I appreciate I'm a newb to Harleys, but having ridden Ducatis all my life, the front brake on my Heritage was totally unacceptable.  Just not used to a brake that slows, not stops.

Anyway, just finished fitting a front Harley Brembo caliper (as used on 2010 Street Glides, etc) and can honestly say this is a major return on investment.  The braking has gone from four finger slowing to one/two finger braking.  For the $350 it cost me (and I've got a RH one if I want to put on both sides), this is seriously good value and bolts straight on.

Would highly recommend at this early stage for anyone not happy with their stock brakes.  Going for a decent ride tomorrow and will let you know if it's anything other than my short test rides so far. 

I paid 20 grand for a bike with a single pot caliper.....fuck Willy G that prick....I fitted a decent PM caliper years ago.

I went from a 2007 Softail Standard to a 2010 Road King in Oct and the difference in braking is amazing. Can certainly see it being a worthwhile upgrade.

cheers
Surly

Was the changeover straight forward? And what year Heritage do you own? I have an 05 Fatboy and would be interested in upgrading the brakes, but not if we're talking major engineering to do so. Where did you get the caliper?

Can u post some pics

Cheers Fatcat68

The changeover is L2 stuff. About 30 mins, although allow an hour. You'll need the following tools:
10mm ring spanner for the torx bolts that hold on the calipers (better obviously if you have the correct torx wrench),
8mm ring spanner to bleed brake line when finished,
13mm to detach/attach the new Brembo's bolt for the brake line,
mallet to loosen bolts,
Phillips head screwdriver to remove the master cylinder on the brake to top up with brake fluid,
about 50cm of plastic tubing to bleed brakes,
a container to put spent brake fluid,
plenty of rags,
WD40 or similar to wipe away any grime,
Locktite to put on caliper bolts when re-assembling.

See pictures below. My model is a 200 (which I've only just bought with under 5,000kms. The photo of the calipers in the box are the original on the right and the spare RH Brembo (they came as a pair). As you can see the spacing on the mounts are identical (70mm). As far as I am aware, the calipers on Heritages and Fatboys from 2000 on are the same. See the picture to compare to yours. Hope this helps.

Honestly, the braking is two finger controlled braking. I can go into a corner and know I've got extra if I need to wash off speed, not like the stock unit. IMHO a good mod.

Cost???

As with first post, $350 which was both calipers, brand new pads and lines (USA). That was to my door. You can get cheaper or even chrome versions, have a look at ebay.

Thanks for the replies and the pics Duanne. Am I correct that the first pic of the wheel with the original caliper is a different bike to the second picture, or did you change the disc rotor as well ? Also, where in the USA did you get the disc from ? Glad to hear that you are pleased with the mod. Do you still have your Ducati ?

 

Its the same bike, you can see how slack I am at cleaning and the grime on the whitewall! I didn't change the rotor. Technically I should as it really should be on an 11.75" not an 11.50", but I will monitor the pad wear and it seems to be performing extremely well as is, so why fork out another $100+? The ones I got were from Florida. Just type in harley brembo in ebay, and you should come up with a few. Eg: There's a full set with rotors for under $500 on there at the moment: HARLEY BREMBO BRAKE SET CALIPERS HAND CONTROLS ROTORS

Yes, still have the 1098S, couldn't give that up.

Hi, realize this is an old post, but hoping you are still around.  

I need to replace my fron disc and think it is about time I did this upgrade. Can you tell me how much clearance there is within the caliper for a larger diameter disc?

I found an Australian made replacement disc at www.metalgear.com.au for a dyna (enter part number on left side of home page, 21-108-bk) that has a 300 diameter, 8 mm larger, all other specs are identical with the exception of the Fatboy (part number 20-281) uses counterboared bolt holes, where the floating dyna disc uses straight bolts. Presume I would just need some new bolts?

Cheers, Mungrel.