80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Samelak
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:04 am
Location: Okinawa, Japan

80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by Samelak »

Using the 80 rotors, what donor bikes are used for the dual calipers (front & back)?

steve murdoch icoa #5322
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 4069
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 9:12 am
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada
Location: St. Catharines, On. Canada

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by steve murdoch icoa #5322 »

Lee, i used '81/'82 CB900F.

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by NobleHops »

Hopefully Dave or Mike will chime in here but there's a little more to it. The swept area is different. This got clarified in some thread when I was asking about it, I ended up with 900f rotors and calipers and brackets in the front, and 900F caliper plus prolink rotor in the rear. Not saying it won't work.

Lemme go hunt this up...

N.
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

daves79x
ICOA Technical Director
ICOA Technical Director
Posts: 4737
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:05 am
Location: Knox, PA
Location: Knox, PA

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by daves79x »

Best bet is as Nils said - complete 900F set-up up front, which is different from any CBX parts. Rear can be complete 900F stuff also, but Pro-Link CBX will work there as well (as well as a few others, but those listed are most commonly found).

You will also need new brake lines front and rear. Not an overall big job once correct parts are found, but you do need ALL the correct parts.

Dave

User avatar
NobleHops
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 3867
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by NobleHops »

OK, this is where we explored the issue on my bike Lee:

viewtopic.php?f=102&t=6650&start=15

N.
Nils Menten
Tucson, Arizona, USA '80 CBX, sort-of restored :-)

EMS
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 10151
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2003 7:55 am
Location: North East OH, ICOA 3904

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by EMS »

In order to make the term "swept area" a little more easier to understand:

The early (79/80) CBX brake caliper single piston has a larger diameter than the later model CBX or CB900F dual pistons do. As a result, the brake pads for the single piston caliper are wider than those for the dual piston calipers. That fact also reflects in the brake rotor. The contact area on the rotor for 79/80 brakes are wider than on the rotors for later bikes or F bikes. You could use later dual piston calipers on early rotors,but the narrow brake pads would swipe a narrower area on the rotors. It just would not look right after a while, because part of the intended contact area on the rotor would not be touched by the brake pads and would most likely corrode.

Samelak
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:04 am
Location: Okinawa, Japan

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by Samelak »

Time to revive this thread... I thought I would get some more life out of my stock brakes, but after rebuilding my front left caliper a second time, it's seeping again. So I am going to look on ebay for some cb900f calipers with mounts. I already have a set of rotors from cb1100f gold boomerangs. If this sounds like the right combination, let me know. Just to be sure, will 1982 cb900f caliper mounts bolt right to my 80 CBX?

daves79x
ICOA Technical Director
ICOA Technical Director
Posts: 4737
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:05 am
Location: Knox, PA
Location: Knox, PA

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by daves79x »

Rotors from gold wheel will bolt on OK. '81-'82 900F parts work and bolt right on. Also '82 750F, a couple of Nighthawks and maybe the CX series that had twin piston calipers. Many others of the era had the anti-dive on one fork and the mounts won't work from those. 900F most commonly found.

Dave

Samelak
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:04 am
Location: Okinawa, Japan

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by Samelak »

Do I need a different master cylinder or will the stock CBX suffice?

EMS
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 10151
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2003 7:55 am
Location: North East OH, ICOA 3904

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by EMS »

Your stock mc is fine.

Samelak
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:04 am
Location: Okinawa, Japan

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by Samelak »

How about the rear brake? I have the rotor from a cb1100f. What do I need in addition to install a dual piston caliper?

Samelak
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 160
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:04 am
Location: Okinawa, Japan

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by Samelak »

Anyone with experience with converting to a dual piston back brake?

daves79x
ICOA Technical Director
ICOA Technical Director
Posts: 4737
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:05 am
Location: Knox, PA
Location: Knox, PA

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by daves79x »

If you mean that you have a Canadian 1100F rear rotor, then a rear caliper and hanger from a Pro-Link, 900F or similar will work fine. You'll also need all-new brake lines front and rear. Fittings at the calipers have to be angled. Get a rear line for the Pro-Link and lower 2 front lines for the Pro-Link. Spiegler custom makes anything you want.

Dave

User avatar
Syscrush
ICOA Member
ICOA Member
Posts: 1714
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 2:29 pm
Location: Toronto, ON
Location: Toronto, ON

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by Syscrush »

FWIW, my '79 is set up with gold boomies (presumably Canadian) sporting CBX rotors and CB1100F dual-piston calipers. The rear retains the CBX rotor and single-piston caliper on the CB1100F wheel.
Phil in Toronto
A cool guy deserves a cool bike, a dork needs a cool bike...
Pics of Perry, my '79.

mrfallover
New Member & Happy To Be Here
New Member & Happy To Be Here
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 9:33 am
Location: Grand Junction Colorado United States
Location: Grand Junction Colorado United States

Re: 80 CBX dual piston caliper upgrade

Post by mrfallover »

Can someone post a picture of their conversion? That would be helpful.
Thanks.

Post Reply

Return to “BRAKES: Calipers, Pads, Lines, Rotors, Upgrades & Fixes”