Explain radial brakes to me, please

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain to me preferably with the aid of diagrams and without me having to read too much or make any effort the difference between ordinary brakes and radial calipers.

[Scoobs]

It's the way the caliper is bolted to the forks. The pistons still move the same way.

The brakes on the SV are not radially mounted. The bolts that hold them on the forks go in from the side.

Radial brakes are bolted from the top of the caliper to the fork. More rigidly mounted, less flex, better stopping power and feel. Allegedly.

Radial mount setup.

http://www.indysuperbikes.com/images/PVM_forkbottom_R1_APcaliper.JPG

[zx6man]

A radially mounted caliper is stiffer, and is better at maintaining alignment with the rotor. This means the pads stay in alignment better, making better contact with the rotor and exerting less lateral force on the rotor while generating less heat for a given pad pressure.

With traditional caliper mount points on the trailing end of the caliper, pad pressure at the leading edge of the caliper has considerable leverage to misalign the caliper in relation to the rotor. Radial mounting takes care of that. Putting a mount at both the leading and trailing end of the caliper, leverage at the leading edge of the pads is reduced to a level that it becomes insignificant.

Increased caliper stiffness can be achieved without radial mounting, but the costs can be high. Materials like high-tensile billet aluminum, magnesium, etc., can be used. Manufacturing processes, like CNC machining one piece calipers. Design details, such as adding a 'bridge' over the gap where the pads are inserted, as Brembo has done. All are effective, and in the racing world where cost is no object, these design and manufacturing elements are combined to maximum effectiveness, which may partly explain why Honda's AMA and WSB spec RC51s still use the traditional mounting method (though the MotoGP Honda uses radial mount calipers).

[Anonymous]

Ta :thumbsup:

I thought it was just the way there were mounted. At first (not knowing much about mechanics) I thought there was a difference in the the way the pistons worked. Having said that I couldnt imagine how at all, so thought it must be just mounting. Thanks chaps.

[wheelnut]

Its the same as having go faster stripes on a Ford Anglia.

It means they can charge you loads more money for them. Its the same as upside down forks, nowt wrong with right way up ones :P

But otherwise the previous posts answer your question