[motocarlo]

Hello,

Has anyone on here noticed a complete lack of initial bite/extreme level travel before brake engagement on this bike? i've bled the brakes, switched out the levers and will try diff pads next. Feel it on both road and track and its unsettling. Will a Brembo master cylinder fit with the stock switchgear?

thanks!

 

[jarelj]

Sounds like your brakes need to be bled if you have excess travel, it's not uncommon on these bikes. The Brembo master is even better of course, but also doesn't fit with the stock start/stop switch so you have to change to a thin racing switch like this one:

BSD 2 button Start/Stop Switch Panigale | BD-SW-2B-04

 

[sinjin]

Jarel,

I have to agree with you that one must support their local dealer, but you support all of us with your experience and knowledge and it is much appreciated.

Personally, I have learned a lot from your posts and it has helped me make what I feel was the right decision regarding the purchase of my bike.

Many thanks.

 

[teeny]

I had this issue . Lack of or no front brake.
After run in service it was going fine... then after spending a few thousand miles on it I hadn't really realised that I was having to pull the front lever a few times before anything happened - that was until I took out my RC8 - and nearly flew over the front bars using the brake in the same manner.
Called ducati dealer there and then.
They were great and took 899 in to do the service of the brakes ... there was no 'air in the system' there is a 'fix' for the lack of front brake. Get it to your dealer, ducati uk knows theres a fix.
You're not the only one with this issue.
I mean if you bought a car and the brakes didnt work... you would take it back right then to sort... same with a bike.
It will only take them around half an hour to do and wont charge.

 

[motocarlo]

thanks for the replies!
I bled the brakes which did not help.......
can you tell me more about what the dealer did to solve your brake issue, teeny? I had similar problems on the track switching back and forth between the 899 and 675! Some close calls!
Jarel, do you guys sell the brembo master cylinder?

 

[Capo]

The stock master is a Brembo is it not? If it is like the one on my 749 it should have a bleed nipple on the top. Have you bled it from there? What I do is take a small clear hose and put it on the nipple and then back into the reservoir. I just pump the brake lever slowly and when the bubbles stop you should be good.

My 899 is still on the boat or at the port or at the warehouse. No one seems to know as the Ducati computer system is a mess.

JIm

 

[jarelj]

Jarel, do you guys sell the brembo master cylinder?

Yes, we have them:
Brembo Radial Master Cylinder | 10.4760.70

 

[kblask]

So has there ever been a breakthrough on the cause of the spongy front brake lever? I test rode the 1299 on Sunday and the difference was night and day. So much bite and amazing feel through the front lever. I've heard the complaint from several 899 owners now- is my only choice to let the dealer sort it out?

 

[rjjr]

So has there ever been a breakthrough on the cause of the spongy front brake lever? I test rode the 1299 on Sunday and the difference was night and day. So much bite and amazing feel through the front lever. I've heard the complaint from several 899 owners now- is my only choice to let the dealer sort it out?

I didn't like the brakes on the 899 from the beginning. I upgraded the master cylinder, rotors, calipers and eliminated the ABS. Now the brakes have good feel, are very powerful and have great initial bite.

 

[kblask]

I didn't like the brakes on the 899 from the beginning. I upgraded the master cylinder, rotors, calipers and eliminated the ABS. Now the brakes have good feel, are very powerful and have great initial bite.

Any idea where the problem was in the stock setup? Would swapping the M50 calipers from the 1199 do the trick? Or do you think the issue lies more in the master cylinder? Don't feel like splurging on upgrading the entire braking system if it can be isolated to a single component.

 

[rjjr]

Any idea where the problem was in the stock setup? Would swapping the M50 calipers from the 1199 do the trick? Or do you think the issue lies more in the master cylinder? Don't feel like splurging on upgrading the entire braking system if it can be isolated to a single component.

I think the calipers will make the biggest difference. I don't know if the stock master cylinder will work or not. I did the master cylinder first and it was better but didn't improve the feel at all. Just made them feel a bit stronger.

 

[XCLR8TN]

So has anyone swapped the whole system (lines, master, calipers) to the 1199 spec WITH abs?

 

[rjjr]

So has anyone swapped the whole system (lines, master, calipers) to the 1199 spec WITH abs?

