Radial Master Cylinder?

[squirrel_hunter]

Some of you may know I'm fitting a ZXR400L front end onto my NC23 as part of project CBR. Well progress has been slow, but every now and again I get to do something on it. The latest update resulted from me finding the pistons in the front calipers I bought were seized and could only be removed by gripping them in a clamp and twisting, needless to say they are fubared.

No worries I think, I'll just get a new set of pistons and seals, a snip at £160 (and thats pattern) so back onto eBay I go. I then buy a set of Billet 6 pot calipers haven't tested them out yet but they look very very clean (and worse case a full rebuild is £130 cheaper then OE!). So I stick them on the bike, and like the look. I stand back look at the brake master cylinder and think "I'm running Billet 6 Pots on a standard master, maybe I should get something different". So I look around and find that some guys racing ZXR400's are using radial master cylinders with the standard calipers so...

I was wondering what is the benefit of a radial master cylinder on a non radial brake set up?

[northwind]

None whatsoever, really, just the same as it is with radial calipers :) But, by and large radial m/cs do tend to be higher quality, there's relatively few rubbish ones out there, and it's also getting harder to buy good quality conventional (axial) m/cs, so... It's starting to get to the point where if you want a really good one, you'll likely end up with a radial. IMO it's mainly fashion... Not that I'd want to give up my lovely brembo radial :smt003 but I'd be just as happy with an equally high quality axial.

[socommk23]

my ap radial master is awsome on my non radial 6 potters!
get one!

though a well bled axial will do the job just fine!

[squirrel_hunter]

Looks like I need to save up a bit then...

Was thinking of going for axial GSXR or R1, but if I can pick one up on the cheap then I suppose its not going to be a bad thing.

However looking at a few of the radials on eBay can someone confirm or correct me that the hose's come out of the bottom of the cylinder and not the side? And has anyone had issue fitting one and clearing the fairings because of it? Also I have read that I may need to get some sort of brake switch converter that runs off the banjos as not all masters have switches in them?

[northwind]

Yep, it's very common for the hoses to come out hte bottom- that's just a better place to put it, it removes the possible airtrap with side-exits. My Brembo's like that, it works just fine, plenty of hose. Then again, mine is not posessed of that many standard parts so take that with a grain of salt ;)

As far as I'm aware there's no GSXR axial worth getting, in fact I think they're mainly the same as the SV one. The radial one off the newer R6s is a perfect match for the stock SV parts, it's a 16mm like standard but with a slightly longer throw, so more power but also more feel. It's a nice bit of kit, and not too expensive used usually either, I've had 2 of those.

With the switches, aye, not all have a switch, but I think any one off a japanese production bike will. The pressure actuated banjos work well, but it's an extra expense of course.