complete brake rebuild

I have a 1980 KZ1000E that has no front brakes and a rear brake that's sticking. The bike is at my buddy's house right now so I can't pull the calipers off to look at them, but given the condition of the master cylinder I'm concerned that the pistons are all scored and shot. Rebuild kits are at least $50 for the fronts so I'm thinking all new stuff would save me a rebuild and not cost much more.

I've been looking at ebay but I'm not sure of the interchangability of calipers (i.e. 82 kz1000 to my 80). If you needed to basically replace everything, how would you go about it?

You wont know if the pistons are scored till you remove them, you might just need rebuild kits for them, buying used calipers off e-bay is hit & miss, they could be worse than the ones you have
Pete

So there's no possibility for reasonably priced upgrades without swapping wheels or the whole front end? I'm probably looking around $100 for rebuild kits, and another $40-50 for a master cylinder... I'm pretty much limited to that for under ~$200?

CSP wrote: So there's no possibility for reasonably priced upgrades without swapping wheels or the whole front end? I'm probably looking around $100 for rebuild kits, and another $40-50 for a master cylinder... I'm pretty much limited to that for under ~$200?

I've been wondering the same thing. By the time you rebuild everything correctly, you can have a lot of cash invested in the old calipers. It seems there should be a fairly easy upgrade but I haven't had any luck finding one. You'd think there'd be an adapter out there that bolts right up with a specific, newer model caliper...haven't found one yet. They have nice kits in Japan but they are really expensive....around $850 without rotors or master cylinder. They sure look cool though!
japan.webike.net/products/1523198.html

If the brake fluid is old and nasty looking then it is an indicator that the pistons will be rusted inside. I change brake fluid every two years, and hardly ever need to buy buy pistons and seals.

Whilst a lot of components on these bikes seem to last for decades even with irregular use, brakes are the opposite these days on old bikes, particularly in the cold and rainy UK .

Neglecting brake fluid changes is always expensive unnecessary trouble ahead. Whilst most bikers appreciate the need for regular oil changes, brake fluid changes often gets forgotten about.

my brakes were dragging on my 750. i ended up rebuilding all 3 calipers and the front master cylinder. it fixed my problem. when it comes to rebuilding the brakes i stick with OEM seals.

How about this replacement Front Master Cylinder? Have used several. Works Great !

And try pulling apart the Calipers. Inspect and "Clean" real good. You might be surprised that the seals and piston aren't as bad as you think.

79MKII wrote:

CSP wrote: So there's no possibility for reasonably priced upgrades without swapping wheels or the whole front end? I'm probably looking around $100 for rebuild kits, and another $40-50 for a master cylinder... I'm pretty much limited to that for under ~$200?

I've been wondering the same thing. By the time you rebuild everything correctly, you can have a lot of cash invested in the old calipers. It seems there should be a fairly easy upgrade but I haven't had any luck finding one. You'd think there'd be an adapter out there that bolts right up with a specific, newer model caliper...haven't found one yet. They have nice kits in Japan but they are really expensive....around $850 without rotors or master cylinder. They sure look cool though!
japan.webike.net/products/1523198.html

thats not too bad of a deal considering those lockheed calipers are about $300 each.