I looked at doing that initially but the M50 calipers require a different master cylinder than the upgraded one for the 899. The calipers I have now are one finger operation most of the time, two fingers maximum. I had the M 50 calipers on my Diavel and they were very strong as well. It's hard to compare the two because of the difference in weight between the two bikes.

 

[kblask]

I looked at doing that initially but the M50 calipers require a different master cylinder than the upgraded one for the 899. The calipers I have now are one finger operation most of the time, two fingers maximum. I had the M 50 calipers on my Diavel and they were very strong as well. It's hard to compare the two because of the difference in weight between the two bikes.

Mind sharing which specific parts you upgraded to?

 

[XCLR8TN]

I looked at doing that initially but the M50 calipers require a different master cylinder than the upgraded one for the 899. The calipers I have now are one finger operation most of the time, two fingers maximum. I had the M 50 calipers on my Diavel and they were very strong as well. It's hard to compare the two because of the difference in weight between the two bikes.

Well that's what I mean, has anyone done a full 1199 upgrade on the 899?

Is there the possibility that doing so would throw off the ABS unit because you are keeping the rear 899 brake?

I occasionally ride a friends 1199 and the difference in brake feel is unreal. I feel like I can only stop in the same amount of distance if I use both brakes on the 899 vs just the fronts on the 1199.

Just wondering if I could upgrade the entire front brake system to 1199-spec.

 

[rybo]

I went the "low cost" route with mine and am pretty happy with the results.

Please note, this path was taken for two reasons:

1) compliance with the rules of the clubs I race with, which means I have to retain the stock calipers

2) Cost

I retained the stock master cylinder and calipers

I deleted the ABS and ran lines directly from the MC to the calipers (I used the spiegler lines)

I changed brake pads from the stock ones to the Performance Friction #95

Between these two changes (and less than $300 in total parts cost) it transformed the brake feel on the bike. I think the BIGGEST change comes from the elimination of the ABS pump and associated plumbing in the system.

Good luck!

 

[rjjr]

Mind sharing which specific parts you upgraded to?

Brembo HP rotors
Brembo M4 monoblock one piece calipers
Brembo 19 RCS Racing Master Cylinder
Spiegler brake lines
Eliminated ABS

 

[rjjr]

Well that's what I mean, has anyone done a full 1199 upgrade on the 899?

Is there the possibility that doing so would throw off the ABS unit because you are keeping the rear 899 brake?

I occasionally ride a friends 1199 and the difference in brake feel is unreal. I feel like I can only stop in the same amount of distance if I use both brakes on the 899 vs just the fronts on the 1199.

Just wondering if I could upgrade the entire front brake system to 1199-spec.

Yes, you can upgrade to the 1199 spec. I don't think it will have any effect on the ABS if you don't change the diameter of the front wheel.

 

[ILåÐÆMì纳]

Well that's what I mean, has anyone done a full 1199 upgrade on the 899?

Is there the possibility that doing so would throw off the ABS unit because you are keeping the rear 899 brake?

I occasionally ride a friends 1199 and the difference in brake feel is unreal. I feel like I can only stop in the same amount of distance if I use both brakes on the 899 vs just the fronts on the 1199.

Just wondering if I could upgrade the entire front brake system to 1199-spec.

The problem with upgrading to M50s is that you need a bunch of new stuff in addition to the M50s. You need a new master cylinder 17mm vs the stock 19mm which is pretty easy. Then you need new brake lines as the M50s require a slightly different elbow fitting than the stock brakes which don't exist as far as I know. If you just use the brake lines from the 1199 they won't line up since ABS control unit the 1199 connects to is different.

I'm not sure if you have to upgrade the rotors or not. However, the 1199 has 330mm rotors and the 899 has 320mm rotors. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if you could get the same feel out of the 320mm rotors or what that extra 10mm changes.

I think the easiest would be to upgrade the master cylinder and find custom brake lines that mount correctly, but I dunno if they exist or if anyone will make them.

I've been trying to do this since I picked up some m50s, but I'm not a smart man.

P.S. I think the rear brake is the same for the 899 and 1199, but I'm not positive.

 

[rjjr]

Spiegler makes custom brake lines and they are top notch. They have tons of colors and every kind of fitting imaginable.

https://spieglerusa.com/brakes.html