1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

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75RD350rider
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1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#1 Post by 75RD350rider » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:58 pm

I am spoiled by the 2 finger stopping abilities of the Phoenix Project and the RZ 350 and I had the R1 adapter bracket laying in the Girly Bike parts pile since the Gap when the Haase gave it to me.
So about a week ago I started gathering the required pieces from good ol Flea Bay...
ImageR1 front brake setup complete with Goodrich braided lines and new race pads $99 shipped. The conversion also required an FZR 600 rotor, a 12MM spacer ( made by cutting what the Haase referred to as a hat, from the center of a factory disc) and 6 M8 x 40 MM bolts, and some M8 and M10 washers for spacing.
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I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#2 Post by 75RD350rider » Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:00 pm

Image

I had some issues (self induced) with the spacer made from the hat. I had to take it all back apart. and it took some time facing the spacer and now the rotor has no discernable runout. On to spacing....
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#3 Post by 75RD350rider » Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:01 pm

Image

Image
This morning I worked out the spacing issues and assembled the rest of the system. I also had to grind a little off the caliper for spoke clearence. The R1 system operates the two lines with a double banjo bolt so I looked through my parts and found a decent single banjo and luckily the goodrich braided line is the perfect length. I hooked up my mityvac and bled the brake. Then I made a small subharness to plug into the factory pressure switch wiring so the brake light would work. Then I took a vigorous test ride and am pleased to report that despite the piston orientaion being incorrect big vs small leading that I can haul it down from 90 MPH with two fingers. The feel is good and the braking is linear and progressive. The only drawback is the RH forward fender brace will not work so I am on the hunt for a RD 400 or XS 400 front fender. Big thanks go out to M in SC for the bracket adapter and the help figuring out the spacing...
The rotor was $29 shipped for two and the bolts were $17 shipped. The whole mod is easily reversible as everything is bolt on and the original wiring for the no longer used pressure switch is untouched.
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

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two-stroke-brit
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Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#4 Post by two-stroke-brit » Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:05 pm

Thats a huge rotor .
nice upgrade for sure.
thinking about replacing my calipers on the LC but must do the fork swap first.
then the new pipes so its a ways down the list.
marks a helpful guy for sure.
350LC,Athena 392 big bore,stock porting,swiss cheese air box,stock reeds,spec11 pipes.(now TSA big bore pipes)
She might not be pretty but she will always be a fun ride


1982 YAMA RD350LC
98KDX 220R
1967 TRIUMPH TIGER
2001 TRIUMPH TT600

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#5 Post by 75RD350rider » Fri Dec 01, 2017 6:27 pm

Yes he is... It really stops good now... Here is a better picture:Image
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#6 Post by 75RD350rider » Wed Dec 20, 2017 11:38 pm

Image

After further consultation with M in SC and some back to back rides on the RD and RZ I ordered and received a 12MM master cylinder in an effort to get a little more feel. $20 shipped from an ebay vendor named fancy scooters and it even has an electrical brake lite switch just like the 14 MM R1 master cylinder currently installed so it should be plug and play. I hope to get it installed and bled tomorrow morning after I feed my Baby Mommas before work and hopefully a short test ride.
Last edited by 75RD350rider on Thu Dec 21, 2017 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#7 Post by 75RD350rider » Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:58 pm

Image

On and bled in 15 minutes. About 3 pumps after this picture it burped the rest of the air out. The feel is perfect and now we have 1 finger braking for normal stops and 2 if you have to stop quick. Thanks again M in SC.
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#8 Post by 75RD350rider » Thu Dec 21, 2017 6:09 pm

Image

Done and Done!
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

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two-stroke-brit
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Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#9 Post by two-stroke-brit » Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:09 pm

nice upgrade again :smt006 .
more finessing than upgrade but anything that improves the ride is a good thing.
350LC,Athena 392 big bore,stock porting,swiss cheese air box,stock reeds,spec11 pipes.(now TSA big bore pipes)
She might not be pretty but she will always be a fun ride


1982 YAMA RD350LC
98KDX 220R
1967 TRIUMPH TIGER
2001 TRIUMPH TT600

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Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#10 Post by JonW » Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:54 pm

I would be a little weary of that cheapo chinese master cylinder, but Im thinking youre not really throwing this bike at the scenery in the same way you might faster machines?
80 XT500 Supermoto!
81 RD350LC Resto
82 RD421LC Hybrid
82 RD350LC decapitation project
82 RD250LC JDM '251LC' YPVS
83 RZ350 Resto
84 RZ500 Resto
85 RZ350 F1 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Resto
86 RZ350 F2 Hybrid

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75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#11 Post by 75RD350rider » Thu Dec 21, 2017 10:03 pm

So far so good. If I run across a Brembo or Nissin in that size I will snag it.
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#12 Post by 75RD350rider » Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:48 am

Image

After the brake upgrade I had to run with 3 of the 4 braces on the fender as the RH forward brace would no longer fit because of the caliper. I got this 2017 Yamaha SR400 fender for cheap off eBay. It took a bit of dremeling to elongate the holes and had to squeeze the mounts in some to get it to fit...
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

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Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#13 Post by two-stroke-brit » Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:56 pm

looks good :smt023
350LC,Athena 392 big bore,stock porting,swiss cheese air box,stock reeds,spec11 pipes.(now TSA big bore pipes)
She might not be pretty but she will always be a fun ride


1982 YAMA RD350LC
98KDX 220R
1967 TRIUMPH TIGER
2001 TRIUMPH TT600

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#14 Post by 75RD350rider » Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:31 pm

Thanks!
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

75RD350rider
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Re: 1975 RD 350 brake upgrade

#15 Post by 75RD350rider » Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:00 pm

After searching for months for an inexpensive 11MM master cylinder in the quest for a little more brake feel my good friend Frank B on 2SW found that a Yamaha Zuma Master Cylinder is just what we needed. I sourced one from a 2015 model for $37 shipped and now I am pleased to report that the feel and feedback are perfect and it is an OEM part.Image
I love the smell of Blue Marble in the morning!
Tim Steele in Front Royal, VA

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