Old news, new to me: Beringer FOUR disc front brakes

[junior varsity]

From: http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2008/08/04/beringer-4-disc-brakes/

Beringer 4 Disc Brakes
by PAUL CROWE - "THE KNEESLIDER" on 8/4/2008
in MOTORCYCLE RACING, MOTORCYCLE SAFETY, MOTORCYCLE TECHNOLOGY
In the story about the Tucson Motorcycles racer, you may have noticed the front brakes in the various images and they looked a bit small. Those brakes are only 230mm compared to a more normal 320mm disc. But if you look more closely, you’ll see something else, there’s 2 of them on each side of the wheel for a total of 4 discs.

Why 4 small discs? According to Beringer, the advantages include:

* Power Increase of 20% compared to a single 320mm cast iron disc which allows to the riders to shorten their braking distances significantly. Some comparative tests have shown evidence of this gain as well as a lower temperature of the discs.

* Weight saving is significant compared to the standard systems Cast Iron 320 weight: 1950 g Quadruple Disc 230 weight 1460 g The 980 g saved in unsprung weight improves the grip of the front wheel.

* Reduce the gyroscopic inertia to make turning easier: “The gyroscopic inertia of the Quadruple Disc is 3 times less than the inertia of 320 discs and 30% less the inertia of carbon discs”

The Beringer quadruple discs use a fixed center pad with caliper operated outer pads.

If you’ve been reading The Kneeslider for a while, you may remember another front brake design intended to reduce gyroscopic inertia, the reverse rotating brake rotors from designer Rob Kasten. How well any of these work in practice to reduce steering forces isn’t clear, though anecdotal reports from racers seem to be positive.



I’m not sure how long this Beringer design has been around but it’s available for a number of current sportbikes. Interesting.

Well isn't this interesting. I found it while doing a little search for Beringer discs, trying to figure out their weight and if they came in sizes other than 310mm, pricing etc. I found this interesting enough to post up.   

[Speeddog]

I remember seeing that.

Then nothing about it afterward. 

[stopintime]

I'm impressed with the thinking behind it, reduced inertia alone is worth a lot to some.

Nevertheless, I don't think they will sell more than a few kits. People just don't want brakes that look like they are from the '70s. At least I'm sure I wouldn't.

[junior varsity]

The only thing I am not sure about with beringer brakes is cooling - the discs, none of theirs (even the full sized 320/330mm discs) have any holes or slots or anything. BUT they are all iron, I believe.

With small discs, there is more heat built up in a smaller area, so that's something I'd like to see more info on before I put these on anything.

It would look good if they were in black on a cafe'd supersport with wire wheels.

[stopintime]

The only thing I am not sure about with beringer brakes is cooling - the discs, none of theirs (even the full sized 320/330mm discs) have any holes or slots or anything. BUT they are all iron, I believe.

With small discs, there is more heat built up in a smaller area, so that's something I'd like to see more info on before I put these on anything.

It would look good if they were in black on a cafe'd supersport with wire wheels.

I read their own website on these the other day. I think they even mentioned something about these not being suitable for endurance races (might be wrong though) With wire wheels these are perfect, I agree.

[Speeddog]

I'd run 'em in a heartbeat if the money was burning a hole in my pocket.  

That said, the money's *not* burning a hole in my pocket, and my current brake setup is more than adequate.  

The only price shown:
http://www.beringerbrakes.co.uk/index.php?f=data_4_disc_system&a=0
1400 pounds, US $2289
Roughly the same price as a pair of BrakeTech CMC rotors.

The caliper must be quite wide, to allow for the center double-sided pad and the extra disc.
Tough to shoehorn that in along with a spoked wheel.

[junior varsity]

True, that's a good point about spoked wheels I didn't think about. I wonder if the outset discs pretty much run free in the air or are still slightly hidden like a normal single disc per side rotor. If they are set out wide enough, I would think that they might have closer to adequate cooling