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'Tangent' clip-ons, new radial master - issues

Discussion in 'Tech' started by Greenhound386, Nov 19, 2019.

  1. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    I'm getting towards the end of what's been a very long race bike build. The bike is a 2018 ZX-6R.

    I recently bought 'tangent' clip-ons; I didn't even know they were a thing until recently. The bar comes out perpendicular to the fork instead of from out in front of it. Basically, it just brings the bars closer to the rider and makes a more compact cockpit. Evol and Attack both do this style of clip-ons. I am replacing a traditional set of Vortex clip-ons.

    At the same time, I bought a Galespeed master cylinder. Ignorantly, I thought it would be a simple bolt-on affair with a brake bleed. Turns out, I now have quite the project on my hands to make all of this stuff work.

    Because my bar now comes out of the middle of the clip-on, I have clearance issues. This is exacerbated by the new master because of where the fluid outlets are. They were on the bottom of my stock master, and the Galespeed has them coming out of the top at an angle. It's a close fit with normal clip-ons; it just ain't happening with the tangent-style.

    Questions
    I found that if I remove the starter switch, I can move the Galespeed master down the bar enough to create some clearance. Problem is, I don't know where to put the starter switch. Anyone have ideas / photos of where I could remount a starter switch so that it isn't on the bar?

    I'm going to need slightly longer brake lines to accommodate the new setup. I'm thinking of going from the 2 individual lines that go to each caliper and changing to the T-setup that utilizes a single line from the master. This will help with the tight clearance. Any advice on measuring for the T-setup? Not sure if there is something about that configuration that I am not considering.

    To convolute things, I'll be getting my forks lengthened soon (10mm). I'm thinking I'll just make the brake lines a tad longer to accommodate that mod. I can't imagine running a nominally longer brake line for a couple of weekends would be a big deal, but please provide a sanity check and let me know if I am missing something there.

    Any other advice based on the above? Anyone else have experience with this annoying combination?
     
  2. 90kacoupe

    90kacoupe Novice seeking Help

    I can't offer much help but I find it very odd they call it a tangent clip-on when it is in fact not tangent to the fork. A standard clip on is Tangent. These are perpendicular.
     
    badmoon692008 and JJJerry like this.
  3. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    I actually don't ever see it marketed as tangent. I had a race mechanic helping me out that recommended them, and that's what he called them. I just stuck with it, but it might not be what they're actually called!

    edit: Nevermind. I see that Evol does use that terminology.
     
  4. 90kacoupe

    90kacoupe Novice seeking Help

    Ahh I see. The leading edge of the bar is Tangent on the Evol bars. That is a neat setup!
     
  5. socalrider

    socalrider pathetic and rude

    Speaking only to the clearance issue, can you trim the upper to get it to fit? maybe it just needs a half inch trim or something that wont be noticeable? or is it contacting some other "hard part"? im envisioning that when you turn the bars to the left, the master cyl and brake reservoir are contacting your fiberglass.

    unless im completely misunderstanding the situation.
     
  6. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    I'll have to get a photo and will post later.

    The outlets of the new radial master come out of the top and at an angle. Because the bar goes 'into' the fork and doesn't come out in front, there's no way for me to fit a brake line in there. The body of the clip-on and the top triple are in the way. I need to remove the power switch, slide the master down the bar (away from the forks), and that gives me some room.

    Bodywork is a non-issue and should yield plenty of room once everything is together. I got the ladybird-style mount from Kurvey Girl for the reservoir, and that's gonna bolt into the bottom of the clamp very nicely (has a threaded hole on the bottom where OEM clip-ons mounted).
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2019
  7. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    With the bars mocked up, it felt awesome. I am Pedrosa-sized (or Elias-sized if you wanna stick with the domestic series). Moving the bars closer to me feels so much better. I had someone helping me out and they noticed that I was always lifting the rear wheel under hard-braking and my body was way too far forward. Being so short, I can't get my butt rear enough on the seat. The tangent bars should help with that a lot.

