Anti-Dive on an '84

[Bryce]

Hi there, I haven't been posting much lately so maybe I should reintroduce myself.  I bought an '84 FJ1100 a year ago, and I've slowly been getting it back into shape.  Among other things, I've replaced a leaky valve cover gasket, replaced a bad petcock, rebuilt the rear brake, and recently rebuilt the carburetors.  Now that the bike goes so nicely, I'd like to get it stopping nicely too.

I know lots of forum members will recommend changing forks and wheels for better brake and tire options, but right now that's something that's going to have to wait.  Instead, I'm considering ways to improve the bike as-is.  Disabling the anti-dive seems like it might be the place to start...braided brake cables would probably help too...  I've done some searching and from what I've found, all you need to do is remove the hose and the top portion of the anti-dive unit and you're good to go.

So with that said, I have two questions about disabling the anti-dive for you veterans:

1. Is it really that simple?  (Can you do it on the bike, or does it puke out oil everywhere?)
2. What kind of a difference does it make? (This one's probably a tough question for you guys to answer, because I can't even really tell you if my anti-dive system is working properly seeing as I don't know what it's supposed to feel like.  All I can say is that when I grab the front brake hard, it dives a bit and then the downward movement kinda awkwardly halts.)

Thanks,

Bryce

[JPaganel]

So with that said, I have two questions about disabling the anti-dive for you veterans:

1. Is it really that simple?  (Can you do it on the bike, or does it puke out oil everywhere?)
2. What kind of a difference does it make? (This one's probably a tough question for you guys to answer, because I can't even really tell you if my anti-dive system is working properly seeing as I don't know what it's supposed to feel like.  All I can say is that when I grab the front brake hard, it dives a bit and then the downward movement kinda awkwardly halts.)

Thanks,

Bryce

I am on another board about a different model of bike that came with anti-dive. There, they are all about rebuilding it and making it work. Anti-dives have a habit of getting stuck, apparently.

Personally, I don't think they work very much, if at all. There is a reason they had such a short run.

As far as disabling it, you can just pull the hose, and not unscrew the top. Then you can get a bolt to fit in place of the banjo bolt, and it should keep things tight.

[Bryce]

As far as disabling it, you can just pull the hose, and not unscrew the top. Then you can get a bolt to fit in place of the banjo bolt, and it should keep things tight.

Good to know, that'll make it a lot simpler.  Thanks

[mr blackstock]

G'day

When i first got my '85 the anti-dives were nicely seized, as I was not going to be getting around to making blanking plates for awhile, I removed the small brake line hose, used a shorter banjo bolt, and left the antidives in place.  They are both seized in the open position.
If you remove youor anti-dive units, the parts should move in the unit bores if they are not seized.  You may have one good one working...

If you are handy with metal work make your own blanking plate perhaps.

Concerning braided brake lines, I have recently installed both brake master kits, and the brakes are great!  I have new rubber brake hose on the front, and braided on the rear.  I do not think I will go braided on the front, I like the feel of rubber over braided.

Cheers, Gareth

[red]

Hi
Disabling the anti-dive seems like it might be the place to start...braided brake cables would probably help too...  I've done some searching and from what I've found, all you need to do is remove the hose and the top portion of the anti-dive unit and you're good to go.  Thanks,
Bryce

Bryce,

Yeah, simple as that.  If you also remove the lower half of the anti-dive units, then you would require specialized blanking plates, which need to have an internal oil passage to let the forks work normally.  You would not like the results of using a home-made flat plate there, so just leave half of the anti-dive unit in place.  I have heard that you can invert the remaining half of the anti-dive unit for better looks, but I would not bother them, just for looks.  (hey, it ain't broke . . .)

Any decent hydraulic shop can make new braided brake lines for you, maybe in a choice of colors.  They probably also have the hose ends that pivot a bit, which makes it easy to get the angles correct for the banjo bolts.  Most shops can give you same-day service.  On-line replacement brake hoses will not be any cheaper, usually, and errors will cost you both time and money.  Check that the brake hoses are long enough at full fork extension, before and after replacing them.

Cheers,
Red

[Alf]

Last Saturday I rode in my mate Mingo immaculate FJ 1200 1TX. Completely STD except a Nissin front brake master from a Fazer 600 98-2000, braided hoses and Hagon fork springs

The suspension, handling and brakes are top notch. It have the anti-dive fitted and works wonderfully and without interferences in the handling or in the brakes performance. Superb!. And I´m comparing with my much modified 1989 FJ 1200

So don´t disable the anti-dive.  Works fantastic!. Only fix master cylinder, revise your OE callipers, fit braided hoses and improve with a Hagon or with Randy system the front suspension. If your bike doesn´t work like it is designed blanking the antidive is like correcting stability problems fitting an steering damper: most of times the problem is other, not the necessity of a damper