Rear brake kit

#1
I’ve been looking around and I’m having trouble finding a hydraulic brake kit that will fit my 1” bars on my mini bike. Anyone know of an affordable setup?
 
#2
I’ve been looking around and I’m having trouble finding a hydraulic brake kit that will fit my 1” bars on my mini bike. Anyone know of an affordable setup?
I just signed up for this forum a couple weeks ago and you'll find answers come few and far between if it all...
I noticed everything comes in 7/8 mostly what I believe is bicycle handlebar thickness.
I had the same problem so I got an aluminum brake lever off of Amazon for less than $10 for two and took my grinder and my little sanding wheel and work the inside till I was able to basically pound it on the handle bar with the grip off...
Which actually was better than the previous owner who had it just kind of hanging there from a strap that wasn't on there very well at all and the brake lever could just come right off in your hand... LOL which I wanted to change out before it created any exciting moments....
 
#3
I think I’m going to chop the part of the bars where the grips and controls go and replace it with 7/8 tubing. It should be hidden under the controls. This is what I’ve seen on Harley’s with bigger bars so it’s worth a shot!
 
#5
I think I got to agree with lizardking here...
Do we want to try and chop up a $5 Amazon lever, or do we want to chop up the minibike itself?....
I'm a firm believer in KISS....
 

DaddyJohn

Well-Known Member
#7
You could use a 1" motorcycle master cylinder from a Harley or metric cruiser, but it would be expensive relative to the cost of a complete minibike hydraulic kit. The leverage ratio might be a bit high though, so the brake could be touchy.

You also might be able to bore out a unit meant to mount on a 7/8" bar, but would probably significantly weaken a part that's already likely prone to damage.

Personally, I don't think the idea of cutting down a 1" bar and welding a 7/8" piece inside is a bad one if it can be done with a clean look.
 

Lizardking

Well-Known Member
#8
@Mariah knows a lot about implementing hydraulic brakes on mini's. When she sees this, maybe she'll chime in.[/QUOTE]
Hey guys...welcome to the Oldminibikes.com forum.

Yeah, a lot of mini bike tubing is 7/8. Some of the larger bikes use 1 inch.

I believe that a lot of motorcycle components are 1 inch, and can be implemented on a mini bike.

@Mariah knows a lot about implementing hydraulic brakes on mini's. When she sees this, maybe she'll chime in.
I agree and I'll bet the farm her Bronc does too. MAKE something fit on it, don't break it to fit something on it.
 
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#10
Ok here's what I did with RobertC's TrailBronc. I got one of those cheap hydraulic brake kits for the rear wheels of a Quad and bored out the clamp on the master cylinder to fit the 1" handlebars. Thin lock washers between the cap and body provided some room to clamp down on the pipe after it is bored out. After centering up on the hole I bored it out to 1.004" and it worked out perfect, plenty of metal left for strength and it has a death grip on the handlebar.
 
#12
Hydraulic brake kit $42.xx and a Harley Davidson front rotor $62.xx... these went on the back of a TrailBonc so now the back wheel will lock up with 2 fingers on the brake handle. Best brake job I ever thought up! View attachment 268409
That is 100% not a factory Harley rotor, which is obvious by the price. I work at a Harley dealership, don't go into one asking about stuff like this as they'll be no help. There are a few of us that are into minibikes where I work too.

None of our parts guys are going to take the time to help someone find a rotor like that that might work. Those calipers are also junk. I've had one fail as have a couple of my friends (like the brake doesn't work at all fail). I won't run them anymore.
 
#13
It is a Taragon aftermarket rotor that is sold as a possible replacement for the front rotor of certain Harley models. Knowing the calipers are junk...could you refer me to a direct replacement that will hold up well?
 

mustangfrank

Well-Known Member
#14
It is a Taragon aftermarket rotor that is sold as a possible replacement for the front rotor of certain Harley models. Knowing the calipers are junk...could you refer me to a direct replacement that will hold up well?
Well I like your brake design despite the cranky response above...think I'm gonna go run down to my local HD dealer and chat up the parts guys about using their 1940s era designed motorcycle parts on some minibikes.
 

Lizardking

Well-Known Member
#15
@Kylebryan you have all the answers you need . Please chime in to your post.
@Mariah Your design and product use is fine for our mini bike use. To say that no hd parts guy will help you is ridiculous. We are talking about mini bikes not 100 plus mile an hour machine with constant use. Who wouldn't want to sell their products to paying customers even if it's used as a paper weight by the customer? Everything fails at some point.
 
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