Hydraulic Handbrake Alternative, And Alternative to Cables

[NEXUS]

Hydraulic Handbrake

I've had a lot of PM messages on this item and I thought I would
share my finished product. Ive had a lot of time on this handbrake
since completed with no troubles at all it worked flawlessly.



What I did was simple incorporated a hydraulic master cylinder to a
slave cylinder and tied it into the existing brake system. Now I had
not planned to do this until I put the highway pegs on and found
riding like this was a little scary with no handbrake. And as the old
saying goes necessity is the mother of all invention.

The design was simple I found two untapped bosses that were directly
in line with the existing master cylinder. I found a slave cylinder that
was totally adjustable and had Spring return. I made a bracket tapped
out the two bosses to have something to bolt to the frame then removed
the pin from the foot pedal to the master cylinder and replaced it with
a cleves and drilled out the threads so the slave cylinder shaft would
have a guide to keep it straight.



I had tried a couple different master cylinders and ended up with one
a little unusual but works perfectly with this application it really fits
a early model Honda XS 650. It fits the 7/8 Bar and is a 22mm bore.

http://www.mikesxs.net/mikesxs-chassis.php?category_id=1.2

It gives me plenty of stopping power in less than a pull and leaves me with plenty of
handbrake extra.

Now about the Cleves it was picked up at a hardware store and the threads were
drilled out to make it a guide for the slave cylinder ram so it would center exactly
right and pivot with rotation. Just make sure when you change the bolt you drill a
hole and put a put carter key in it or something that cannot come out because if it
did you lose all brakes.

Early Dual Disc Master Cylinder
Early type (72-76) Dual Disc Brake Master Cylinder Assembly
as used on European model XS/TX 650's (22mm. Bore).
Made by MikesXS for our European Distributors.


Part #08-3000 $99.00 USD EA.

As you may have noticed I spaced the master out jest a little to give
me a little more handle so it would not hit the throttle electrical control.

Again I will like to say any alterations to the factory brake system can
be dangerous and even life-threatening. I'm not trying to scare anybody
about this is something you must think about before trying this on your
own.


Nexus

 

[Bimjo]

Nice writeup Nexus. I'm thinking about transplanting both lever perches off of something... like a DL1000 Strom so the levers match. You could get matching Pazzo levers that way too. And add handguards. And another set of mirrors if you wanted.

Haven't really looked into it yet, but it's in the back of my mind.

 

[Putt-Putt]

Wish I was that talented. I'd love to do this to mine. I was hoping someone would have a kit with instructions.
ray: ray: ray:

 

[Roaddog2]

:2thumbs::clap::2thumbs:

 

[trikester]

How about a source and part number for your slave cylinder? To me that is the tough part to find one the right size.

There are probably some ATV master cylinders that would work also, with enough volume, because they drive two front wheel disks. That is what I used on my TWTrike conversions.

Frank

 

[larryd]

Nexus, You have a nice set up..But what did you use for a braded line and bango fitting at the master cylinder end..and how does the line attach to the slave cylinder ?? bango/flare/inverted flare ??

I would like to change from my cable set up to a hydraulic system but I would like to find a matching master cylinder to the Spyder one..Does anyone know of any ??

I read somewhere that the proto type Spyders had the hand brake on them..You would think that SOMEONE SOMEWHERE would have the exact parts needed to tap into the existing ABS brake system..or some hydraulic guru would be able to suppy the needed information..:chat:

 

[NEXUS]

How about a source and part number for your slave cylinder? To me that is the tough part to find one the right size.

There are probably some ATV master cylinders that would work also, with enough volume, because they drive two front wheel disks. That is what I used on my TWTrike conversions.

Frank

Trikester

This slave cyl is on ebay - Item number: 360089816464 link below.

I am sure you can find another master cyl that will work just make sure its around 22mm bore.

NEXUS

Part No. 375-300

price: US $87.99
Push Slave Cylinder


Cylinder made from billet aluminum (anodized)
Easily adjusted with external threaded body
Extra long stroke
Internal return spring
Mount sold separately
1-3/8" total stroke with 7/8 master cylinder




FMR ENTERPRISES

CONNEAUT OH 44030

CELL PHONE: (440) 812-0185

E-MAIL: [email protected]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COLE...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[Roger]

Nice job nexus looks OEM to me :clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[trikester]

Thanks Nexus!!!! :thumbup:

 

[trikester]

Ok, I've ordered the slave cylinder so I'm "on my way" with this project. :2excited:

The ebay site said only one was available. I wonder if I got the last one, or does the seller just list them one at a time?

Thanks again, nexus!

 

[trikester]

Getting off to a bad start here! I ordered the slave (push) cylinder on ebay and everything went Ok until it arrived. They sent the wrong cylinder (a pull type with non-adjustabl mounting)!

When I called on the phone, a guy who sounded like he had just woken up, finally confirmed that they had screwed up and sent the wrong one. He said to send it back and they would send out the one I had ordered.

This is fine, except it cost me $15 to send back their mistake. I heard no offer of them paying for the return postage. Already I'm experiencing "cost over-runs" on my brake project. It's beginning to look like a government job

 

[trikester]

Bad start continuing! I ordered the master cylinder and went to pay through PaytPal. However I had not changed from my old e-mail address so i figured that the effort to pay there was for naught. So then I went back to MikesCX web account page and gave my payment information there.

Shortly after this I got a confirmation from PayPal. Now I was concerned that my card would be billed twice (and maybe receive two master cylinders also). :yikes: :banghead: So I e-mailed MikesCX and alerted them to watch for the possibility of a duplicate order from me and to disregard one of them.

