Banjo Bolts

[Evill_Ed]

I have Speigler Brake Lines on my FZ for a few years now and love the feel that they provide. I have the 2 line set up. 

The kit included aluminum banjo bolts for the master and calipers. 

I just purchased a Brembo RCS 17 Master Cylinder. It came with a Steel Banjo Bolt. 

Recently I have heard and read that steel banjos are the way to go on track and race bikes. The basis is that steel are stronger than the aluminum ones. If an aluminum one has a crack, from over tightening for instance, it could fail under pressure.

I have never heard of a banjo bolt failure though I am sure that it has happened. 

I have the original (stock)  steel banjo bolts , I think I will use them on the calipers with new master. 

Just curious what you other track guys are using?

 

Ed

 

[jb.junior]

I've never heard of a banjo failure.

Any reason why you went 17mm bore instead of 19mm?  I'd imagine it's sufficient, but the 19 is kind of "standard."     

I have aluminum banjos in the Spiegler lines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by jb.junior
oops

[Evill_Ed]

Just now, jb.junior said:

I've never heard of a banjo failure.

Any reason why you went 17mm bore instead of 19mm?  I'd imagine it's sufficient, but the 19 is kind of "standard."     

I have aluminum banjos in the Spiegler lines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have the stock FZ front end and calipers, based on piston size, the 17mm should be a good fit. It should give good feel and modulation. I heard 50/ 50 reviews of the 19mm with the stock calipers. Some say it fine, others say it can be too much. I saw an FZ with the 19mm and the lever was really firm. I have seen FZ's with 16mm R6 Radial masters that feel very good. 

I think the 17mm will be a good balance between the 16 mm and 19 mm options. 

I'll find out soon enough. 

Ed

[shinyribs]

I had a bike with aluminum banjos years ago. Old CB set up for AHRMA. I don't know if they were low quality bolts, but I did have one that wouldn't seal. I was worried about putting too much pressure on the bolt, so I I hadn't crushed the sealing washer properly. I was gradually nipping up the bolt and the seepage was getting better, but I could tell that I really wasn't tightening that bolt the same way I would've had it been a normal banjo. I went to snug it up a little more one day and popped the head off. 

 

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with them, but the weight difference is so extremely minimal that I didn't see the point in finding an aluminum replacement. Used bike, so they could've been overtightened/stressed before I got it. Who knows, right? 

 

They did look nice, thigh. 

[Evill_Ed]

So I decided to install the new lines with the factory steel banjos. The Brembo came with a steel banjo. Spent some time laying out the lines the cleanest way I could. 

Torqued everything to spec. No leaks and it bled up quickly.  I got a very nice firm lever, the action feels great, cant wait to try it out. 

The 17mm feels good with the FZ calipers  

Ed

 

 

[M. Hausknecht]

I expect you'll be very happy with the 17mm, Ed. I have the 16mm R6 Brembo with stock calipers and it offers a good combination of power and feel; a noticeable improvement over the stock MC.

[Evill_Ed]

Just now, M. Hausknecht said:

I expect you'll be very happy with the 17mm, Ed. I have the 16mm R6 Brembo with stock calipers and it offers a good combination of power and feel; a noticeable improvement over the stock MC.

Me too. I calculate the master / caliper ratio as 22.55:1. My target was 23:1. , pretty close. 

Seems like 16mm or 17mm is a good choice for our calipers. 

 

Ed