Aftermarket Brake/Master Cylinder for 1 inch bars?

[94szki]

Hi, I rebuilt my bike with all new parts just a few years ago.
Trying not to be long winded. Everything was rebuilt with new seals and pistons etc.
Took it out of the garage yesterday, and although it drove fine, the clutch reservoir was slowly leaking.
No, I didnt forget to tighten it when I rebuilt the bike.
I rebuilt all the internal seals and it ran flawlessly without any drips.

Overtime, the piece of crap aluminum body oxidized again (while sitting in my garage).
The fluid cap shows crud again all around the edges.

It's just a terrible design - regardless of the LONG production run of the VS800 / S50.

I am looking for aftermarket masters that have a PLASTIC fluid body (like on the GSXR) instead of the aluminum body that is prone to leaking and filling up with oxide particulates from the aluminum body. Any ideas?

It's tricky because the electronic controls are held in place on the handlebars by these masters (to include the kick stand kill switch).

As far as I know, there is no way to stop the oxide from coming back.

The only permanent fix is to find a way to replace the reservoir with a plastic tank instead of the aluminum body.

Has anyone found a way?

THANKS!

[94szki]

Something like this, but they simply dont exist for 1 inch (25mm) handlebars. Only the harley (as far as I know) also uses 25mm bars, and they have a mechanical clutch lever instead of our Hydraulic clutches........... I'm at a loss here. I want 0 leaks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/383565215503?_ ... %7Ciid%3A1

[hillsy v2]

Don't think you'll find a plastic clutch res for 1".

Did you replace the diaphragm under the cover? Clean out all the crap from under the cap? There's a couple of slots there to allow the diaphragm to "breathe". If they are blocked you can have issues.

Finally, maybe just paint the MC with silver epoxy?

[navigator]

It's tricky because the electronic controls are held in place on the handlebars by these masters (to include the kick stand kill switch).

This is not the case, the switch boxes and master cylinders are separate units.

[Designer]

Hi, I rebuilt my bike with all new parts just a few years ago. Trying not to be long winded. Everything was rebuilt with new seals and pistons etc. Took it out of the garage yesterday, and although it drove fine, the clutch reservoir was slowly leaking. No, I didnt forget to tighten it when I rebuilt the bike. I rebuilt all the internal seals and it ran flawlessly without any drips.
Overtime, the piece of crap aluminum body oxidized again (while sitting in my garage). The fluid cap shows crud again all around the edges.

I've given your situation some thought, looked back at my Stock Reservoirs before posting here.. To best help you out here,...could you give us some more information please?

When you say "crud",....could you describe it more? Color/amount/content/particulate or not,...stuff like that . And,...where it is leaking from, too.
Pictures would be of Great help, too. Because Your description of Oxidation indicates to me possible Water/Air infiltration.

I understand your frustration with the All-aluminum Design. I had my issues with it too. So I had the Piston Bore Sleeved in Stainless Steel my Stock Reservoirs.

[Herb]

I have a 99 that has sat out in the weather more than it has been garaged and have never had an issue with either the clutch or brake reserviors. I did have to replace the gaskets about 4 years ago because they started tearing.
I change the fluid every spring and they just keep working.

[94szki]

When you say "crud",....could you describe it more? Color/amount/content/particulate or not,...stuff like that . And,...where it is leaking from, too.
Pictures would be of Great help, too. Because Your description of Oxidation indicates to me possible Water/Air infiltration.

I understand your frustration with the All-aluminum Design. I had my issues with it too. So I had the Piston Bore Sleeved in Stainless Steel my Stock Reservoirs.

Hi thanks for your reply Designer. I'm interested to see what you did to your masters.
When I rebuilt the front end of the bike (approximately 2 years ago) I rebuilt both the Clutch Master and Brake Master with new seals and pistons. This included of course new fluid gaskets under the master caps.

The bike is always garage kept, don't think there is any water getting in. The bike sits on its kick-stand, leaned over conventionally with the front wheel facing the kick stand. I put a 2x4 under the kick stand to keep the bike more vertical, but it has sat in the garage that way for years.

The clutch master appears to be leaking from the cap. Corrosion is building up between the reservoir cap and the body of the unit. I had my reservoirs bead blasted at a shop. After we blasted them clean, we clear coated over the exterior of the units. The insides of the units were not blasted at all. This was of course, before I rebuild the units with new seals and pistons.

I don't believe that the units are leaking from the levers, I believe the seapage is coming from the cap itself. There might be a little seapage coming from the banjo bolt on the Clutch side. I snugged that puppy to hell and back when I rebuilt the bike and I used new crush washers on either end. If it's leaking from there, I believe it's not that much.

Where I noticed the problem was after a 60 mile round trip. I drove around long enough to get everything super hot. The expansion of fluids must have caused the leak. I looked down at my front left fork and I noticed drips of fluid accumulating right below the left main fork cap. Again I snugged the main caps down as if they were never coming off. It's not fork oil, it's the brake fluid from the master. How it got down to the perimeter of the fork cap I haven't a clue!

Before anyone asks, no I did not replace the main brake line when I rebuilt the bike. It still has it's factory spring shield around and there aren't any tears or holes in the line. The bike itself just broke 13,000 miles. It's a '94.

