Upgrading the brakes on a Gen4? Help!

Here we go again... Before you bash me for yet another topic on brakes upgrade let me just say that I did a search and couldn't find anything on the questions that I have in mind.

With this out of the way, here's the deal. I would like to do something drastic to improve the braking abilities of my Gen4 VFR. Simple as that.

Now, I have considered many options, and the best would be to swap the whole front end for something better, but I lack the technical knowledge for such a job and I have already bought a great set of Wilbers springs for the VFR's front end. Also I lack the funds so doing it as cheap as possible would be ideal! :blush:

I am considering the option of getting a set of better calipers and then fabricate some mounts.

- How safe would this setup be? As you can understand I am a bit nervous to mess about with such an important safety aspect of the bike.
- How easy/hard would it be to design/fabricate said mounts?
- What would the specs need to be? (material etc)

Apart from the above, I do have another option and I would like your opinions. I have 2 complete front forks from a '01 Kawasaki 636m which are NOT usd.
How possible would it be to swap the tubes from my VFR's forks and mate them to the Kawa's sliders?
I took the idea from here Overhaulin' on the cheap - VFR750 and I must admit I like it very much. Doing so would allow me to use the 6 pot calipers that the Kawa was using, which I presume would solve all my braking problems.

Are there any problems/issues I would need to be aware of? Would the 636 wheel spindle need modifications to fit the VFR wheel?

I am a bit lost at the moment, so any pointers/suggestions/help would be of immense value! :blush:

Cheers!

 

by adding stainless lines and better brake pads might be a cheaper and easier way out

 

That pretty much summarizes the practical approach to your question. The steel-braided lines make a tremendous improvement and would be the first thing to try.

Pad compounts are a compromise between longer life vs. quicker stops, and factors such as operating temperature range, cost, rotor wear, etc, all factor in. Honda generally fits pads that are relatively hard (longer stops) in the interest of longer service life, but higher friction pads are available aftermarket, and the HH compound is preferred by many.

The stock brakes are VERY good if they are in their best operating condition.......fresh fluid with a good bleed, clean pads that are not glazed, oil-free non-glazed rotors, well lubricated slider pins.

 

The ss lines & pads was my initial plan also. When I imported the bike from Germany it was in absolutely mint condition; only let down was the brake feel. Mind you, the brakes have the power to bring the bike to a stop quickly. However, the veeeerrrry softly sprung forks and the lever travel were not confidence-inspiring, and it was evident I needed to address these 2 issues.

Fork issue have been dealt with with all-new Wilbers internals & full service and oil, so we are left with the brake feel issue.
I saw elsewhere that the best bet would be to service the calipers; however as I haven't done this procedure before I haven't the foggiest what to do. Another forum member was kind enough to provide instructions but I am still at a loss.

In between all this deliberation I found a 14mm (vs 12mm of my VFR) master brake cyl from a Honda ST1100 dirt cheap, so I got it. I figure its a good start right?

TBH I would like to go with the 4pot VTR cals; if I clean these out then combined with the master cyl & SS lines I will get even better braking performance, right?