bare with me guys as i am new to the motorcycle world. i have a monster with stock brake/clutch levers and stock black "coffin" reservoirs, i can't look down at them no more! my questions are:
are most brands pieces compatible? example: if i purchased pazzo levers and rizoma reservoirs would they fit together?
when buying levers & reservoirs is there other needed pieces (as in nuts, bolts, clamps, or cables) to purchase that does not come with when buying those two parts?
are brake/clutch lines required or suggested to be changed?
any info on the subject is helpful. thanks
p.s. before the mods get on me i'm heading to "intro" section". apologies
Well, you're going to have a more difficult time because you have the coffin style master cylinder. It's a combination of reservoir and master cylinder.
The braking system has a couple of components:
- Reservoir. This holds the fluid
- Lever. Can be easily replaced. Brands of levers do not need to match other components as long as they are made for your master cylinder.
- Master cylinder. This is the part that the lever attaches to. It does the work of translating the force on the lever into hydraulic force. It's one of the more expensive parts of your brake systems. Switching it out with a different type can significantly affect braking feel and performance.
- Calipers. They clamp on to the rotors. They're an expensive part to replace.
- Lines. If your lines are already stainless steel (as opposed to rubber), you shouldn't need to switch them out, unless you change the height of your handlebars or make changes to your master cylinder or caliper that require a different fitting at the end of your lines. Changing out rubber lines for stainless steel lines makes a HUGE difference in braking feel and performance. Most Ducs have steel lines as stock.
- Rotors. Generally, don't mess with your rotors unless they're shot. They're expensive to replace and unless you change the material (like go from steel rotors to iron rotors), they're probably not going to worth the expense. Unless, of course, you're changing out your entire brake system.
- Pads. Changing out pads is a cheap and really easy way of improving braking feel and performance.
So here's the thing. As I said before, your coffin reservoirs are a combination of reservoir and master cylinder. Many of the earlier Ducs and the modern smaller displacement Ducs have the combination reservoir/master cylinder. You can't just get a new reservoir/fluid tank. You'll need a whole new master cylinder. They can run from $100-$500. Good aftermarket master cylinders are about $200, though you can get 'em used on eBay for much cheaper. Once you replace your coffin-style master cylinder with a remote reservoir master cylinder, you can get a fluid reservoir (like the Rizoma) that is independent from the master cylinder. For example, here are some aftermarket master cylinders with an attached lever. You could add a remote reservoir to this master cylinder and you'd be good to go.
(http://www.yoyodyneti.com/images/400web/brembo/br_10_4760_40.jpg)
(http://www.motowheels.com/italian/images/lg509327313.jpg)
(http://www.motowheels.com/italian/images/lg508470670.jpg)
And here's a combined reservoir/master cylinder like your coffin-style. You see from the picture that it's not possible just to change out the reservoir.
(http://www.motowheels.com/italian/images/lg651745013.jpg)
With any master cylinder, be it a remote reservoir (often called a pee-cup) or a coffin style--you can add whatever levers you want, as long as they are designed for that master cylinder. One cheap and easy alternative would be to replace the covers on your coffins with nice aftermarket covers. That might make it look more palatable.[/list]
damn spidey! that's what i call an answer, thanks a lot for your time and help. my understanding and options are way more clear now.
The reservoir covers are a cheap way of blinging, if you're not replacing the masters.
I got mine in "titanium" from Ducati1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Billet-RESERVOIR-CAP-Ducati-Monster-400-600-750-900-SS_W0QQitemZ140242039489QQihZ004QQcategoryZ10448QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262
If you have different sizes - brake/clutch - make sure you get the set of two sizes. The picture also show the CRG normal length "titanium" levers.
(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l394/stopintime/2008031.jpg)
thanks stopintime for the pic and advise. that is probably the route i will go (at least for now, but it's gonna be a long winter so no telling what changes might occur).
Quote from: acemoney on September 13, 2008, 12:31:29 PM
thanks stopintime for the pic and advise. that is probably the route i will go (at least for now, but it's gonna be a long winter so no telling what changes might occur).
Keep your credit card clean and warm - it will make your mod winter much more enjoyable [thumbsup]
Someone here supplied the link to a good guide on how to install the levers on our coffin masters
http://www.ducatisuite.com/leverchange.html