Even if it were the line itself (which I don't believe it is, I am certain its coming from the caps), I cannot figure out how fluid was accumulating under (and around) the front left fork cap. I found that very odd (Unless that is where the fluid slowly drips when the bike is tilted to the left when it's on its stand.

Using the site glass as reference, I have just under half the reservoir filled on the clutch side. Any fluid over the halfway mark of the glass would probably just make this problem more significant.

I recently took the cap off and had a look. The fluid is still clear, but it does have some small particulates in it. I believe they are the oxide from the master body. I did wipe down the edges under the cap with a clean towel and did the same to the clutch body itself.

Every time I go to the bike, I check to see if the master bodys are dry. More often than not, there is a small (almost unnoticeable) film of oil around them. I'm convinced the cap isn't getting a good permanent seal on the body top, and it leaks when the bike is tilted. That's what lead me to suggest plastic fluid reservoirs so that I never have to worry about this problem again.

[94szki]

It's tricky because the electronic controls are held in place on the handlebars by these masters (to include the kick stand kill switch).

This is not the case, the switch boxes and master cylinders are separate units.

My auto switches have yet to be overridden. My auto-off kick stand switch works and the rear taillight switch is also actuated by the lever. If I were to use aftermarket masters, I don't know how I would get these to work properly - which is why I included it in my description.

[94szki]

I have a 99 that has sat out in the weather more than it has been garaged and have never had an issue with either the clutch or brake reserviors. I did have to replace the gaskets about 4 years ago because they started tearing.
I change the fluid every spring and they just keep working.

Maybe the connection between your banjo bolts and the body of the masters are so corroded internally that it formed a permanent seal! LOL You got lucky!

[94szki]

Don't think you'll find a plastic clutch res for 1".

Did you replace the diaphragm under the cover? Clean out all the crap from under the cap? There's a couple of slots there to allow the diaphragm to "breathe". If they are blocked you can have issues.

Finally, maybe just paint the MC with silver epoxy?

+1 on your first thought, for some reason, I don't think that 1" replacements exist. I could have a machine shop potentially enlarge the diameter to 1 inch, but that would probably be expensive....

Also, I know that epoxy is great for automotive use, but don't you think the brake fluid will eat away at it just like everything else? I know it eats through clearcoat - because we used a product called alumiclear to clear-coat the bare aluminum after it was bead blasted. Everywhere it was cleared looks great still, apart from where the fluid caps sit, and the fluid has started to chew away at the finish.

I will take the diaphragm out again and remove the little metal clip under the master cap. Dry it out or blow it out with an air hose to see if that helps. My hunch is there isn't any crud under the diaphragm, but I will have another look. Thanks for the suggestion.

[hillsy v2]

I repainted the MC's, bars and the top yoke on this FJ with satin black epoxy rattlecan and it turned out sweet:



The clutch MC started to leak at the cap (the diaphragm had a nick in it) and the MC got totally covered in fluid but the paint was fine (that kinda surprised me). I didn't cure the paint in an oven either - but that will help with durability.

[Designer]

I will take the diaphragm out again and remove the little metal clip under the master cap. Dry it out or blow it out with an air hose to see if that helps. My hunch is there isn't any crud under the diaphragm, but I will have another look. Thanks for the suggestion.

Good morning 94szki. I was awaiting the results of your doing this. What did you find?

I have been thinking your situation over after your response to my posting. Might you be able to post some pictures of the corrosion/leaking and stuff? As they say,..."A picture is worth a thousand words".....and viewing the situation as you can would help me with Answers for you.

[94szki]

I will take the diaphragm out again and remove the little metal clip under the master cap. Dry it out or blow it out with an air hose to see if that helps. My hunch is there isn't any crud under the diaphragm, but I will have another look. Thanks for the suggestion.

Good morning 94szki. I was awaiting the results of your doing this. What did you find?

I have been thinking your situation over after your response to my posting. Might you be able to post some pictures of the corrosion/leaking and stuff? As they say,..."A picture is worth a thousand words".....and viewing the situation as you can would help me with Answers for you.

Hi Designer, thank you for trying to help I appreciate it! I will take some pictures tonight and upload them. Ironically, my home internet modem has also decided to kick the bucket - and I'm unable to use the internet at home until I fix it. (I'm checking this thread while at work). I will take some pictures and report back on the problem. Thanks!

[94szki]

I repainted the MC's, bars and the top yoke on this FJ with satin black epoxy rattlecan and it turned out sweet:



The clutch MC started to leak at the cap (the diaphragm had a nick in it) and the MC got totally covered in fluid but the paint was fine (that kinda surprised me). I didn't cure the paint in an oven either - but that will help with durability.

It does look good. Is that epoxy a 2 part epoxy? I know that you said it was from a spray can, which I find interesting. I thought that all epoxies had a hardener that you had to mix in before they would "activate."

I will post pictures of my clutch MC and brake MC tonight. Like I said previously I had the exterior bead blasted and then we cleared over it with a product called "alumniclear" I believe I still have the paint, I will include it in the pics.

Anywhere where it wasn't in contact with the brake fluid, the clearcoat has prevented the oxidation from re-appearing on the aluminum.

Thanks!
Emmanuel

[hillsy v2]

It was this stuff:



Not 2 part - just single stage epoxy based. No primer needed. Satin black which was perfect for MC's and bars, etc on most sport / UJM bikes.