Give yourself a brake

Fed up with spongy stoppers? It’s time for a serious upgrade…

1 A box full of braking brilliance

The idea of upgrading your calipers can be considered both a performance gain and an aesthetic boost, especially if your bike is a bit older and your calipers are showing their age. Make sure that you are familiar with the swap-over procedure and the specific details that relate to clearances and positioning of the new calipers.

3 …and in with the new

Fit the brake pads to the new caliper without the sprung shim, this is only a temporary measure so that when the caliper is fitted you can see where the outside of the disc tracks. With the shim fitted the swept area is not as easily visible. Do the same for both calipers as both need to be independently assessed when fitted.

2 It’s out with the old…

To begin with remove the original calipers from the bike by undoing the mounting bolts. At this stage don't undo the brake hoses as we are just going to offer up the new calipers 'dry' to get a feel of how they fit. It might be necessary to undo the brake hose clips and tether the caliper safely out of the way using bungee cord.

4 A complete conversion

This caliper upgrade kit is from Hel Performance and allows you to convert your bike to radial calipers by means of a special conversion bracket. They fit to the existing mounting points for the old calipers but note that there is a left and right side – identify and fit the correct bracket and nip up the bolts firmly, but not fully tight quite yet.

5 Offer up the caliper

Fit the radial caliper to the mounting bracket using the suggested spacers for your type of bracket. Once thing to consider here is that you will need extra caliper bolts of the appropriate length. Install the caliper to the mounting bracket then tighten it up firmly.

7 Time to get a grip

Now it is time to check that the brake pad makes complete contact with the brake disc. If the pad outer does not cover the disc then it is likely that the radial mount spacers are a little bit too thick. Adjust with different spec spacers as required until it is spot on.

9 How are your hoses?

It's a good time to fit new hoses, in a lot of cases the original hoses will not be compatible, so check when you order the parts. Tighten up the new calipers and brackets to spec, stainless steel caliper bolts 33Nm, and stainless steel banjo bolts 19Nm (minimum).

6 Cleared for braking

Check that the disc runs centrally in the caliper. If necessary, get the front wheel up on a stand and spin the wheel. If the disc rubs against any part of the caliper then something is wrong, undo it and check the size of any spacers and fit alternatives as required.

8 Spring into action

If you're happy with all the clearances then remove the calipers and brake pads then refit the pads with the stainless steel sprung shim. Fit the calipers back to the bike and torque up to spec, do the same with the conversion brackets while you are at it.

10 They’re bleeding brilliant

Fit the new hoses, make sure that banjo bolts are correctly orientated at both the master cylinder end and at the calipers (the left side hose is usually longer). Make sure the hoses don't foul steering/suspension, then go through the process of filling with fluid and bleeding air.