Remove ABS - Dual Banjo at the master cylinder?

[Soliton]

If one were to the remove the ABS from their beloved R1150R (and I would never countenance such a thing lest it contravene the laws of the land in your respective countries) is their any reason not to run a double banjo at the master cylinder and two hoses. Each one straight to a caliper. Currently it is a hose to the splitter under the tank then to another joint on the fork leg then crossover pipes. It is a plumbers nightmare.

A double banjo has a fitting at the master cylinder and one at each caliper. A reduction in points of failure. The fork legs move with the bars so issues of cable flex aren't a problem. I'm trying to work out in my head what reasons might preclude setting it up this way.

I truly am open to some telling me - "Don't do this because your front wheel will fall off or your brain will come out because... (insert well reasoned technical explanation here). I don't want to do something that futzes everything up. ABS removal is straight forward but this is quite different from the normal setup.

Rs,

Sol

[sweatmark]

If one were to the remove the ABS from their beloved R1150R (and I would never countenance such a thing lest it contravene the laws of the land in your respective countries) is their any reason not to run a double banjo at the master cylinder and two hoses. Each one straight to a caliper...

That's what James has been running for years on his Rocksters, so let him chime in with subject matter expertise.

As for me, I've been tempted to try the old school down & crossover, but have had good results with the OE overly-complicated brake lines.

[EasyBee]

A little bit like that, but different solution. Removed all the BMW plumbing and started all new steel lines setup.

Single banjo at the master cylinder.


Double on the right side.


And single on the left.


Rear


And


Brakes work great.

[jwagreen]

I removed ABS in February. 2002 model 100,000 miles. Bought Speigler lines and security bits for ABS module screws. I unbolted ABS module removed fluids caped hoses and then unscrewed brain and clipped wires for pump servos and the put module back in original position and did not cut any wires. for the front brake lines i removed the black housing for the front brake lines and used the front two fittings to connect the hoses together. Last step was electric tape over abs warning lights.

[Tundra Dweller]

If anyone wants to remove the ABS and utilize the OEM Junction for the front brake lines I have the custom copper tube “U-loop” with fittings. You can have it, mailed to anywhere USA. I replaced the Lines with 2004 SS braided OEM lines that came with a non ABS junction.

[Photoguy]

If anyone wants to remove the ABS and utilize the OEM Junction for the front brake lines I have the custom copper tube “U-loop” with fittings. You can have it, mailed to anywhere USA. I replaced the Lines with 2004 SS braided OEM lines that came with a non ABS junction.

If no one steps up I might take you up on your generous offer. I have a thing about the ABS (as in waiting for issues to develop as my bike ages) and while mine is working perfectly, I have a sneaking suspicion that the removal lurks in my future. So for me it would go in my parts bin awaiting the project...but if someone is ready to go and can use this I'm happy to step out of the line. lmk- and thanks!

[riceburner]

If one were to the remove the ABS from their beloved R1150R (and I would never countenance such a thing lest it contravene the laws of the land in your respective countries) is their any reason not to run a double banjo at the master cylinder and two hoses. Each one straight to a caliper...

That's what James has been running for years on his Rocksters, so let him chime in with subject matter expertise.

As for me, I've been tempted to try the old school down & crossover, but have had good results with the OE overly-complicated brake lines.

I don't make any claim to any 'expertise' at all - I just like to try things and will report on whether or not they work.
In this case - for me - it works.

I highly recommend it. I did all this last year - see post with lots of photos here : viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44983&start=40 (3rd post on that page).

Note - I also swapped the crappy Tokico callipers for Brembos. Again - a highly recommended upgrade.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[riceburner]

A little bit like that, but different solution. Removed all the BMW plumbing and started all new steel lines setup.

Single banjo at the master cylinder.


Double on the right side.


And single on the left.


Rear


And


Brakes work great.

Looks lovely.

The only objection I have to that setup is that it's possible to get an air bubble trapped in the 'loop' and if you do - it can be a bugger to bleed out.

For reference - this setup is not allowed in UK racing (and probably elsewhere?), although it's used for road-machines all the time - the reason being that if something gets into the tyre, eg a nail, and rips the mudguard away, the brake line may well go with it - thus compromising the front brakes completely. (and spraying brake fluid all over the track to boot).

But if setup right, then no probs.

[EasyBee]

Well, I'm not taking it to any racetrack
I've had it done by BMW specialist ( not BMW dealer! ) and every year I'm having the bike serviced by them and they change all fluids, including brake fluids. No problems so far and brakes work absolutely fine. No whining noises.

[riceburner]

Well, I'm not taking it to any racetrack
I've had it done by BMW specialist ( not BMW dealer! ) and every year I'm having the bike serviced by them and they change all fluids, including brake fluids. No problems so far and brakes work absolutely fine. No whining noises.

Good to know!

[Soliton]

Which model of the R11 series used legit Brembo calipers that are a straight exchange for the R1150r?

[riceburner]

Which model of the R11 series used legit Brembo calipers that are a straight exchange for the R1150r?

Anything with 'EVO' brakes.
The Tokico and Brembo calipers were stored in BMW under the same part number so it's basically whichever box of callipers was delivered to the production line that day. I think there's more bikes with Tokico than Brembo, but there's plenty of Brembo calipers out there. In all seriousness, it was probably a case of BMW tendering out the quote to both Tokico and Brembo, and taking the cheapest quote for a while, then swapping to the other (or something similar). BMW always had Brembo calipers before the 1150s - but I suspect the take up of the EVO brakes (ie - the 325mm discs that the rest of the bike industry had been using for about 10 years*) allowed them to use less expensive Tokicos once they'd used up their contract with Brembo.

I highly suspect that the use of 320mm discs for ages was simply due to BMW using up a lot of Brembos old stock....

I think my first pair came from an R1150RS, but not sure where the second pair came from. Well - both pairs came from Motorworks, but I'm not sure what bike the 2nd pair were off.

I spoke to Motorworks in the UK at length about it and they understood as other owners had done similar, and because they're so familiar with the bikes they were well aware of the fact that some 1150s had Tokico, and some had Brembo.

If you check the part numbers on RealOEM, you can see what other bikes the part was fitted to, that'll give you a range of bikes to use for corroboration, then when talking to the breakers, just make sure the calipers are from that particular model and year, and have 'BREMBO' stamped on the inside. Any decent breaker who claims to be a BMW specialist SHOULD be good for this knowledge.





* come to think of it - I'm sure my 1995 ZXR400 had 325mm discs.....

[Soliton]

Thanks Riceburner,

Next stop Motorworks UK!

[riceburner]

Just a follow up on this.

I learnt from UKGSer's Steptoe something I hadn't realised before: the Brembo calipers sweep a slightly different area on the disc. So - although it's NOT a problem (I've been running the Brembos for years without issue) you might get even better brakes by using discs from a bike that had Brembos fitted originally.
I believe the GS Adv front discs would suit - but I'm intending to discuss it with Motorworks the next time I order new discs and see what they say, and will obviously post more info when I have it.