Anyone upgrade to a radial master cylinder

[rockaduc]

I have an 05 S2R.  I want to upgrade to a radial master cylinder setup for the front brake and the clutch.  Is this as simple as finding a set on Feebay and installing?  Can't be...otherwise everyone would do it.  What am I missing?

Thanks in advance.

[Spidey]

BTW, there was absolutley ZERO change in feel or performance of my clutch or brakes on the racebike as a result of the switch.    The only reason I can think of to do it is for coolness or cosmetics.

I've had the opposite experience. I changed to 999 radial master and it made a big difference in feel.  In fact, on every bike where I've gone from a conventional MC to radial, the feel has noticeably improved.   

You're not missing much.  Depending on the master, you may need new brake lines.  The problem is generally not the length of the line, but the fitting at the end of the line where it meets the MC.  BTW, other than cosmetics (which is why I have one), I don't think the clutch radial master is good return on $ invested for most street riding.  Personally, I think it's better to spend that $ on better calipers and rotors. 

[rockaduc]

Thanks guys!!!

[Spidey]

Uh, BTW, in case you didn't know . . . Don't just buy any radial master off eBay.  Size matters.  Different MCs will have different bores in the MC depending on how many pistons the brake calipers have.  For example, some sportbike have 6 piston front calipers, whereas your S2r only has 2 piston front calipers.  If you put a MC made for 6 piston calipers on your bike, the MC is going to overpower the brakes.  It'll feel wooden and one finger braking might just lock up your front. 

For example, you can buy a 16x18 brembo, a 18xsomething Bremdo or a 20X something brembo.  They all have different piston bore sizes and have a different feel depending on what calipers you're using them with.  It might take a bit of research to figure out which ones will work well. 

[Spidey]

In what way, out of curiosity?

Well, at first, I thought the standard brembo MCs had good feel because I was used to riding with them.  But then I tried radial masters.  A radial master--either a Brembo billet/cast 19x18 or 20X18 or a standard 999 radial--is just a much softer touch IMO.  It's easier to control the amount of initial bite, and then to progressively increase or decrease braking.  You can be a lot more precise, and it's better for trail braking or those times when you just want to change the weight distribution a wee bit.  The same was true when I switched on an R6  (non-radial calipers) to a radial MC.  Same with a KTM tard.  I'm surprised ya didn't think there was a difference particularly in the switch from the stock Brembo MCs to the S4Rs MCs.  I basically did the same switch and though the difference was pretty noticeable.  As usual, YMMV.

[rockaduc]

Uh, BTW, in case you didn't know . . . Don't just buy any radial master off eBay.  Size matters.  Different MCs will have different bores in the MC depending on how many pistons the brake calipers have.  For example, some sportbike have 6 piston front calipers, whereas your S2r only has 2 piston front calipers.  If you put a MC made for 6 piston calipers on your bike, the MC is going to overpower the brakes.  It'll feel wooden and one finger braking might just lock up your front. 

For example, you can buy a 16x18 brembo, a 18xsomething Bremdo or a 20X something brembo.  They all have different piston bore sizes and have a different feel depending on what calipers you're using them with.  It might take a bit of research to figure out which ones will work well. 

Thanks for the tip! Do you happen to know off-hand if switching to the MC from an S4RS or S4R would work?

[Spidey]

Sorry, I don't.  I have no experience with MCs combined with the 2 piston calipers.

[Spidey]

I bet some of the difference here is that you're talking about higher-end braking hardware and about racing.  A total guess, but I'd suspect that you didn't experience a big difference because when you have good hardware throughout the system, the impact of a MC is much less.  But if you're running a pretty much stock street set-up--s2r rotors and 2 piston calipers with stock pads (or even 4 piston calipers with stock pads and stock 320 monster rotor), it makes a big difference for street riding feel.  At least that's been my experience, though I've now got a 999 set-up on my bike with Braketech rotors and Ferodo pads--don't like 'em, gonna switch to Vesrahs. 

I'd agree with the general idea that you're suggesting that brake pads will often make a bigger difference than changing out a MC.  For example, going from EBC HH pads to Vesrahs is night n' day in terms of how a bike rides.  I found that the EBC HH had a LOT of initial grab.  And I'd burn through 'em pretty fast, going through more sets each race season than I'd originally thought I needed.   

I remember a write-up Chris Kelly of Ca-Cycleworks did about the s2r brakes on the track (he's not slow  ).  He basically said that if you change out the pads, you're golden.