[Romans5.8]

Hey all,

So my future mods for the bike (way down the road) involve adding some weight. Maybe even a trailer (like good ol' Whiting57's bike). The 900 has the power to do it, I'm confident in that (no it's not a hot rod, but it's no slouch either). But I'm not as confident in the brakes.

So my question is, has anyone ever looked into, or successfully added a second front brake? My 'I don't know what I'm doing' theory is, that you could take a different master cylinder (say, the one off of the 1600/1700/2K?), and run the second line down to a second caliper mounted on the opposite side of the wheel somehow.

Just a thought, curious if anyone had done that before. When a stronger front brake I think this bike would be absolutely perfect. (Well, and exiling the seat to a desert island forever)

 

[King43]

I would love to have the dual front disk. Just went on a 350 mile ride Saturday and had to panic brake twice for idiots. The stock brakes and pads have a lot of bite once they get some heat in them and enough pressure is used. But I am the kind to ease into the front brake, not jam it on. Easing in doesn't do much as I would like. Maybe a better quality set of pads in the front before the expense of a dual system? Sintered or kevlar? Cheaper and easier to try.

 

[Kaw-poke]

Wow! A single front disc brake on the 900's! I had no idea! For that reason alone I could never recommend anybody to buy one. It would be awesome if someone could figure out how to put another disc on the front and market it. They could probably make a lot of money!

 

[Romans5.8]

Wow! A single front disc brake on the 900's! I had no idea! For that reason alone I could never recommend anybody to buy one. It would be awesome if someone could figure out how to put another disc on the front and market it. They could probably make a lot of money!

Well the thing is, especially in an emergency situation, it can handle it. It'll lock up no problem. BUT, it takes a bit of a squeeze. I think dual front disc would make it that much better by allowing you to brake with less pressure.

I don't think it's unsafe though. Remember it's also a very light bike.

 

[bosco]

Would be nice to have dual front disc, but not necessary. I too have had a few emergency stops, and no issue stopping in very short distance. I would have to imagine the cost would be prohibitive. New front wheel, front forks, and maybe a new master cylinder, plus the cost of the caliper and rotor.

 

[Rescue Wagon]

I've looked at doing the same mod to my Dual-Sport bike I built from a street bike and the easiest way is to swap a set of forks from a bike that has dual brakes. First choice and cheapest would be swapping forks if they fit a 900s triple-trees. Second choice would be to swap forks and triple-trees from a donor bike. Not sure how much the bigger Vulcans are different from their little brother, but that would be the place to start.

I'm also interested in this as I plan to add a secondary fuel tank, bags, and a trailer to my 900.

 

[Jace Bror]

My Vulcan 750 had dual front brakes and it was a lighter bike, don't see why the weight of the bike would change why you could or couldn't have dual fronts. I was at the Donnie Smith bike show this weekend and there was some kids from a College program that used a 900 for their project bike. They had got it from a junk yard, the front forks were smashed up. They swapped out the front end to a HD wide glide. It didn't get duals in front. They changed the front forks for sure, not sure if they changed out the triple or not. So it sounds like it could be done easy enough. I would think that you would have to change the brake reservoir out also? Isn't there something inside of there that controls the fluid pressure? I know you could have a double banjo bolt and change the lines to dual stainless and make them equal length. Or get a splitter down lower, like the VN750 did. I do know if I was going to go through the effort of changing front forks, some Progressive front springs would be going along with the work.

 

[Rescue Wagon]

After my experience with forks I would recommend spending the money to have a shop like GMD Computrack of Atlanta re-work your forks vs just installing new springs. There is alot more to how forks work then just the spring and you may gain nothing by the change. I had a set of forks done by them and I'm in love with their work. I took a bike from street use to dual-sport use and it handles like it was always built for that purpose.

 

[Rescue Wagon]

Did a little research on the forks.....The 900 has 41mm fork diameter, the 1600 and 1700 have 43mm, and the 2000 has 49mm. Had a hard time finding fork length, but that might be a mute point. It might be possible to machine our triple to accept the 1600 or 1700 forks since it would be a change from 1.6142 inches to 1.6929. At that point you would need the fork length to insure it won't affect the front geometry.

 

[whiting57]

There is no doubt that the 9's brakes are heavy, combined rear and front get reasonable braking distances. when pulling my trailer i use the rear first and let the bike "set" before i start grabbing the front. I wonder whether aftermarket pads would make a difference over the stockers.

 

[Bad Juju]

You don't necessarily need Kawa/OEM forks, many bikes come with a 41mm fork set.
Also it is a common aftermarket item not overly cheap (but not ridiculously expensive either) though for a custom build.

 

[kingnba6]

the braking power is OK in the 9. on my sports bike with dual front brakes and i can tell the difference everytime i switch. also as stated the easiest way would be swap out the forks. i would love to get dual front brakes

 

[Romans5.8]

the braking power is OK in the 9. on my sports bike with dual front brakes and i can tell the difference everytime i switch. also as stated the easiest way would be swap out the forks. i would love to get dual front brakes

It gets the job done with enough force and it will lock up if you need it to, but I think dual disc will give it more of a linear 'stronger' feel.

 

[kingnba6]

it does but i dont want it to lock up. on my sports bike i like that i only have to press the front brake a little to get it to stop. i just want that feeling on the vulcan