74 CB450 Front Brake Ideas?

[unionkane]

I have a 74 Cb450 K7 with a busted front brake system. The master cylinder is bad, the caliper is stuck and the bleeder screw is broken. My question is, does anyone know of any modern systems that would be compatible to this bike? I'm looking to swap out everything from the rotor to the master cylinder with more modern parts.

Has anyone done this or know of someone who has?


Thanks,
Mike

 

[Rocan]

if you want modern... grab the entire front brake setup off a ninja 250. just have to make a bracket to mount the caliper, but youll have access to cheaper and more brake pads, dual piston makes a big difference in performance. replace the line with a stainless line and you have a hell of a good system.

also consider getting the rotor drilled; the stock rotors make wet braking TERRIBLE, plus they are heavy. you can save a ton of weight by drilling rotors... mine weighed about half as much.

 

[unionkane]

So the Ninja 250 caliper will fit on the original 74 Cb450 rotor?

 

[Rocan]

So the Ninja 250 caliper will fit on the original 74 Cb450 rotor?

yes. you just need to fabricate a mount for it and get the spacing correct. if im not mistaken, some pad sweep area is lost, but the overall gain is way better.

 

[Swagger]

The ex250 caliper is a good one, though on a 450lb+ bike might be a little overwhelmed with the stock disk....though I think it'd certainly be better than the OE setup.

Frankly, if you really want to make a HUGE difference, you can get the entire front end from the EX250, 37mm forks, triples, brake etc for a couple hundred dollars at most. The forks are still damper rod units, but they are 37mm which is going to add welcome stiffness up front, they are lighter than the OE 70's honda forks. As well, the triples are already setup for clip-ons. If you're planning to run the stock wire wheels you'll need to play with bearings to suit and probably make some spacers and such, but then you can go to your local wreckers and grab a 320mm front disc from any of several bikes that'll bolt directly to the stock hub. Once there, it's a simple matter to make a bracket that bolts between the fork lower and the caliper that allows for the extra disc.

As it stands the swept area on the EX caliper of probably 2-2.5 times as much as the stock 450 caliper. 2x3 pads vs. what.......1.25"d round pads? With the larger diameter disc, you'll have the advantage of leverage on your side too!

 

[Rocan]

The ex250 caliper is a good one, though on a 450lb+ bike might be a little overwhelmed with the stock disk....though I think it'd certainly be better than the OE setup.

Frankly, if you really want to make a HUGE difference, you can get the entire front end from the EX250, 37mm forks, triples, brake etc for a couple hundred dollars at most. The forks are still damper rod units, but they are 37mm which is going to add welcome stiffness up front, they are lighter than the OE 70's honda forks. As well, the triples are already setup for clip-ons. If you're planning to run the stock wire wheels you'll need to play with bearings to suit and probably make some spacers and such, but then you can go to your local wreckers and grab a 320mm front disc from any of several bikes that'll bolt directly to the stock hub. Once there, it's a simple matter to make a bracket that bolts between the fork lower and the caliper that allows for the extra disc.

As it stands the swept area on the EX caliper of probably 2-2.5 times as much as the stock 450 caliper. 2x3 pads vs. what.......1.25"d round pads? With the larger diameter disc, you'll have the advantage of leverage on your side too!

ex250 is a mag wheel... also would be tricky to change rotors out...

yours is way better performance, mine is the easier way

 

[Fishhead]

Has anyone done this or know of someone who has?

I made a prototype for the CB 750 SOHC Front forks.

The 1970's CB series front forks have 2 limiting factors:
1) the fork width is very narrow
2) the caliper mounts to the inside of the fork leg
Combine these 2 factors and you have very little room to work with to mount a newer caliper

1st pic is the CB 750 SOHC prototype. The mounting bracket is 2 piece (prototype) and in order to replicate the same bracket in 1 piece I would need a very large piece of aluminum and machine most of it away. This brake kit never got past the prototype stage.

Personally, I don't like the weird swing arm style caliper mount that the CB's have and I usually replace them with forks from another bike (XS 650,GL 1000,etc) for 2 reasons:
1) the other application forks are usually wider
2) the forks have caliper mounting lugs on the outside of the fork leg

Combine these 2 factors and it is "easier" to make a brake conversion. There is usually more room to work with (between the fork legs - since the fork spacing is wider and the caliper wont be mounted to the inside of the forks) and the caliper mounting lugs placement allows for more options to be used.

On the SOHC website, There are a few pics of "brake upgrades" that use the stock CB forks. They usually use the caliper mount AND the axle for a mounting point for a plate to mount a different caliper to.

2nd pic is a GL 1000 front end with dual 6 piston caliper and 330 mm discs.

 

[Swagger]

ex250 is a mag wheel... also would be tricky to change rotors out...

yours is way better performance, mine is the easier way

Yeah the EX is a mag, but if you check out Djelliot's sweet little bike he used the EX front end with IIRC a 350 hub. The EX disc bolted DIRECTLY (!!!!!) to the stock disc inner once the rivets with ground off. How effing cool is that!?? He's got the EX front end and brakes with his stock spoked rim. Trust me...it works. Well....

 

[unionkane]

I'd love to replace the entire front end. Any specific year I should look for?

 

[Swagger]

If you're looking for an EX250 front end, look for an 08 or newer, it's got all the good stuff and none of the weird 16" wheel BS to deal with

 

[jammer415]

Bringing this thread back from the dead

Wondering if anyone successfully made a bracket to mount the ex250 caliper onto a cb450 hub?

If so, do you have a photo?