HEL PERFORMANCE 1

TESTED BY: Bruce

MILES: 1500

TIME: Seven months

RRP: £239.00

WEB: www.helperformance.com

I’ve hit a few tyre walls in my time and I c vouch that they are as painful as they look owning a braking system that hauls you up fast and predictably is pretty essential in m experience. The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a cracking bike, but its brakes are pretty pan The stock Brembo discs aren’t great, and the Nissin master cylinder isn’t any better. tried to get the best out of my race bike’s system, fitting Hel braided lines and upratin the pads to EBC’s GP FAX, but it wasn’t unt fitted the big Suzuki with Hel’s 19mm maste cylinder that I got the aggressive anchorage was after. Being British-made, CNC machine and costing about half what you’d pay for a similar-standard aftermarket equivalent, I was just as impressed by the spec of the thing as I was by the packaging it came in. Included with the kit were two (offset) inserts that altered the character of the master cylinder and allowed me to choose between a harder or softer feel from the lever. I went for excited about the shape of a brake lever, but the Hel unit’s felt strong and meaningful, with loads of span adjustment to suit my preference. Straight away, this thing had me hooked, the bike’s braking performance was drastically improved and, after giving it a debut in a 10-hour endurance race, I was able to conclude that there was no brake fade to (that never happened because I spannered myself). At that point, riding once more with the OE part, it really hammered home how much better the Hel item was. It felt cruel going back to the Nissin system, but the rules are the rules. I’ve still got the Hel master cylinder and I intend to use it on my Mille project, so keep your eyes peeled… this one’s a keeper.