[shrk352]

Hey guys, I recently had a non-riding accident which caused my ring and pinky fingers to get amputated, the tip of my index as well. Its getting healed up enough for me to ride again and its not bad, I can handle the bike and throttle just fine. But with greatly reduced grip strength I cant quite pull the front break as well as I used too. It takes a lot of effort for me now to brake. Its ok for every day riding, but I think in a panic breaking situation my stopping distance will be a bit longer. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or solutions to make the front break a little more responsive with less pressure on the lever? Thanks for any ideas!

 

[nemom109r]

A guy over here has a similar problem. Keep in mind, this might not suit your needs.
He bought a secondhand brake lever, cut it shorter and filed a radius on the end. (I think he since installed some kind of keeper and roller)
He placed a new custom clamped lever to the left of the original brake lever, whereby the new lever ran on top of the stock stub lever. This new lever has a dog leg in it to bring it closer to the bar end.
The idea was that the new lever provided additional leverage to the shortened stub and the "dog leg" allowed him to wrap what was left of his fingers (band saw accident) over the lever.
It's worth noting he mucked around with this idea for months and I think it has gone through some changes since I saw him last.
At the end of the day, if you move the pivot further inboard and make the lever accessible, you should be right.
It's hard to explain but if you imagine holding a bar over your existing lever, anchored on the left (inside), you'll get the idea.
I don't claim to know the legality of having modified brakes if involved in a prang. Just my 2c. Hope it helps mate..

 

[Zoom]

I'm sorry to see that happened to you bro. Glad you're healed and still riding.
Have you tried adjusting your levers closer to the bar? You probably know there's an adjustment on the stock levers that will let you pull it back almost to the grip before it fully applies the brakes. Do you still have stock levers?

 

[shrk352]

I'm sorry to see that happened to you bro. Glad you're healed and still riding.
Have you tried adjusting your levers closer to the bar? You probably know there's an adjustment on the stock levers that will let you pull it back almost to the grip before it fully applies the brakes. Do you still have stock levers?

Yeah, stock levers. I moved it in as close as it will go. Which works well. Reaching the lever isn't an issue. It's just I'd like to have more breaking authority with less pressure. I'll have to try moving the lever inboard a bit like the previous commenter suggested, looks like I might be able to move it a hair over. Might help a bit.

 

[DirtieGirtie]

I think if you were to change your master cylinder you might get a different, though maybe not better, result. Specifically, a larger diameter plunger moves more fluid given the same pull distance of the handle. You would have to apply a little more pressure, but move the lever less distance. A master cylinder with a smaller diameter plunger would do the opposite; less pressure but you would have to move the lever further. Just some things to think about.

 

[Bering_C_Sparky]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate accident and glad you are healing and back on the bike.
The C109R I believe is set up so that both front and rear brakes are applied when pressing the foot brake lever.
Might be worth checking out how they have that set up and looking around to see if you can find a wrecked C109 to scavenge the brake system off of.

BCS
LGB/FJB

 

[Joe RC51]

A smaller diameter master cylinder is exactly what you want , I've done this on one of my other bikes. I found a Nissin MC the size I was looking for on WeBike Japan for less than $200 shipped from Japan a few years ago.

 

[Dump]

I think if you were to change your master cylinder you might get a different, though maybe not better, result. Specifically, a larger diameter plunger moves more fluid given the same pull distance of the handle. You would have to apply a little more pressure, but move the lever less distance. A master cylinder with a smaller diameter plunger would do the opposite; less pressure but you would have to move the lever further. Just some things to think about.

Maybe try a radial master cylinder along with steel braided brake lines and finally some grippy brake pads,

 

[smithy1]

What Joe RC51 said, the smaller the diameter of the M'cyl piston, the more hydraulic pressure that can be applied to the caliper pistons for the same lever pressure ....at the cost of a bit more lever travel. Some of the "old school" brake specialists used to be able to "sleeve" the master cylinder bore and fit a smaller piston and seals to suit....might be an option for you. Radial M'cyls and braided lines also work well for this type of thing.

 

[Erwin K]

I use 2 finger trailbraking
Also put steel braided lines on the front
More respons, less effort

 

[HyperPete]

Maybe try a radial master cylinder along with steel braided brake lines and finally some grippy brake pads,

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