More braking power than the chassis was comfortable with.....I had already upgraded the master cylinder to one from a ZX-7 earlier on....

 

[bobbo]

Well my Tokicos finally arrived from the states last night and as soon as the new pads come through the post they'll be on the bike. Do they really make that much difference compared to the 4-pots? What with that and the new WP springs going in the front end next week, I'm thinking I won't recognise the bike in a fortnight.

 

[jedrake72]

I just bolted on my 6 pots and wow, what a difference. I still think these master cylinders have a long pull which gives the impression of weaker braking, but these new calipers are great once they start digging in. Totally worth it. And you can get a used set with pads for less than 100 bucks off ebay or from a salvage shop.

Edit: The job truly is a bolt on one. Undo the two bolts and banjo bolts holding each caliper on and bolt the new big calipers on, bleed, and off you go. Super easy. Less than an hour start to finish.

[ This message was edited by: jedrake72 on 2007-02-03 01:44 ]

 

[Turin]

I got my six pot alcons from hinckley a while back. The difference they make is HUGE.

 

[fergrorke]

I've acquired a pair of Tokico 6-pots for my '93 Trident but need new rotors which I plan to order from Trade Direct-Stealth Products (http://www.stealthproducts.co.uk/). What is unclear to me however, is what diameter the rotors should be - 310mm, 315mm or 320mm? Trade Direct-Stealth Products tell me they can make them to any specification. What's your advice?

 

[MotT3]

310mm are the standard discs on the T3 S3 and they take six pots with no other mods...so I'd say 310mm should suit you fine :wink:

 

[Guest]

Huh. I thought all the floating rotors were 320mm, but I was wrong. I just measured the Trophy rotors I bought from Baxter to use with my 6-pots & they seem to be 310mm units. (Quite a relief, really, as I was a little worried that putting 320mm rotors on the Trident would be a problem.) I also confirmed w/ Bike Bandit's parts fiche that the Trophy rotors are spec'ed as 310mm.

Okay, I'm still just a little worried about fitment. I just realized that the stock (fixed) Trident rotors are 296mm. Hopefully, the weather will begin to cooperate soon & I'll finally be able to get the bloody things installed!

Cheers,
-Kit

 

[jefftarlton]

I was worried about where the pads would ride on the rotor surface. I made a mark with a pencil across the rotor's surface, then pushed the bike across the shop with the brakes applied just a bit.

 

[the1mavin]

On 2007-02-24 14:20, KitNYC wrote:
Huh. I thought all the floating rotors were 320mm, but I was wrong. I just measured the Trophy rotors I bought from Baxter to use with my 6-pots & they seem to be 310mm units. (Quite a relief, really, as I was a little worried that putting 320mm rotors on the Trident would be a problem.) I also confirmed w/ Bike Bandit's parts fiche that the Trophy rotors are spec'ed as 310mm.

Okay, I'm still just a little worried about fitment. I just realized that the stock (fixed) Trident rotors are 296mm. Hopefully, the weather will begin to cooperate soon & I'll finally be able to get the bloody things installed!

Cheers,
-Kit

Hi Kit,

Just wondering how this all turned out for you? Yeah, just got it and I am already looking to make it better... Brakes are a bit weak (I am used to my other bike with the linked - power - anti-locks).

Other than that I'm loving the bike, just wish the weather would improve ;-) so I can have some real fun with it in the canyons.

Thanks
Tim

 

[Guest]

Someday, I'll get around to posting about my 700 mile NYC->RVA->NYC trip/ordeal/adventure...

Tim, the biggest upgrade you can do for the brakes is stainless lines. Probably the biggest bang for the buck anywhere on the bike.

After the stainless lines, the 6-pots are the next biggest upgrade. For that, you'll need floating rotors, a 5/8" MC, 6 crush washers, several new rotor bolts, & the 6-pots themselves.

Mounting the MC is a no-brainer.

Mounting the calipers is as well; the only gotcha is that the Tridents have long caliper mounting bolts with spacers on the inside of the fork leg. These spacers will need to be moved to the outside of the fork leg. (I.e., stock goes bolt head, fork leg, spacer, caliper. Tokico must be bolt head, spacer, fork leg, caliper.)

Mounting the new rotors is simple as well, but removing the old ones isn't! Get an impact wrench if you don't have one already. Ditto a blowtorch. HEAT the rotor bolts for a minute or so with the blowtorch, then use the impact wrench to loosen them.

I did not know about the requirements for heat & impact tools.

I sheared off 2 bolt heads.

I have not been able to remove the 2 bolts from my wheels, so have been stuck riding with 5 bolts per rotor instead of 6.

The good news is that I can't see any sort of separation between rotors & wheels at all. Even when I spray penetrating oil on the broken bolts, it pools & doesn't run down between the surfaces. (At least not appreciably. I rode very gingerly at first, since I was a bit iffy about the rotors. 1000 miles later, I'm pretty sure they're not coming off.

The bad news... Well, I'm not *sure* it was the rotor bolts that caused this...

As I was cruising down the Jersey Turnpike on my way to VA, I got behind someone going just a hair slower than I wanted to go. I saw a gap in traffic up ahead, pulled to the right into the gap, & accelerated to pass. The bike was pulling nice & strong. As I pulled back into the left lane, though, the bike started feeling funny. I ain't talking "funny ha ha" either; I'm talking about my nether regions clenching up so tight I thought it would tear my seat cover off.

I glanced down very briefly & saw that I'd hit the ton. I thought at first that my rear tire had blown. It felt almost like a locked rear brake. The bike was just shimmying. All I could do was hug the tank, let go of the throttle, & hope for the best. How I made it through that without needing new underwear, I'll never know.

In retrospect, I don't know what caused it. The primary suspects are as follows:

Luggage: I think I read somewhere that you're supposed to keep it under 85 MPH with hard bags.

Strong cross wind: It was a really windy day.

Rear brake: The rear was a little sticky, but I don't think it was *that* bad.

Missing rotor bolts: #1 suspect. I hadn't thought about it, & my careful test riding hadn't been fast enough to show it, but I suspect that my front wheel is now way out of balance. Unbalanced wheel + 100 MPH = freakin' scary!

Aside from that, the brakes work a treat! :-D

Just be very careful taking the rotor bolts off, balance the wheel afterwards, & you'll be very happy with the Tokicos.

Cheers,
-Kit