Okay,
Been and gone and done it. Whilst most people in the US of A are dreaming of putting a second disc on the front of their R65, I have gone and removed one of mine. Something I have been threatening to do for some time.
My bike went in for an MOT, a yearly safety inspection, and I was given an 'advisory' on the fact that one of my Grimeca disca had warped (possibly both, but one was much worse than the other). I only just got the MOT, I could see from the brake test machine that there was definately a problem and it was a borderline fail.
This is disappointing as neither disc has an especially high mileage on them (one about 12,000 and the other sub 20,000 I suspect). Not wanting to replace like for like (£80+ each and now suspect quality - -not that the OE stuff is any good), I elected to keep the good one for the time being and replace the master cyclinder (13mm - £42 - second hand from motorworks + plus a free rebuild kit when the master cylinder leaked - can't complain about the service).
The plan is that I will eventually replace the remaining disc with a fancier one down the line - a PFM or EBC.
Initial thoughts? Well I can certainly feel the difference with regard to the loss of weight on the front. The loss of a disc, caliper and other associated pipe/bolts is noticable, the front end feels lighter - I am sure I am not imagining it.
I have yet to put any serious miles on her due to inclement weather and the initial leaking master cylinder.
However, as expected, there is a loss of outright power, obviously. But that is not to say that there is not enough power to stop the old girl, as there is, and I am happy that my bike can still be stopped very promptly.
As you all know, I am in the business of removing things from my bike and not adding them - i.e. no luggage and no fairings etc, it is just a matter of adapting to the new feel of the front brake.
Before anyone asks, I am not yet ready to get rid of my spares. The spare caliper will always be useful as if anything goes wrong with the one I have, then I can just mount the brake on the other side!
Cheers
Steve H
