Number of caliper pistons doesn't matter.

[Parminio]

My understanding is that surface area captured by the pots against the pads is the name of the game in stopping.

And it is. It's not really the size of the pistons that matter at all.

For @DreamV4 benefit, I'll try one last time for a true, laymen example:

Gluing boards together. If you're building a chopping block island, you'd be hard pressed to find a single piece of wood 4 inches thick, 32 inches wide and 64 inches long. So you simply glue hardwood boards together and then plain it down and trim it.

Let's just take two boards though for this example. You coat the face of one 64 inch long board down with good, quality wood glue. You take the other board and press it up against it in place, then you're going to clamp it down.

Now then, which had you rather: One one foot long clamp right in the middle of the boards or about 10 small, 1 inch clamps spaced 6.4 inches apart the full length of the boards?

It's the later of the two, of course. Reason being you get more even, strong pressure against a greater length of the contacting surface.

Putting longer brake pads with multiple pistons along a rotors surface gives you greater, more even, more controllable clamping pressure the full length of the contact surface.

But then again it's much like anything else: if it didn't do any good, it would never have been engineered that way to begin with.

It is extremely difficult to make anything truly better than it's original when it comes to mechanics because of the strenuous regulations put on auto makers and motorcycle makers, boats, etc. that they have to meet.

They engineer the hell out of this stuff. It's rare indeed that anybody comes along and makes something better given the same constraints. Typically, it involves going completely back to the drawing board and starting over only to wind up pretty much right back where you started.

Over time as new technologies come along improvements are made. But that is simply time passing by the creations of the past.

With it all though, nobody to this day 36 years later has really come up with a better way to do the Gen 1 Vmax. That speaks volumes to its design. It really was made damn near as perfect as it could be.

 

[Zeus36]

Surface area is the key. Take a look at Eric Buell's motorcycles and the size of the rotors. They are just a tad smaller in diameter than the rim, with the calipers mounted inside of the rotor rather than above the outer diameter. This mounting allows for extra larger rotors.

 

[Screwloose]

Surface area is the key. Take a look at Eric Buell's motorcycles and the size of the rotors. They are just a tad smaller in diameter than the rim, with the calipers mounted inside of the rotor rather than above the outer diameter. This mounting allows for extra larger rotors.

I've never noticed that before. HOME | Buell Motorcycle

Trying to capture as much surface area per rotation of wheel, and looks like multi-pots also.! Possibly trying to allow more cooling into the pads with less obstructions. Nice.

 

[desert_max]

I think Screwloose (not the OP) Hit the nail on the head. Has to do with leverage. Leverage exerted more pad area over greater disc surface area gets the job done. Greater disc diameter, greater pad surface area, better braking.

I experienced this first hand several months ago when I converted my early Vmax with single pot calipers and smaller discs to the later GEN1 discs and Hayabusa calipers. Added steel lines, and to use the am old cliché… night and day difference.

Since I kept the factory master cylinder, one can assume that the force exerted across multiple cylinders/pistons really hasn’t changed. Or at least not much. The difference then, had to be the surface area.

Right?

 

[Parminio]

I think Screwloose (not the OP)

 

[Screwloose]

I think Screwloose (not the OP) Hit the nail on the head. Has to do with leverage. Leverage exerted more pad area over greater disc surface area gets the job done. Greater disc diameter, greater pad surface area, better braking.

I experienced this first hand several months ago when I converted my early Vmax with single pot calipers and smaller discs to the later GEN1 discs and Hayabusa calipers. Added steel lines, and to use the am old cliché… night and day difference.

Since I kept the factory master cylinder, one can assume that the force exerted across multiple cylinders/pistons really hasn’t changed. Or at least not much. The difference then, had to be the surface area.

Right?

That's what my many mad thoughts have led me to. I don't get out much mate.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Is Dreamv4 someone we once knew here? That's happened before. Remember that song-"I ain't got "Nobody"..............."
John H has Facebook, but who knows? He's sometimes use a different location and IP address.

I thought about John H to it would not surprise me a bit !

 

[02GF74]

Sometimes you don't know whether you should believe what you read or not.

