TECH: Make a tiny brake fluid reservoir

I start out with both sides of the clamp tightened together and use a step drill bit from Harbor Freight that has a 1" step. I use that on either side of the clamp(it'll only go about 3/16" deep) to give me a template of how much has to come off to reach 1". Then I just use half round files to finish the rest.

Originally Posted by 65Econolinekid

Quick question for the guys that have done this and had to bore the controls out for 1"....

I got a set of perches + levers from a buddy off an 06 zx6r, trying to open these up to fit my 1" bars. I know what some of you guys have done, files etc. and have scoped out this thread for a hot minute. Started opening the M/C side up with Sand paper doubled over a set of 7/8 bars to open it up a bit and now moved up to some 1" bars with paper around it to try and open them up a bit more. Any tips/pics of opening them up to accept the 1" bars?

it's starting to match the contour of the bar BUT it looks like its got A LOT to go before they touch eachother (the flats on the clamps). and this sand paper wrapped around the bar seems to be wallering out the clamp. (Not a perfect cirlcle)

Would it be possible to utilize rifle scope rings? I imagine you could weld them onto the perch... especially if it's billet... If its cast, might be a pain in the ass...

Originally Posted by 65Econolinekid

.....it's starting to match the contour of the bar BUT it looks like its got A LOT to go before they touch eachother (the flats on the clamps). and this sand paper wrapped around the bar seems to be wallering out the clamp. (Not a perfect cirlcle).

You don't want the flats of the clamp to touch. If they do you won't have any clamp pressure. I just started with a dremel and a small round stone and kept going round and round as evenly as I could. When I got close I smoothed it out better with a round file and finally some rolled up sand paper. No it was not perfectly round but it did clamp over the bar and it's tight. The whole endeavor took 30 minutes or less.

It really is a simple project. Could you over-engineer it and turn it into a super dooper blow your mind piece? Sure. But then it wouldn't be what it was intended to be. When I did it I invested $20 in the master cylinder with the understanding that if it didn't work out I'd throw it on the pile of other things that didn't work out. But it did and it's something nobody else around me has.Just keep grinding. It'll be worth it - trust me.

Would like to say thanks for the input guys, as soon as I get this MC rebuilt and my bars come in I'll post up some pics

my sporty has a 9/16 bore.....most nissin m.c i found are 5/8....i kno the stopping power will be greater but i dont want it to be like turnin a switch......in short anyone go up to 9/16 from 5/8? and what ya think?

I recently bought a Kawi ZX-7R front MC to do this and I am not able to enlarge the the clamp diameter otherwise I'd be part way into the threads in the clamp, so I have a uselss mc now.

I have a question and its probably stupid (Well for everyone but me that is)

how do I determine which resevoir I need. and AND... thats it really so I can start. lol

I have a friend who races and going to see if he can help me out with this but he has a ZX6 and a GSXR6er, so would either work really or would the stock blast one work (for my blast)

Originally Posted by justin83

my sporty has a 9/16 bore.....most nissin m.c i found are 5/8....i kno the stopping power will be greater but i dont want it to be like turnin a switch......in short anyone go up to 9/16 from 5/8? and what ya think?

I am running a 5/8 nissin mc with a stock sporty single piston caliper on my current build, it hasnt seen pavement time but just pushing it around and testing it on the lift i can feather the brakes just fine. being that 5/8 and 9/16 are very close in size i dont think you will have an issue.

for other people wondering about sizing of mc and calipers and what will work together i think its safe to say that if you are close either way it will be ok. to aid in sizing issues here is a little inch to millimeter conversion chart to help out

1/2" = 12.7 mm
9/16" = 14.28mm
5/8" = 15.87mm
3/4" = 19mm
1'' = 25.4mm

if you have a size not listed and want to figure it out do this: lets pretend you have an 11/16 caliper and you want to know what that is in mm to match up an mc, if you divide 11 by 16 it will give you 11/16 in decimal form: .6875. now take your .6875 and multiply it by 25.4( the number of millimeters in one inch), and it will give you the mm equivalent of 11/16: .6875 X 25.4 = 17.46 11/16" = 17.46 mm

if you understand fractions and decimals then you just wasted your time reading this, but for anyone a little math challenged i hope this helps.

Makes perfect sense *Buy Calculator and small note pad*

seriously thanks though

oh yea i knew that....ha

Originally Posted by 65Econolinekid

Quick question for the guys that have done this and had to bore the controls out for 1"....

I got a set of perches + levers from a buddy off an 06 zx6r, trying to open these up to fit my 1" bars. I know what some of you guys have done, files etc. and have scoped out this thread for a hot minute. Started opening the M/C side up with Sand paper doubled over a set of 7/8 bars to open it up a bit and now moved up to some 1" bars with paper around it to try and open them up a bit more. Any tips/pics of opening them up to accept the 1" bars?

it's starting to match the contour of the bar BUT it looks like its got A LOT to go before they touch eachother (the flats on the clamps). and this sand paper wrapped around the bar seems to be wallering out the clamp. (Not a perfect cirlcle)

Hopped around and saw a picture posted by LDNCLR and the gap is about like this with the controls on the bars now....
Attachment 24782
Attachment 24783

Is this alright/How some of you other guys ran yours or do the pretty much flush up?


Thanks in adavnce.

i used a 31/32" drill bit to do mine then i just had to work the areas where the flats touch

Heres my take on it.

That is awesome! What did you do to make it seal?

That was my preliminary idea. I put a little jack daniels bottle on there. Looks cooler and fits the paint scheme. I spun the threads on a grinding wheel so the bottle had a smooth taper on the end. The taper pushes in against the oring and theres a lip on the bottle below the threads that needs a little modifying to get the retaining clip in. It was a bastard getting everything ground down and in place, but it doesnt leak and is pretty solid. I drilled and tapped a 1/8 npt hole and put a brass plug in the top for topping off.

I read this thread and got to it. Real easy and a great write up!

Bleeding it.

Finished.

Originally Posted by Stabler

I read this thread and got to it. Real easy and a great write up!

Bleeding it.

Finished.

Well done. Looks nice.

Just did this myself..

When you fellas got your Nissin levers did you all flush them?

I just built BlueCollarMoto's http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6080 brake fluid pump and pushed some dot 5 up in there. Ran it through till I saw purple for a while.

Now looking at the tubing (resevoir) the fluid looks kinda cloudy?

Got my lever off a Ducati SS, and searching the internet afterwards I see that Ducati suggests use of either dot3 or dot5.

Do you think there could have been some residual dot3 in there, and if so am I fucked?

im wondering about that also..just got my MC in the mail today and it says dot4 but my brake is set for dot5...trying to flush dot5 through the new master cylinder and its purple but im not getting much through it for whatever reason??is it possible it has already gummed up the inside??also my MC came from a 99+ GSXR its nissin and looks sweet,hopefully this pans out!

First off you should never mix brake fluid types. The MC's and calipers should be taken apart and cleaned thoroughly before changing fluids. And I would say that with them taken apart you may as well rebuild them.

I just did got a new master, but also got some Tokico 6 piston calipers for my '04 HD FL frontend. Can't wait for the double banjo bolt and the new floating rotors get here.

Here's the master

Clean brake parts with denatured alcohol. Rubbing alcohol, also called isopropyl alcohol, shouldn't be used because it has h2o in it. I would play it safe and clean the M/C, lines, and calipers.