    As I started going down this rabbit hole, I found out some guys (including a couple pros that race with our series) are turning their traditional clip-ons backwards so that the bar comes out behind the fork tube instead of in front. I don't even want to think about the mods needed to make that crap work.
     
  8. socalrider

    socalrider pathetic and rude

    got it. i know you dont want to think about this, but what about a different m/c? brembo or acossato (sp?) or whatever? do they have the same outlet shape/angle? just pitching ideas.
     
  9. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    I think the radial-style masters all have similar routing for the fluid outlets. No matter what, the tangent-style clip-ons create clearance issues; even the OEM master fits on it oddly. This was over $500 worth of stuff, so I want to avoid replacing if I can. I'm already replacing a brand-new set of Vortex clip-ons (bought before I knew the tangent-style was available).

    If I can figure out how to reroute the power switch, then that solves a ton of problems for me.

    edit: About to just drop it off at Attack and tell them to get it race-ready (just needs a few small things). Tired of working on this thing and just doing trackdays all year!
     
  10. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Funny, as I was reading why you wanted the tangent style, I wondered if you could flip normal style to the back of the fork and then you mentioned it. Hope you get it all together soon, and hit some races.
     
    Greenhound386 likes this.
  11. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    Here's what I am working with. The fluid outlet on the new radial comes out from the top and at an angle. You can see that unless I move it right along the bar, the outlet touches the body of the clip-on. I also need to leave enough room for the banjo to get in there. That's not a huge issue, but moving the assembly that far down the bar means I have to remove the power switch and relocate it somewhere. The Vortex clip-ons create a similar issue, but it isn't as bad as the Attacks, and I could retain the power switch on the bar.

    I also attached an image for comparison of the Attack tangent-style bars versus a traditional setup like Vortex. That photo also shows my mechanic; he doesn't know the difference between an 8mm and a 10mm and he's better at taking things apart than he is putting them back together. I digress. You can see that there's a pretty big difference in ergonomics. What isn't obvious in the photo is that despite what it looks like, the Vortex setup gives me more real estate on the actual bar to work with.
     

    Attached Files:

    TurboBlew likes this.
  12. pscook

    pscook Well-Known Member

  13. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    Jesus, I'm dumb. Was looking at the bleeder the entire time; banjo does screw in bottom. Makes this marginally easier, but angles are still gonna be challenging with existing stuff.
     
    jd41 likes this.
  14. stangmx13

    stangmx13 Well-Known Member

    I dont c a problem. the switch pod is generally narrow enough and levers are shaped to leave enough space btw the master and throttle. put everything on the bar. if u need more space at the end for a lever guard, install a longer bar or get a diff lever guard.

    you prob will need longer brake lines, esp after you extend your forks. CORE makes it super ez to order longer lines, with the extra length added wherever you want. 1" at the caliper end might be enough.
     
  15. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    Core Moto has banjos in all different angles and their ends rotate 360°, so you can manipulate things how you need. I’d FB message Luke with pics of all angles, then, follow up with a phone call. I bet he’ll know exactly what you need. There’s no way you’re the first to encounter this and there’s a good chance he’s made lines for this combo.
     
    Greenhound386 and TurboBlew like this.
  16. Greenhound386

    Greenhound386 Well-Known Member

    The problem is that I am dumb and misinterpreted something in the manual, and that had me looking at stuff wrong. The bleeder valve still needs to be considered for clearance and orientation, but it's not as huge of a deal as I thought with how the banjos will attach. That said, I am closer to getting it all together.

    I do need slightly longer brake lines. I was just barely able to fit everything with the power switch still on the bar, but that did mean ditching the Woodcraft brake lever guard. I have a Rizoma that installs into the barend instead of on the bar, so that should solve that issue. Also realized the OEM banjo has a pitch of 1.25, while the Galespeed is 1.00. So, a new banjo has been ordered.
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2019
    stangmx13 likes this.

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