Rear Blaster Brakes, 88-02 YAMAHA design flaw?? - Tech Tips

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Blaster rear brakes usually stop working b/c they need adjustment and lube and alot of blaster owners wont/cant do it themselves.
The biggest problem with rear blaster brakes is the parking brake cable that rarely moves. I guess yamaha thought a parking brake was a suitable kickstand replacement on an atv.
It siezes up soon after it leaves the showroom floor. The cable also stretches alot more than yamaha gives adjustment for.
In another post I will give a "how to" on removing the parking brake cable and using it for a new brake cable.
Its cheap and only takes a few hrs . My rear brakes work as good as hydraulic, downside is the cable stretches and needs adjust.

[Honda300ex]

Vitos and motion pro make Parking brake eliminator kits.. Dennis kirk has the Motion pro and the Vitos one can be found here..
http://www.vitosperformance.net/Catalogs/WEB%20CATALOG%20BLASTER.html

i havnt used any of them yet but id say ill buy the vitos.. ive heard the motion pro stretch's easly too..

[YAMAHA_Jim]

I'm not gonna post until i get a dig camera to get pics of what I'm doing :)EX- those are good but this way is free.

[Honda300ex]

ok, so you take the parking brake cable and make it the brake cable? I had to cut the end of my brake cable to get it out of the pos calipeir. I wouldnt mind knowing how.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

the right way to get the cable out is to take the caliper apart(3 allen bolts).Take the cover off and you will see where the cable connects. Have to remove the inner workings of the caliper to get the cable off. Then slide it out forwards toward the brake pedal. Putting the caliper back together might be tricky the first time.I've done it maybe 10 times and sometimes it still requires 4 letter words to get it back together.

[Honda300ex]

Well my cable was frozen solid and it wouldnt slide out. :D Most things are a pain to get back together. Like the stupid design flaw in the kick starter.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

I started doing the brake cable switch, but I accidently dropped the insides of the caliper and broke the piece off where the cable mounts too. :(
Heres some pics and info.
I will get pics of the finished product on my race blaster.I did the brake mod on this one about 2 yrs ago and I only had to work on them once when i needed new pads.
.....anyone got a rear caliper for sale? =]

Any questions,,,ask away.
I will try to have the other pics up tonite or tomorrow.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

now to finish the text in the pics.

...and back the screw out to release the pad from the disc.

....mount arm moves to the redline due to pad wear and cable stretch.Thats when its time to readjust them yourself.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Heres a few pics of my other blaster with the parking brake cable installed as a brake cable.
In the first pic,,,"Inside the green circle" I grinded a notch in the backside of cable holder. w/o this,its impossible to get the cable end barrel in. If you grind the front side,the cable holder will most likely break when you hit the brakes hard or the cable will pull right out.
2nd pic,,, I drilled a hole(same size as cable) through a 3/8 or 7/16 bolt.I ran the bolt through the existing hole in the brake pedal, then ran the cable through the hole in the bolt. I used 2 washers to sandwich/pinch the cable,then a lock washer and nut.Take the slack out of the cable trailprotrailpro you tighten it but dont pull too hard.If you pull too hard on the cable,it will start to engage the brakes. after the cable is tight you can adjust it with the slack adjuster on the caliper and fine tune it with the brake pad adjustor.To test the brakes you have to put the caliper cover back on or the brakes will push out instead of the pad going in. The cable housing in the pic was also cut from the parking brake.The frayed cable end is usually wrapped in electrical tae but I took it off for the pic. it might take a few times trailprotrailpro everything is adjusted right but its better than no rear brakes and definately cheaper than hydraulic. I've been using this setup for about 2 yrs w/o problems.I can hit them enough to slow me down or jam the brakes on and lock up the rear wheels at any speed.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

The parking brake cable is covered with a gray coating,,,WHY,who knows. I shaved it off w/ a razor so the cable slides easier in the housing.

[Dirtcrasher]

Great tip Jim!! Thanks.

