Ducati Monster Forum

This may have been covered, but since this place seems to be a ghost town I'll ask anyhow....
Has anyone tried to flip the mounting plate on the rear caliper of a SSS S4R or S2R? Perhaps on a superbike?  This would make bleeding way easier, but would it give undue braking affects  mounting at the top of the hub rather than below?

you thoughts?

this has sprung up because I am replacing my rear brake components.

RB

It would not effect braking performance due to the caliper being on top.

From my memory of what that part is like, the caliper would be offset from the rotor.

I found a few pics online and it looks like it couldn't be flipped, I am replacing the rear bearings at the moment and brakes at the moment so I am going to inspect it a bit further. However, why didn't Ducati place them ontop? It would have been easy to make a different mounting bracket during development of the SSS. Oh, well, I don't normally have rear caliper issues, so maybe this is moot anyhow.

People flip them temporarily to bleed by unbolting and moving the caliper to a higher part if the disc as far as the line allows to get the bleed nipple facing upwards. Once bled then it's bolted back to the stock position. It all depends how much room you have to move with the line and how it's routed. Some models are easier than others. You can also fit a bit of strap steel in the caliper and twist it upright so it clamps the strap. You can use cable ties, etc to hold the caliper to the position you want. Worth a search here as there have been some inventive solutions without a permanent modification.

With S4R (S2R also), you can undo the caliper mounting bolts, move the caliper through the wheel (spokes) and hold it in upside down position, then do the bleeding without removing the wheel.

It is not that difficult IF you have all the tools needed.

I wrote this back in 2005.
(How to bleed rear brake on S4R / S2R
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=71530.0

and this one
(How to install rear brake pads on S4R
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=71890.0

I said, it is “better to remove the rear wheel” when working on the rear brake on these bikes (SSSA Monster),
I also said, it is “easier” to do the job that way, than trying to do with the rear wheel still in place.

While I sill believe that placing caliper upside-down (or “right way up”, the bleed nipple positioning upward) is the best way to bleed the rear brake system, I (sort of) changed my mind a little bit about rear wheel removal part.
I mean, there are times that you just don’t want to deal with removing the rear wheel and the silencers (which have to come off in order to remove the rear wheel, on S4R), just want to do the rear brake job, right?

So, I was going to do another tutorial (I actually started. Just haven't finished yet).

Basically, you will need
Swivel head ratchet handle (or flex head ratchet handle) and short hex bit socket for this bolt
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4331/36815455471_493f689719_c.jpg)

Long extension bar for this bolt
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4429/36558939140_0b91d486bc_c.jpg)[

I have 43 teeth sprocket (the stock is 42), and the extension bar (barely) clears the sprocket.
So, unless you have bigger sprocket than 43 teeth, you shouldn’t have problem.
(Even if you have bigger sprocket, you can get away with using “wobble extension bar”, like the one used in the video.

And you can move the caliper through the spoke ...
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/36767562846_60bb5a7586_c.jpg)
The clearance is tight, but you can do it.

The tools : Flex head torque wrench, extension bar, and short hex bit
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/36146638823_0cdea63cc4_c.jpg)

(Should I finish the tutorial article ? It's about 70% done. I just need to finish some video editing.)

Anyhow, removing the caliper mounting bolts and move the caliper is not difficult and doesn't take all day.
And it's not something you would do once a week, once a months.
I don't have any problem moving the caliper the way shown in  above photos, for cleaning and inspection, twice a year.

Thanks for this ...I have been removing wheel for years ...looks so much easier

thanks for all the replies, I never tried removing the caliper thru the spokes. I actually never have rear brake issues, so bleeding isn't a regular process, but was more curious if I could flip the bracket. After further inspection, I would need to machine a new bracket due to the offset and speedo sensor location....so, simply not worth it.