Andover Norton brake upgrade

John,

Though I am not unbiased, let me put it this way: I have it on my Commando, my son Tim, who did the CAD design of the adaptor plate, has it on his, my eldest daughter's ex-boyfriend has it on his, my friends with disc braked Commandos all have it, a German classic mag tested various classic bikes that one can rent for a weekend and uttered their amazement at how good the front brake on the Commando was compared to all contemporaries because the journalist- as usual- did not realize the master cylinder was not the original one but the Andover Norton Grimeca update.

Joe

Enrico,

The idea of re-sleeving a master cylinder gives everybody at AP (Lockheed) brakes- for whom Andover Norton is their #1 distributor for motorcycle components worldwide- a nervous breakdown. I ordered one version of a sleeve from an English dealer- no, I won't name names- and the kindest I can say is I don't compliment him for his effort. I declined to fit it and risk my life. The Andover Norton version uses a complete current Grimeca master cylinder complete with its Grimeca lever- the Norton lever is different in many respects and does not fit that master cylinder. For pictures see http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/Accessories.htm.

I used to ride Commandos with the original master cylinder in Hamburg and Southampton city traffic in the 1970s, and even then- when other road users had nothing like the brakes they have today- the disc brake was pretty bad. Though not half as bad as a Honda CB750/4 or BMW brake, I hasten to add. This conversion performs and feels as if you got a totally different brake.

The Norton/Lockheed caliper is, by today's standarts, top of the range in that it is one piece- like today's very expensive racing calipers-, not a bolted-up assembly. Through that it is pretty strong and can, given the right hydraulic leverage which this conversion gives you, become an amazingly good brake.

Enrico,

Sorry, I thought I made that clear by calling the standart production caliper the "Norton Lockheed", which is what is cast into it. These are surprisingly good and, as I said, of one-piece construction as opposed to the "racing" calipers that many people fit with an adaptor plate, i.e. the (originally used on Production Racers) CP2195 or the now more common CP2696 resp. the cheap & nasty pirate copy from Grimeca that is often sold instead. One piece is all the rage in racing calipers nowadays. It is far more stable than a bolted-up construction, but far costlier to produce.

Joe

Enrico,

Not unless you go over to the production racer slider and disc.

Joe

I have seen one fitted - looks good, as the adaptor plate is small and matches the profile of the fittings. I may try this route before fitting a Brembo 4 pot caliper.