Mcdelby, I was speaking to my dealer about the weak rear brake & he said the rear brake is not big enough to be used the way we would like, locking up the rear end imediatly. If someone got theres to work like that Id love to hear from you & how quickly you go thru rear pads. Even if you could stop w/ the rears, you would go thru pad 3 times as fast as front ones especially if you use the rear brake allot well thats my experience anyway. Since I made a custom foot brake, I have allot more leverage so it lock up the rear more quickly & when it does lock up the rear it doesnt slow you down very quickly at all atleast not quick enough for me since there is so much mass in motion that your trying to stop on one brake pad set on a small dia brake rotor. The fastest way to slow down is w/ front & back at once. This is why I want a foot brake for both the front & back. I'll let you know how it works out.
Jim

 

OK. Heres what I did (got tried of pumping that damn handle) go to Autozone or what have ya, and buy a Mityvac brake bleeder. Bleed the back brake in 15 minutes and it will lock up the tires no problem. The magura master cylinders are easier to pull, but I got this working pretty damn good after 3 hours of monkeying with it.
Later bodineus

P.S- I received my tee fitting from HPD today.lol

 

My rears will lock up easy on my Scrambler 500 with a good pull on the rear brake lever, with the HPD kit. I use it a lot for hitting turns to fast, grab the brake to get the rear end sliding, then nail it and power out of it.

I suggest bleeding some more! It's a pain I know... Are you losing fluid in the master cylinder? Maybe there is a leak? Sometimes when hitting big jumps and landing (I land a lot BTW), I have the squeeze brake a couple times to get full "power" back to them.

It's a big hassle, but I have got used to using the foot peddle + rear hand brake, and this works well. Yes I seem go through pads faster though. On any quad you are, just the rear brake usually won't slow you fast because the rears usually lock up. The fronts are your primary stopping power.

My main problem is the front brakes. They are mushy, and require a pull all the way to the grip to get decent stopping out of them. It's bleed, I don't think it's pushing enough fluid. I am going to try putting some between the part where the lever pushes the piece on the master cylinder so it might get more stopping power.

I have EBC severe duty pads. I wish I could get better disc. The stock discs, using techincal words, suck, in my opionion. My fronts are ok, but not good, my rear scarred up. If I could adapt the front & rear brakes, off another quad without a lot of money or modification, I would love it.

The utilitys run bigger front disc, these are better in my opinion. However, they also use 12" wheels so they can clear them, the sport machines with 10" wheels won't clear them.

 

As Adam said, taking the time to bleed the lines to get them just right is a real pain.

Even before I went to the stainless lines I could lock up my rears. HPD also has new levers out that are a bit lighter and longer, making for an easier pull. Ture, the Maugra cylinders are cheaper to some others, but they work well.

There are certain prices you have to pay to be a Polaris owner, if I go through 3 sets of rear pads a year so be it. The look on the faces of every Banshee/400EX owner I run into is nothing compare to the price of rear brake pads (I work at a dealership anyway, so I definatley et my $$$'s worth)!!

 

Well today I called HPD and told them of my problems, I spoke with a guy named Norm. He said I could possibly have a problem with my aux.(pedal) brake. So I removed the whole thing. Put a bolt and one of the compression washers from the banjo bolt on the caliper. It works better, but it is hard to say since it is a little wet tonight. I think the braided steel lines Jerry put on would help, less rubber to expand.

I still don't like the long handles, they provide too much leverage, and not enough finger clearance to the grip. To get really effective breaking, the lever goes too close to the grip.

I also took the caliper apart and replaced the o-rings for both lines. Norm at HPD said they may also be a problem, they weren't.

He did say the handles could be bent, due to the billet aluminum. I may try this. I would really like to see a 1-1/2" to 2" shorter lever.

Oh yeah how about that cheesy right hand switch for the brake light?. One hour into my ride and I looked down and saw the wire hanging and the switch busted. I went through some brush, and it must have caught. So tonight I ordered some Moose handguards and Oury grips.

I hope all this info. about the split brake kit helps anyone out there who is thinking about it. In retrospect, for ease of riding I would not recommend the kit. For sliding in corners and aggressive riding, if it functions as I would like, it is necessary.

Later

 

Man, im glad I started this discussion. Ok with all the issues here (pads, levers, lines, etc)....i say screw it. Im going to get the 400ex rear caliper and rear master on my scrambler. Maybe I can even get the rear disc mounted up...

I know the caliper and master can be done and works great because I say someone who had done it allready!

As for the front....ummm...im still open to ideas.

--John

 

I have the kit didnt like it tell i bought the other side to and my works great to good actually the rear look up to easy just remember you to bleed them abunch

 

Well after some reading in the Polaris manual, I have figured out the Polaris Dual-Piston, Dual-Hydraulically actuated rear caliper. I don't know if it is only on 99 machines, but the foot brake and the hand brake each apply hydraulic pressure to different areas of the pistons. This is accomplished by a T style piston and O-rings.

In stock form, for Polaris to get the 60/40 braking, the hand brake does not apply force to the entire piston, only the outside of the T. When the foot brake and hand brake are applied, then pressure is exerted onto the entire piston. So, even with the HPD kit, you can apply all the pressure you want to the hand line, and still not be utilizing the full ability of the rear caliper. The only way to get the entire piston, meaning both hand and foot brake lines to actuate with the hand lever is to tie the hand and foot brake lines together somehow. I am going to try and run the rear brake line to the original 4-way fitting with the pressure switch. I'm hoping this should allow for much better rear braking as the entire rear caliper is being utilzed.

For those who have effective rear brakes, it would be interesting to know if this caliper is a newer design, or if it is the same as in other years, models, etc.

Please post your comments.

Later

 

Are you suggesting that (since I have removed my entire foot pedel system) if I thread a "T" connector into my rear line (somewhere towards the back) and run two lines from that, both into the rear caliper I could improve rear braking?

When I first installed the HPD kit I was able to look-up the rear with only the hand lever. Would it take less force to do so as set up above?

I still think the kit works well, when the lines are bled right. I bled my stainless line yesterday with a vacum bleeder, and will have to do it a few more time to get it right I'm sure. They were a bit spongy.

 

I am really confused. I went out and had a custom braided stainless steel, teflon coated brake line made so I could T into both lines on my rear caliper. After bleeding the lines, I have almost no lever pressure. Now if I am doing something wrong, please, PLEASE tell me what. I am holding the lever down, opening the bleeder screw, and while still holding down the lever, tightening the screw. I have pumped almost 3 quarts of fluid throughout this whole process. I have even re-installe the stock Polaris master cylinder for more pressure. With the Polaris cylinder, the fluid squirts about 5-6 ft., so I know there is no air in the line.

When you folks talk about "locking up" the rear axle, on what type of surface are you on? The rear brakes on my Scrambler are so weak, that if I coast s-l-o-w-l-y down a 10 foot hil at about 10-15% grade backwards, the rear brake, with hard lever pressure will NOT stop the quad, it will creak and barely slow it down. This basically is like having no brakes at all. I have cleaned everything with brake parts cleaner, and have run it and heated the brakes up to remove/wear off any residue.

I'm at the point where I am ready to put everything back to original. I at least could stop very quickly with two fingers on the brake lever.

Again, I don't know what I'm missing, I am thinking the pads are too hard, they're the bronze looking pads which are stock. They look metal. I would like to know if there are any softer pads available, which may be more effective even if less durable.

I cannot believe I am not fully bleeding the system of air, but if a mighty-vac system will help, I'll try it.

Any help or advice? I'm running out of ideas on how to get this system to work.

Later.