Brake upgrade/Nitemare?

[johnod]

Hi

I saw in some old threads, people have adapted,bandit 12 calipers to big Kat forks, Nitemare i believe was one of these.

I'm looking for some more info on that if you can help please do.

Is it a true "bolt on"?

Does it matter what year either bandit or Kat is?

Do you use original Kat discs?

Do you use Kat, or bandit master cylinder?

And most importanly, does it improve both braking, and braking feel at lever?
I find the front brakes have a very wooden feel to them, they work, but seems to be a lack of feel to me, even with the stainless lines.

Any help is appreciated.

thanks

j

[Black_peter]

UPSman (check KOTM the 1100) had different calipers. It is pretty rare that a caliper truly bolts on without being the exact same caliper just off a different bike.. Like you can't brag you fit Kat 750 calipers on your Kat 600.. They are the same. Savvy?

That having been said there used to be lot's of folks swapping calipers around. (not on Kat, just in general) What I think happened is that calipers sort of leveled out. In that 6 pot nissins got to be pretty standard.. So you don't see the adapters much.. I don't know of any caliper (that would improve your braking) that is a bolt on to the Kat..

A little work might get you some 6 bolts bolted on.. But I would add a GSXR Master cylinder and braided hoses first

[gaillarry]

I had a set of Bandit calipers but an adapter is needed to mount them. I changed out the stock mc for a GSXR mc and braided lines, makes a world of difference in braking.

[NiteMare]

my 1100 has bandit 12 calipers fitted (4pots), don't bother with the 6pots, 4s are way better feel (ask any track day god), mine still has the original mastercylinder fitted, 4 pots are also cheaper to service ...

the first thing to check on your kat is the mounting bolt centre distance, if 90mm the calipers will bolt on (gk76a gsxr400, gsxr750l/m/n/wn/wn/wp/ws and B12 and one or two kawaski's use the same calipers so you have plenty of options to salvage from )....

disc diameters do vary but so do the postions of the mounting lugs on the fork legs to allow for the diameter of the discs, the thing that may throw you a little will be disc offset (the dish shape/depth) which can be over come with either a little spacing or filing/machining usually....

my 1100 has really powerful front brakes now which takes no more than 2 fingers to strip the speed rapidly with lots of "bite/feel" .....

just a little slightly off topic ...
i've just mounted a pair of '86 slabby discs on a later 17" three blade wheel, i had to redrill the bolt holes in the discs(completely new holes between the originals due to the greater radius of the holes in the wheel, i also had to put 3mm thick spacers/washers between the hub and disc to correct the offset for the calipers (could have put them between the calipers and mounts but discs come off rarely whereas calipers come off for tyre changes and pads, no losing washers this way)....

if you can i'd advise taking your bike to your local breakers along with a spanner or two so that you can try the caliper on the fork leg and see if it'll bolt on (no need to connect brake lines) and how well it lines up and that the wheel rotates freely, remove the pad cover (2 small socket head bolts, 3 or 4mm allen key) to see how close to the centre of the caliper body the disc runs, 2mm or more then you'll need to work out your spacing which is really easy usually....

all the above is for application to the 1100 as i believe the smaller capacity machines have different mounting centres on the fork legs....

i know none of your mechanical abilities so don't blame me if you screw up, i've been tinkering with bikes/cars/trucks for about 35 years so i can generally see where adaptations can be made

[gaillarry]

Nitemare: What year is your Kat. Mines an 88 and the Bandit calipers needed an adapter plate, unless the bandit calipers were the wrong ones. I'd like to get 4 pots.

[NiteMare]

ok i've just been out to my garage to take a photo ...



i've still got the original size 275mm fronts discs on it as well

it was first registered on the 1-12-1989

hope this helps

[DClark]

I put on ss lines, drained the fluid and the brakes have a great feel. Last fall, they felt like wood again, so I drained the fluid and voila!- they felt great again. Brake fluid should be totally changed once a year. It doesn't take much time or effort, unless you let the cylinder go dry. I use the Valvoline syn brake fluid in my Kat as well as in my cars- it is the best stuff in the stores and after a few months, it 'll probably be in better shape than some of the pricey motul stuff.

The other not so obvious suggestion is to go with a pad that has a low metallic content. My experience has been that the cheaper low/non metallic pads have better feel than the high metallic pads. They also are quieter and gentler on the rotors. They don't feel as off and on as other pads. Of course, one could argue that they are not as good in super aggressive driving, but how aggressive can you drive with a softly sprung 550lb bike riding on 16" tires
Oh,I use Tuff Stop brand pads, purchased for around $13 a set on sale from JC Whitney.
Take the money saved by doing a complete brake swap and get some relays for your headlights (that should be another thread!).

[johnod]

Thanks everybody, got some good ideas there, think i'm gonna look into trying the caliper change when I get near the bike again.
Nitemare, thanks for the pic, thats great.

[DClark]

The way I see it, every dollar that I put into my Kat1100/'06 GTO takes me further away from my dream- getting a brand new Goldwing with gps/abs.

I only say this because of the number of people who have taken old liter bikes and put so much money into them that it would have been cheaper to buy a slightly used one that was only a couple years old, or even a new leftover model.
Now,I'll run and hide :smt006

[NiteMare]

i just bought another pair of 4pot nissans for £33 english pounds posted to me complete with pads ... that's not much more money than a set of pads and definitely cheaper than a set of seals from my local suzuki agent ...

rebuilt my 6pot calipers with genuine suzuki seals a couple of months ago (all 24 seals) i think it cost me a few pennies short of £76, i should have just bought a second hand set of 4pots and saved myself considerable grief, time and money..

yes i had to buy pads as well which cost me more money

[suzy1052]

I put a pair of 2 piston calipers from the 88-92 Gsxr750/1100 on my Kat and they bolted right up.While they did not sweep the entire rotor because the Gsxr rotors are larger diameter they did stop the bike much harder and quicker and with less lever pressure.Cost less than 25.00 on ebay.

[StevieB]

I have a pair of 6-pots, with lines and master cylinder.

Quick and dirty comparo to 88 Kat 1100, 98 Bandit 1200, 01 Triumph Sprint ST and 01 Bandit 1200 (01 B12 has 6-pots) and it appears they may be a bolt-on for all. I thought about putting them on the kat, then on the Sprint, but I have too much to do, already.

Also talked to a guy near here who has a pair ot NOS bandit rotors.

Anybody interested?

[Clipity]

I put a pair of 2 piston calipers from the 88-92 Gsxr750/1100 on my Kat and they bolted right up.While they did not sweep the entire rotor because the Gsxr rotors are larger diameter they did stop the bike much harder and quicker and with less lever pressure.Cost less than 25.00 on ebay.

+1

When I had to change out one of my bent fork tubes and replace the missing wheel spacer (some bike shops souldn't be in business). My brother-in-law had a polished caliper off a 91 GSXR1100 that we mounted for ****s and giggles it bolts up as described above.