Hi guys,
i just found these pair of brake+clutch levers for XJR on Ebay, and i wanna ask you about your opinions. I would replace the stock levers on my '86 FJ-1200 1TX with this stuff. Its really cheap, so i would purchase it immidiatly but i don't know what it can take you know...
Here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151950845212?item=151950845212&viewitem=&vxp=mtr (http://www.ebay.com/itm/151950845212?item=151950845212&viewitem=&vxp=mtr)
I wouldn't...
They state that it is for an XJR1300, but at the same time they write: "Fit on most brand 125c.c. to 400 c.c."
Looks too cheap. The brake system is the one thing you shouldn't go cheap on.
Yes, thats why i asked it. I don't want to get a new set of scrap on my FJ...
They're probably OK.
The build quality may be sloppy, and the finish is likely to not be up to Brembo or Aisin standards.
And, you aren't likely to find any replacement parts like levers or seals or switches if you need them.
Still, if you're willing to gamble and get a set to at least check out, its not a lot of money.
Frankly, I'd be more concerned at the low feedback count even though its all positive.
And, as its Chinese New Year, your order won't be picked, packed, or shipped for about a week.
Thanx Arnie.
I had to think about that. I got a really experienced bike mechanic friend here in my town and he owns an FJ 1100 too. He said he will purchase one of these by all means. So its up to me, and i say ill try it.
Really cheap, so why not ? :pardon:
Quote from: Vilike on February 08, 2016, 04:28:16 PM
....... Really cheap, so why not ? :pardon:
The clutch m/c does not concern me....but your front brakes are kinda important.
With the Chineese front brake m/c, worst case, in the (unlikely?) event of a seal failure, I guess you always have your back brake.
Report back, let us know what you think....be careful!
ive tried getting some adjustable levers and not had much luck either been poor quality or poor fit still on the hunt. if you do go for these keep us updated on them :good2:
I bought a Chinese 14mm master cylinder a couple of years ago for a bit over $20.00, installed it and filled it with brake fluid only to have it leak out the bore without even pumping the lever. Couldn't be bothered sending it back because I'd probably cost more than it was worth and just put it down to you get what you pay for.
Save your coin and buy something decent, I recently fitted one from an fjr1300, looks the same as standard but with an adjustable handle and heaps better feel.
Thanks guys, i will report you what i experienced about the stuff. I will set it up with care...
:i_am_so_happy:
Call me a skeptic if you want but I have a hard time believing that a pair of m/c suitable for 125 to 400cc. bike are also suitable for a 1300 FJR. Most 125 to 400cc scooters dirt bikes and street bikes have small single disc front brakes and rarely have hydraulic clutches. The larger double front discs and double 4 piston calipers on the 1300 FJR would require a larger bore brake m/c than the small displacement bikes. No mention is made of the bore sizes of either m\c and the only size reference is regarding handlebar size 7\8 common to 99.9% of all bikes. Check with the vendor regarding bore size before wasting money.
Hein.
Quote from: Bones on February 09, 2016, 01:19:10 AM
I bought a Chinese 14mm master cylinder a couple of years ago for a bit over $20.00, installed it and filled it with brake fluid only to have it leak out the bore without even pumping the lever. Couldn't be bothered sending it back because I'd probably cost more than it was worth and just put it down to you get what you pay for.
Save your coin and buy something decent, I recently fitted one from an fjr1300, looks the same as standard but with an adjustable handle and heaps better feel.
That reminds me of my requiring a replacement master brake cylinder for my old beater of a car. OEM from GM was several hundred $ more than what the mechanic could get that was made in China.* But he said several of those were leaking while the car was still up on the hoist. i.e. not just leaking from a loose fit to the rest of the system, they were bad out of the box.*
There are times one can get away with gambling on cheap goodies. Hell, I order my share of offshore for things where I'm hacking fun gizmos. Vehicle brakes wouldn't be one of those applications.
*This is not a blanket knock against made in China, just the stuff to be put under mechanical stress that's "too good to be true."
Quote from: Charlie-brm on February 12, 2016, 01:59:44 PM
Quote from: Bones on February 09, 2016, 01:19:10 AM
I bought a Chinese 14mm master cylinder a couple of years ago for a bit over $20.00, installed it and filled it with brake fluid only to have it leak out the bore without even pumping the lever. Couldn't be bothered sending it back because I'd probably cost more than it was worth and just put it down to you get what you pay for.
Save your coin and buy something decent, I recently fitted one from an fjr1300, looks the same as standard but with an adjustable handle and heaps better feel.