They said they would look out for this. :spyder:

Oh, BTW - The banjo bolt that fits the earlier thread of the master cylinder is not available. :cus:

What else can go wrong with this project? DON'T ANSWER THAT!

I'm hoping for smooth sailing from here on. :bowdown:

 

[trikester]

I have now received both the master cylinder and the push slave cylinder so I'm ready to proceed.

One thing different, that I'm going to have to work out, is the mounting of the master on the handlebar. It looks like, in his photos, Nexus has gone to riser bars which I haven't done except for the factory 1" riser. I will have to figure out how to get the mount on there with the way the stock bar cover is made. Maybe I can cut some material off of it to make the master cylinder fit in front of it. This will be the first thing I will look at.

 

[Putt-Putt]

I would really-really like to do this hand brake thing. But I don't want to get in over my head. I wish someone would make a kit for it.

 

[HotWheels]

I would really-really like to do this hand brake thing. But I don't want to get in over my head. I wish someone would make a kit for it.

:agree:

Dear NEXUS
I don’t know if you know my story but I am disabled person with a spyder and sometimes ridding with the cable hand bake that I had done is a little hard on the left hand. I sometimes have to use my right hand at the same time to hit the foot brake. So going hydraulic would be quite useful. If I buy all the parts that you used in this tutorial and came down to your neck of the woods with my bike would you be willing to help me put them in. I am mechanically capable of helping so I won’t be just sitting there having you do all the work but I am willing to pay you for the help. I know you probably not willing to take the responsibility of the job but I am sure that it would be much better than the cable braking system that I am using now. Please private message me if this is possible so I can make it happened. Also great work on the info and what you managed to do. Keep it up! :2thumbs:

 

[trikester]

Well, I solved the problems with mounting the master cylinder yesterday. Because I still have the stock handlebars and the stock cover my situation was a little different than Nexus'. I removed the little black cylindrical cover between the handlebar cover and the start/stop switch console. Then I used a hacksaw to carefully cut off the tabs on the end of the handlebar cover. Realizing that if I scored the bar it could break under heavy pressure.

Now the more complicated part: I machined the spacer to space the master cylinder mount forward from the bar. Nexus had indicated that he also did this but it looked like I needed even more spacing. The spacer has to have a radius of 7/16" (dia 7/8") on both the outside and inside. So when looking at the end of the spacer it looks like a crescent moon. At the thickest point it is 3/8", therefore spacing the master cylinder 3/8" ahead of the front of the handlebar. Of course I now had to replace the original clamping bolts with longer 6mm bolts.

In Nexus' photos you can see that he ground a chamfer on the part of the hand lever that holds the bolt that pushes on the hydraulic plunger. I had to do that also in order to clear the start/stop switch console. Also the adjustment bolt that pushes on the hydraulic plunger has to have the head portion cut off. The bolt is then slotted with a hacksaw to make it into a set screw. Or the bolt can just be replaced with a 6mm x 20mm socket set screw. I chose the former.

It seemed funny yesterday evening, riding home from my shop with a hand brake the was not connected to anything. Good thing I didn't try to use it to stop.

Now I'm on to the tougher part of this project - the slave cylinder mounting & the clevis, etc, etc. ray:

 

[trikester]

Well, I solved the problems with mounting the master cylinder yesterday. Because I still have the stock handlebars and the stock cover my situation was a little different than Nexus'. I removed the little black cylindrical cover between the handlebar cover and the start/stop switch console. Then I used a hacksaw to carefully cut off the tabs on the end of the handlebar cover. Realizing that if I scored the bar it could break under heavy pressure.

Now the more complicated part: I machined the spacer to space the master cylinder mount forward from the bar. Nexus had indicated that he also did this but it looked like I needed even more spacing. The spacer has to have a radius of 7/16" (

dia.​

7/8") on both the outside and inside. So when looking at the end of the spacer it looks like a crescent moon. At the thickest point it is 3/8", therefore spacing the master cylinder 3/8" ahead of the front of the handlebar. Of course I now had to replace the original clamping bolts with longer 6mm bolts.

In Nexus' photos you can see that he ground a chamfer on the part of the hand lever that holds the bolt that pushes on the hydraulic plunger. I had to do that also in order to clear the start/stop

sw​

console. Also the adjustment bolt that pushes on the hydraulic plunger has to have the head portion cut off. The bolt is then slotted with a hacksaw to make it into a set screw. Or the bolt can just be replaced with a 6mm x 20mm socket set screw. I chose the former.

It seemed funny yesterday evening, riding home from my shop with a hand brake the was not connected to anything. Good thing I didn't try to use it to stop.

Now I'm on to the tougher part of this project - the slave cylinder mounting & the clevis, etc., etc. ray:

Sorry, the spell check function really messed up my post's appearance.

 

[bjt]

Sorry, the spell check function really messed up my post's appearance.

I was wondering why the strange paragraph ends, colored text and underlined text.

 

[trikester]

I was wondering why the strange paragraph ends, colored text and underlined text.

Yeah, the mistake I made was not closing the spell check before hitting the submit tab. I was able to use the edit function to re-align some of the text (it was actually worse than what you see, before I did that) but edit would not let me close what the spell check had highlighted and underlined.

So, a word to the wise: Always remember to close spell check before posting or the wrath of your high school English grammer teacher will be apon you.

 

[Lamonster]

Yeah, the mistake I made was not closing the spell check before hitting the submit tab. I was able to use the edit function to re-align some of the text (it was actually worse than what you see, before I did that) but edit would not let me close what the spell check had highlighted and underlined.

So, a word to the wise: Always remember to close spell check before posting or the wrath of your high school English grammer teacher will be apon you.

Click on edit function
then advance edit
then highlight the formatted text and the first icon on the top left is "Remove Text Formatting"

I fixed your first post.:doorag: