Putting An ABSII Front End On A Standard ST1100

[Uncle Phil]

Well, I took her for a short road test (with all of the body work stripped off) just to see how she stopped in the 'real world'. No problem at coming to an 'orderly' stop from 70 mph (of course I tested at lower speeds first ). Quite an improvement from the standard 'stoppers' which was what I was hoping for. If I really got serious, the nose would squat with a decent squeeze of the lever. I wasn't about to grab a handful as I am pretty sure the front would have locked up. So the ABSII brakes on a standard ST1100 can be done with all ST1100 parts (except for a three way junction) but it ain't a job for the faint hearted or easily discouraged. It does require having the entire hydraulic ABSII system as I used hoses, lines and brackets from other parts of the system to get the lengths needed. I did have to 'rebend' one steel line to get the curves right for the front and used an after market three-way junction (the only non-ST1100 part) to connected the front lines from each side and the master cylinder. On the back, I used the double ABSII banjo bolt so I could run both lines to the master cylinder. I'll post some pictures when I get the chance.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Well, I finally got the rest of the 'rehab' (new auxiliary wiring, body work and exhaust repair) done on Redbird and rode her to work today.
It was a WAD (working as designed) and she stopped beautifully with little effort on the front lever - which was what I was after.
According to my 'butt' dynamo, she stops a lot quicker and lot easier now, however YEMV.
I've just got to get those pictures posted.

 

[sirbike]

So glad that worked. That and it sounds like your leg is working well too. Thanks for sharing.

 

[DeanR]

Good persistent job Phil.

How many gallons of brake fluid did you use?

 

[Uncle Phil]

Good persistent job Phil.

How many gallons of brake fluid did you use?

About 16 ... Actually it was close to 1/2 gallon until I figured out the bad bleeding nipple deal.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Whew!

 

[paulcb]

Nice work UP!

 

[Uncle Phil]

Some pictures finally -

 

[jrp]

Good work Phil.

 

[Larry Fine]

With that upside-down U in the last pic, I can see why you had trouble, too.

 

[Uncle Phil]

With that upside-down U in the last pic, I can see why you had trouble, too.

Yes, not the way I wanted to run the 'plumbing' but the only option that worked giving the area I had to work in.

 

[Uncle Phil]

After some discussion with Mr. Heath about his fluid movement calculations, I decided to swap the front ABSII master cylinder back to the standard one just to see how it felt. Now the lever travel and pull is almost identical to the ABSII models (using the butt dynamo again). Brakes still work fine as they did before, but the lever 'feels' better to me. So if any crazy person decides to do this, I will highly recommend keeping the standard front master cylinder. I also suspect, now that I pulled it off and looked at it, that the ABSII master cylinder may have been a bit 'dodgy' anyway.

 

[Spartansaint]

Great post!

I have some odd ball questions I'd like to ask regarding the brakes on an st1100 but i dont know how to message you on this forum

 

[Bmacleod]

Great post!

I have some odd ball questions I'd like to ask regarding the brakes on an st1100 but i dont know how to message you on this forum

Click on his Avatar pic and on the popup click on "start conversation"

 

[Spartansaint]

Oh must have been because my first post hadnt been approved yet. Wasnt there a moment ago, thank you!

 

[Uncle Phil]

Just an update - after a few thousand miles on the new 'setup', I am very well pleased with the performance.