KX500 better rear brakes on the way

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KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Mon Jun 13, 2016 5:06 am

It has been said by some Pro level riders that the stock KX500 rear brakes are marginal and fade quickly.
They always seemed fine to me until I started riding my KX500 on the street....
Now I know what they are talking about :lol:
As usual I am stealing someone else idea and making it better...

More to come :o
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:07 am

I ordered a set of 1994 CBR600 F2 front brake calipers for 30.00 including shipping and they were advertised as Used and usable.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 101.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 101.JPG (66.03 KiB) Viewed 8061 times
When I got them I quickly discovered that the seller has no idea what a good set of calipers is suppose to function like.
The pistons were severely stuck.
After some serious cleaning, 150lbs of air, more scrubbing, and some general maintenance, I finally have a caliper that is worth the effort.
I'm certain a less stubborn person would not have recovered this caliper ;)
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 102.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 102.JPG (474.24 KiB) Viewed 8061 times
Much better..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 103.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 103.JPG (454.81 KiB) Viewed 8061 times
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Tue Jun 14, 2016 4:09 am

At this point I'm not doing a full rebuild.
I'm just testing to see if this is possible and how well it works..

As you can see, the caliper guard mounting hole is in the way.... So off it goes..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 104.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 104.JPG (243.29 KiB) Viewed 8060 times
Once that was out of the way it became apparent that I needed to trim a bit more off the mount here and there for clearance of the caliper and the pads.
No biggie, that's what a Sawsall is for :lol:

So here we are.
The mount and caliper are together and this appears to be a viable conversion.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 105.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 105.JPG (267.71 KiB) Viewed 8060 times
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:34 am

Keep in mind that everything is rough cut at this point so this is not a finished piece until I say it is :lol:

Here is the rear wheel adapters that you need to convert the KX450f Rear wheel to fit on a 20mm rear axle.
I picked them up through Warp9 Racing.
I think they retail for about 35 delivered.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 106.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 106.JPG (352.02 KiB) Viewed 8031 times
Here is what happens if you try to mount everything up without extending the mount.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 107.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 107.JPG (199.45 KiB) Viewed 8031 times
I cut the mount so that I could add the spacer.
The band saw I used removed about 1.5mm of material.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 108.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 108.JPG (250.1 KiB) Viewed 8031 times
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Wed Jun 15, 2016 12:38 am

Here is the KX450F rear wheel mounted on the swingarm with the lower brake mount in place.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 109.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 109.JPG (276.38 KiB) Viewed 8029 times
Here is a mock up of the set up to determine the spacing I needed for the mount.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 110.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 110.JPG (260.08 KiB) Viewed 8029 times
Here is a pic of the spacer before I cleaned it up..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 111.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 111.JPG (292.43 KiB) Viewed 8029 times
The total thickness of the spacer was 16.5mm

So there you are for now.
I need to get it machined and welded.
Then we can plumb it in and take it for a ride and see how it performs...
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:21 am

Thanks Travis for a one day turn around on welding.... U Da Man!!! :ugeek:
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 112.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 112.JPG (205.99 KiB) Viewed 8000 times
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 113.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 113.JPG (210.18 KiB) Viewed 8000 times
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:22 am

Almost ready for a test run..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 114.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 114.JPG (195.06 KiB) Viewed 7999 times
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 115.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 115.JPG (198.31 KiB) Viewed 7999 times
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Mon Jun 20, 2016 2:47 am

Ok... I just wasn't happy with the way the pads lined up on the rotor.
Sure, I could have tested it just to see where we were at on it but I couldn't justify it.
So, I removed a wedge to give it better alignment.
Ok Ok... It's a prototype......
But this might end up on someone else bike so I might as well make it a bit better..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 116.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 116.JPG (292.8 KiB) Viewed 7983 times
On the original attempt I didn't allow for the angle of the mount vs the radius of the rotor.
But this should fix it up nicely.
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 117.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 117.JPG (290.58 KiB) Viewed 7983 times
I didn't get a pic of it but I did mount it up on the bike and it looks much better.
So off it goes to Travis for some lick n stick action :lol:

More to come
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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Sandblaster
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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:23 am

Ok.. all welded up and ready for another try.
I bled the brake and was all excited... pumped the brake lever... nothing... Pump Pump Pump... Still nothing :cry:
Then I notice a puddle of brake fluid on the floor.... Busted SS brake hose.... :lol:
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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Re: KX500 better rear brakes on the way

Post by Sandblaster » Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:55 pm

So here is what we ended up with so far.
KX450F rear wheel
KX450F to KX500 rear axle adapters from Warp 9.
A used 94 CRB600 f2 Right front brake caliper.
KX500 01 rear brake caliper mount.
KX500 93 rear brake hose.
Nothing has been rebuilt.
All I did was disassemble the caliper, clean it, and reassemble it.
Modded the mount to make correct clearance and removed some unnecessary material, then bled and adjusted it.
That's it.
To do this right I should completely rebuild the master cylinder, the caliper, installed new pads (I used the pads that came on the used caliper), installed a new SS brake line, and installed a new rotor.

However, even with all this old used junk the performance is remarkably better..

But how much of the increased braking is from the larger rotor diameter and how much is from the dual piston caliper?
We will have to test it and find out...

I believe this is the final version for the CBR600 caliper..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 118.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 118.JPG (242.33 KiB) Viewed 7970 times
This is as the bike was tested..
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 119.JPG
KXGURU.COM KX500 REAR BRAKE UPGRADE CBR600 1994 119.JPG (211.84 KiB) Viewed 7970 times
If bikes are for kids I'll never grow up.

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