I had read on the SOHC4 forums that some people were finding great deals on used radial bike master cylinders, specifically from modern Honda CBR600 sport bikes. Personally, I had trouble finding anything less than $150 dollars, in fact, I couldn’t find any used master cylinders at all. There were plenty of new Brembos and Nissins but nothing in the price range I was looking for…. until.
I stumbled on an auction on eBay from a guy in Florida selling a master cylinder off a 2008 Honda CBR600RR. The lever had road rash and was scuffed up from most likely dropping the bike, but the guy selling the master cylinder was going to throw in a brand new lever along with the original one. I paid $50 bucks for for everything. Rumor is all those sportbike dudes are trading in their Nissins for Brembos, good time to take advantage of some sweet deals.
The whole reason why I needed a detached reservoir is because of the angled clubmans. It is certainly possible to roll with the original master cylinder, but with such a steep angle it was nearly impossible to fill the entire reservoir, and the brake fluid was always at a slant. To make matters worse the slant was in the wrong direction of the brake fluid drain hole. I have a plan to eventually install clip-ons with a much more aggressive angle and the original brake just wouldn’t cut it. Hence the modern master cylinder with an adjustable detached reservoir.
I was surprised it even came with a banjo bolt.
Of course I’m going to need to replace the throttle assembly to get back a cleaner look. I already have something in mind.
New banjo bolt with stainless steel brake line.
Stainless steel line with new headlight bracket in background.
The brakes are all done. Finally. New pads, new line, new radial master cylinder. The brake is perfect, everything works great and it looks and feels awesome. It’s certainly much bigger than the original, not as streamlined, but it stops great. By the way, does anyone know how to use the bleed screw built in to the master cylinder on these things?
can you tell me where you got your ss brake line?
I picked up the stainless steel brake line on ebay at a great price. Just do a search for CB750 Stainless brake line. I always search for 750 because parts are more prevalent than 550 stuff. Z1 Enterprises also has a huge selection of ss brake lines and banjo bolts, but a bit more pricey.