Caliper rehab or upgrade?

[dinamos]

My 89 RZ has been off line for a while. On the list of "to dos" is rehab the front MC and calipers and new SS brake lines. Looking for a balance of time spent and costs outlay.

Local seller has TZR recently rebuilt calipers and MC as well as SS lines for $350 CDN.

Triumph caliper MC and SS lines show up on Ebay fairly often for $100-$150 US but build quality is always a question.

Have to price out the cost of OEM rehab parts yet plus SS lines.

Suggestions?

roger

[silverstrom]

What year TZR? I have an 87 TZR and I'm pretty sure they won't bolt directly onto an RZ due to different bolt spacing.

Triumph calipers are made by Nissin. Quality isn't a concern

You can always drop yours off at Midwest Caliper in Toronto. They do it all and you get shiny calipers back. They've done many RZ350 calipers. http://www.midwestcalipers.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dinamos]

He claims they're compatible, TZR 3MA:

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-motorcycle-parts ... 1127324005" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks John

[JonW]

Defo quality not a concern with Triumph/Nissin. Where did you hear that?

[evan_calgary]

Upgrade to the triumph calipers. The stocks can be good but not as good as those. No quality concerns, these guys make brakes for everyone.

[silverstrom]

He claims they're compatible, TZR 3MA:

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-motorcycle-parts ... 1127324005" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks John

That's Dana (nokturnal here) and yes, they will fit. That's 3MA, I have 2 MA.

TZR calipers are 4 piston, so a good choice for your bike. Bolt on and go. I'd buy the whole set up from Dana. The work is already done and it's a great upgrade over stock RZ. If you decide to stay with stock you likely won't get the fully rebuilt with SS lines for less.

[evan_calgary]

I'm not sure how $350 is cheaper than $200 John??? The triumph upgrade is basically a bolt on and well documented here as well unless i'm taking my crazy pills again?

[silverstrom]

I'm not sure how $350 is cheaper than $200 John??? The triumph upgrade is basically a bolt on and well documented here as well unless i'm taking my crazy pills again?

Rebuild them and add SS line. It will be far more than $200. The options are fully rebuilt or used.

[evan_calgary]

Meh, I would debate 95% of the calipers out there are good to go as is. Think I have only run into 2 calipers that needed rebuild out of the 30-40-60 I have seen recently. Bit of a risk sure but they likely won't. Also, OP indicated that price included SS lines for Triumph.

[silverstrom]

When I built my naked black RZ I had many options for brakes. In the end I chose fully rebuilt calipers and M/C with SS lines that were bolt on and go. No rebuilding, no bleeding, no fucking around. It was an easy decision and one that I was happy to make. Time saved and one less thing to struggle with. I bought them from Dana. I'd be happy to do it again.

The decision comes down to this: Local fully rebuilt or look on eBay for an alternative and pay in $US and pay shipping. Not much of a choice. Sometimes the attempt to save money ends up costing you more.

If the point is to do it on a budget then stay with stock. Remove the pads and pump the pistons out until you get to the clean shiny area. Clean what is exposed, add new pads and be done with it.

[dinamos]

If I were 20 years younger I'd be shopping around for an Aprillia frame and really trick suspension and tires. I'm too old for "projects".

I've got other issues that need to be dealt with to get my RZ on the road and the TZR calipers sounded like a cost effective way to go. John's opinion of the seller goes a long way with me.

I have no doubt that a set of Triumph calipers would have been adequate to the build but the prospect of getting a set of calipers that might need rehabing compared to an OEM rebuild and a fully rehabed system that is a bolt and go?

roger

[RuZty]

I upgraded to Triumph calipers, they were good condition and used them as-is. I already had stainless lines that could be made to work with them so it was a real cheap bolt on and works great. I second John's opinion that you can't go wrong buying the set from nokturnal, half the stuff in my garage came from either him or John.

[dinamos]

Waiting to hear back from Nokturnal about meeting up for sale.

Now I can turn my attention to the engine rebuild.

roger

[hondaror]

+many for Dana!

[Hooligan]

I'm not sure how $350 is cheaper than $200 John??? The triumph upgrade is basically a bolt on and well documented here as well unless i'm taking my crazy pills again?

Triumph calipers require new lines. The triumph lines won't fit the RZ. Add a new set of pads and you will be close to the same amount for nokturnals TZR brakes.

We did the Triumph calipers on our RZ and they are nothing short of fantastic. I'm planning to do the same conversion on my FZ750.