That reminds me of my requiring a replacement master brake cylinder for my old beater of a car. OEM from GM was several hundred $ more than what the mechanic could get that was made in China.* But he said several of those were leaking while the car was still up on the hoist. i.e. not just leaking from a loose fit to the rest of the system, they were bad out of the box.*
There are times one can get away with gambling on cheap goodies. Hell, I order my share of offshore for things where I'm hacking fun gizmos. Vehicle brakes wouldn't be one of those applications.
*This is not a blanket knock against made in China, just the stuff to be put under mechanical stress that's "too good to be true."
The thing to remember about China is you can find someone there who will make whatever you want at whatever price point you want. The quality of the end result will reflect how much you are willing to pay to have them make it. So, you could contract a manufacturer to make something as good or even better than the original. But the price will be relatively the same or higher. Since the whole point is they want a product at a much lower price point and be able to pocket the difference that defeats the purpose, so they negotiate a much cheaper production cost and a corresponding much lower quality.
So... nobody is knocking Chinese manufacturing per say... just that the type of thinks that generally come from China are going to be cheap knock offs because that is exactly what the importer wants them to make.
Funny how history repeats itself..... I remember having this same discussion except the country was Japan.
Life is a funny old dog.
Quote from: Pat Conlon on February 12, 2016, 07:20:33 PM
Funny how history repeats itself..... I remember having this same discussion except the country was Japan.
Life is a funny old dog.
I think this board has lots of us that go that far back. I remember the "disgrace" when U.S. stereo companies moved their manufacturing to Japan. Didn't matter that all the tech engineering, specs, etc. were still done from the U.S.
Korea paid its dues with automobile quality. They all have their passage of acceptability. I live in Canada and drive a Hyundai Elantra assembled in Alabama, containing parts machined in Canada. I love it, gets lots of compliments. Did I buy a foreign car?
Well i received the levers just a week after i purchased.
It was really fast from China to Hungary.
Nice stuff. Simple, fine machining, bore dimensions are as same as on the stock FJ. Looks massive enough, nothing is wobbling or creaking. Damn i will try it. You can not buy things like that in Hungary for a so low price like this.
Quote from: Vilike on March 06, 2016, 03:34:35 AM
Well i received the levers just a week after i purchased.
It was really fast from China to Hungary.
Nice stuff. Simple, fine machining, bore dimensions are as same as on the stock FJ. Looks massive enough, nothing is wobbling or creaking. Damn i will try it. You can not buy things like that in Hungary for a so low price like this.
Just remember that if it is abnormally cheap, there is usually a good reason. I hope it is not the case here but the one thing you can't really check is the tensile strength and metallurgical properties of the source materials they used. Until you get a really good feeling whether it is up the the task I would work up to doing any hard braking maneuvers. The last thing you want is to be in an emergency stopping situation and the inexpensive lever goes *PING* and breaks under the strain. Be safe.
I agree Nova. Yes i was thinking the same, i will handle this case with enough care and suspicion. I think the stuff is "Too cheap to be true" but it was so cheap that i wanted to try it anyways.
:pardon:
I bought a pair of levers from China sold as being for the FJ once. They turned out to be FJR levers. Sent them back, they got lost. Waste of $30.
So we had set the levers up.
It was a very easy work. The placing of the brake fluid cups are a little bit tricky, but the package contains a good attaching plate stuff. You could easily attach the cups on to the windscreen (if you want) just like on the early ZXR-750.
The levers are coming with a 6 level feed, so the break is actually brutal strong (level 2.), but to pull its soft as butter.
The only trouble we have is with the clutch : it is too weak even at the 6. level. So i am gonna bore the eccentric level switch and screw a bolt in there to make the slide valve move a little bit more . If that does not work, then its time to do some lathe machinig...
:good2:
I have to get the paint codes for your colors. Mostly for the blue, I am sure the White and Red colors are standard and already posted.
I bought the levers around 4 years ago and I´ve been using the front brake lever one only, the more critical, for around 60.000 kms with continue hard stops here in Tenerife
No problems, no craking and not fails. The only bad issue is that the lever lost colour with the sun
I have purchased two sets of the levers, one set for VFR MCs and one set for ZX14 MCs. The quality is very good...I would not be surprised if some brand name levers just decal them. For $30 and free shipping they are tough to beat. Downside is last set took almost two months to get here.
Oh...one other comment. The amount of force used with good brakes and MC is minimal....too much force with two fingers and you will experience a stoppie.
So i drilled the excentric, and screwed the 4mm bolt in there, after i shredded the bolt head thicknes down to 1.0 mm.
Now the clutch works fine even at cold start. :good2:
Do you have pictures of what you ended up doing to clutch master...looks awesome!
Note that there must be some latitude at the lever, now it is 12 mm.
:good2: