single disk heresy...it just plain handles better?

A while back i bought an older cycle news on a auction site...great reading and all the old adds too....one added bonus was an article on the "new" kz1000...sure i bought it to see the write up on the vetter race kz's.....but the kz1000 test was great extra reading ......everything was going fine as i read through the authors impressions and compliments about this proven platform ,new improvments,and how these improvements smoothed some of the earlier z's shakes or wobbles......
Then they dropped the bomb.....up front the kz recieves excellent stopping power and maximum agility from the halmark stalwart handling of the simple single disk and it's lack of added front end wheight and forces created by a second disk,as was becoming a common inclusion on era performance bikes......
HMMMMMMMMM......Hmmmmmmmmm, i thought about this for a few....thinking back to my first era correct mods 73 z-1 that i started street racing on in 85.....i still believe it was my best handling bike ever,along with being younger....but,only because no one bothered to tell me back then about the evil handling frame twisting sled reputation......poor old stupid me ...i just did'nt know,so i rode that thing like there would be no tomorrow,and it did quite well....it really became a joy to flick and set into fast tight corners....
Finaly to my point.....the author nailed a point ,that i had always known but not realized.......that being...a single disk in good working order,on a spoked rim in good working order.....will flick back and forth very fast and smoothly and stop just fine.....in fact much better than the same era's dual disks on a mag.......it will handle much lighter and quicker and stop good enough to make the second disk for the most part, just for looks......

in the shop , i have a great set of drilled dual disks and all the hardware just idleing,waiting i guess, to do the upgrade at some point...it WILL look sweet...stainless lines and all touched up with new pads and fluids and the re-painted calipers too.....but....it will handle worse than my single disk on a old country fast blast road..........any doubters.....????????

so while my 900 looks sadly impotent with it non drilled factory single disk half hidden by spokes from one side....it IS in reality...the hot set up...for a flickable old school 900.....imho.........?????

any takers???

ewwwwwwww... What a killer mag to have... Sweet!

I have always thought the single disk was adequate and stopped pretty good. I even like a rear drum brake. If one disk will lock up the front wheel then why would you need two. Two disks will spread the load to BOTH fork legs while the single is hard on the one side so there is pros and cons to everything. My Z1 with a single front and rear drum will stop me faster than my GS1100 with dual front and back disks. Don't ask me why but it does.

My .02 cents

if the 2 rotors are turned down and drilled it cuts a lot of unsprung weight.id say if you ride it hard for any extended period of time the single rotor would fade faster than dual setup.what they failed to mention in the article was compared to the stock single disc and rear drum and flexi flyer chassis on the early z1s anything was an improvement! like the 1st 50 chevy truck i had as a kid with the brakes where youd give 2 weeks notice before ya stop then the first 64 i had being night and day.still had 4 wheel drums,they were just newer 4 wheel drums! :woohoo:

Kawickrice wrote:

I have always thought the single disk was adequate and stopped pretty good. I even like a rear drum brake. If one disk will lock up the front wheel then why would you need two. Two disks will spread the load to BOTH fork legs while the single is hard on the one side so there is pros and cons to everything. My Z1 with a single front and rear drum will stop me faster than my GS1100 with dual front and back disks. Don't ask me why but it does.

My .02 cents

if its an 82 1100e disconect the antidive crap from the front forks that is run off brake caliper pressure and see how much better it stops.

Less is better! :ohmy:

I can so afford that approach. :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Bill

This must be why all factory race bikes use a singe disk up front and a drum in the back. Or do they?

there we go......c'mon guy's don't be shy heros..


ed ....c'mon you know the truth....ever stomp on a drum brake to avoid going down.....ever try and make the same move on a rear disk...in the rain....umph....the champ goes down...mayhem in the jungle...i don't believe it:laugh: 650ed wrote:

This must be why all factory race bikes use a singe disk up front and a drum in the back. Or do they?

does anybody make a 2 piston caliper to mount on stock forkleg without a lot of surgery?performance machine used to make that kind of stuff.i suppose that would give a happy medium compared to unsprung weight of extra rotor,wheres fish when we need one of his brake kits?

anybody ever look at front brake calipers on a v45 honda? yeah i know but you could file it off! :laugh: anyway they apear to be 2 piston but both pistons are mounted outboard i think so they would clear a wire wheel im thinking

I don't push my bike into curves but the single disk on my bike doesn't do the trick for me.

I've always had dual brakes up front and i rarley used the rear.

Now i have to use both front and rear very hard to haul my bike down from speed.

I have some dual calipers on my watch list on eBay. Roy

yeah but are you sure you got it bled realy tight and the pads are scuffed every so often...and a power lever...and meaty pads...just curious