My post above, written by a mechanical engineer, states for even wear the smaller piston is at the front.... and I find it perfectly plausible.

Take a look at R1 blue spot and it clear the larger diameter piston is at the front.
(and it's the same for Vmax 4 pot callipers)

Go figure.........

 

[DreamV4]

That's what my many mad thoughts have led me to. I don't get out much mate.

You look kind of pale on your avatar, maybe you need to go to a doctor for check up...

 

[Screwloose]

You look kind of pale on your avatar, maybe you need to go to a doctor for check up...

Strangely enough I’m heading there tomorrow as I have a very dry throat. I’m hoping it’s not serious.

 

[DreamV4]

Strangely enough I’m heading there tomorrow as I have a very dry throat. I’m hoping it’s not serious.

Eat onion,garlic today. There were several times last year I was getting dry cough, onion and garlic fixed it every time.

 

[Screwloose]

Eat onion,garlic today. There were several times last year I was getting dry cough, onion and garlic fixed it every time.

i’m allergic to garlic. no kidding. Have been for 30 years.

 

[Fire-medic]

i’m allergic to garlic. no kidding. Have been for 30 years.

And wolfsbane, the full moon, sunlight, and silver bullets...

 

[Screwloose]

Sometimes you don't know whether you should believe what you read or not.

My post above, written by a mechanical engineer, states for even wear the smaller piston is at the front.... and I find it perfectly plausible.

Take a look at R1 blue spot and it clear the larger diameter piston is at the front.
(and it's the same for Vmax 4 pot callipers)

Go figure.........

Very observant. Not sure myself.

There was talk a few years ago (cant remember the source) that the composite on pads would be varied to accommodate the flexing of the pads under heat and pressure. I.e copper composite pads flexes more than steel impregnated composite pads. But obviously copper absorbs and dissipates heat better than steel, and would wear quicker. Don't know where it all ended up at. Just very maybe that would be a thought for the larger piston at the front, but guessing.

About 4 years ago I was lucky enough to be in a brake design shop in Tamworth, and new designs are all done on finite element analysis software such as ANSYS.

 

[Screwloose]

And wolfsbane, the full moon, sunlight, and silver bullets...

View attachment 78426

I don't think I would make a fearsome werewolf. No teeth left.

 

[Screwloose]

And wolfsbane, the full moon, sunlight, and silver bullets...

View attachment 78427

Very witty (as usual) F_M. I have to say top marks for combined and intermingled double input.

I just noticed this quote ‘ A Scottish mutant, Wolfsbane possesses the ability to transform into a wolf or into a transitional state somewhere between human and wolf that is similar to a werewolf. ’

 

[Screwloose]

And wolfsbane, the full moon, sunlight, and silver bullets...

View attachment 78427

No….its a triple intermingled input.

 

[DreamV4]

And wolfsbane, the full moon, sunlight, and silver bullets...

View attachment 78427

The guy is from England, they don't know what sun is, it is always raining there...

 

[Screwloose]

The guy is from England, they don't know what sun is, it is always raining there...

Erm, Scotland, but all part of the jolly old UK. Yes it rains practically all the time here, dark, dingy, freezing, F_M photo must have been our best day of the year, but the people are unique. When i lived in south Houston the sunlight was getting to me, same with Phoenix so there could be something in that. people made many comments when i would be walking about in the bad weather in the US.

Do you know what this Wolfsbane stuff is about; X-men. The writer of X-men comes from Glasgow also, just right where I live, infact very very close. F_M is a researcher and i’m wondering to what extent his research goes. Some of the content he produces it would just not surprise me if this was a triple dipple x 10 intermingled input he done on this one.

It was a nice piece of input mate, very clever.

 

[Fire-medic]

Thankew, my bud with-whom I attend Daytona Bike Week each year we aren't cursed by a tiny life-form assiduously decimating our existence, is of Scottish heritage, in-fact in the video of the new Sportster S tour of Scotland the new H-D CEO takes with one of the Davidsons (Willie G's son), they mention my friend's ancestor clan name, one of his family tree. He's been to the ould sod, himself, they're from The Highlands. In their achievement is a claymore (in their clan insignia and that of the Chief is a powerful sword).