I find just taking it apart and cleaning it and greasing it helps very much. The cable set up really doesn't help it much either.

Although lots of people think the brakes are useless and believe you have to change over to hydraulic I find they work just fine after you pay a little attention to them.

[Icarus]

Good info here, thanks. I have an issue with these rear brakes I havn't figured out yet. A few weeks ago I bought a MotionPro cable which eliminates the parking brake portion (trailprotrailpro I found this thread). Anyway, it hooked up rather easily and the cable portion seems to be working pretty well. The problem I am having tho is everytime I step on the brake it will not release unless I loosen the bolts holding the caliper together. I took the caliper apart and cleaned it up real good and couldnt see anything wrong or what might be sticking. Any ideas ? I havnt alot of exp w/ these blaster brakes as Im used to the hydraulics on my 200X, but I really need to have decent brakes on this as it is my daughters and I want her to be able to stop when she needs to LOL.

Thanks again for the tip and any help ya may be able to provide.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Not sure if you mean the 2 bolts that hold the caliper to the axle carrier,,or the 3 bolts that hold the cover on the caliper.Unless I have the caliper infront of me,I cant help much.Its problably something simple,,,readjustemnt.

[BlasterKid10545]

Yah...my blaster brakes sucked...so i went out and bought the Trenga Hydrolic Brake Kit...and now im having trouble with that...:confused:

[paka]

Yamaha Jim ,
This is a great idea , but I can find he pictures :mad: Im a dad of 3 and cant afford the Hydo brakes so would love to learn this procedure. Am I blind to the pics???? Would greatly appreciate the help :) ;)

[TrikerR]

this post is over year old so the pics have "disapeared".

[YAMAHA_Jim]

I think after a month or 2 the pics get deleteed from the posts on the message brd.I think I still have the pics.I will try to find them and repost them tonight or tomorrow.1 year later and both my blasters rear brakes still work like new.I can lock up the rear wheels at any speed.I think I adjusted each blaster once or twice.The pads have very little wear on them.

[paka]

I cant wait , thanks Yamaha Jim!!!!

[YAMAHA_Jim]

I had a few more pics but I havent found them yet.Hope these can help you.I think I'm the 1st person to do this mod that I know of.

Heres a few pics of my other blaster with the parking brake cable installed as a brake cable.
In the first pic,,,"Inside the green circle" I grinded a notch in the backside of cable holder. w/o this,its impossible to get the cable end barrel in. If you grind the front side,the cable holder will most likely break when you hit the brakes hard or the cable will pull right out.
2nd pic,,, I drilled a hole(same size as cable) through a 3/8 or 7/16 bolt.I ran the bolt through the existing hole in the brake pedal, then ran the cable through the hole in the bolt. I used 2 washers to sandwich/pinch the cable,then a lock washer and nut.Take the slack out of the cable trailprotrailpro you tighten it but dont pull too hard.If you pull too hard on the cable,it will start to engage the brakes. after the cable is tight you can adjust it with the slack adjuster on the caliper and fine tune it with the brake pad adjustor.To test the brakes you have to put the caliper cover back on or the brakes will push out instead of the pad going in. The cable housing in the pic was also cut from the parking brake.The frayed cable end is usually wrapped in electrical tae but I took it off for the pic. it might take a few times trailprotrailpro everything is adjusted right but its better than no rear brakes and definately cheaper than hydraulic. I've been using this setup for about 2 yrs w/o problems.I can hit them enough to slow me down or jam the brakes on and lock up the rear wheels at any speed.

[paka]

Yamaha Jim , U R The Man !!!!!!
It all looks understandable , but what is the notch on the rear cable holder for?? You dont know how much I appreciate it. Owe you a Mai Tai.

[YAMAHA_Jim]

Glad to help you.The cable slides through the notch when you attach the cable to the cable holder.If you can attach the cable without grinding the notch out,Than you are the MAN! The cable holder doesnt bend without snapping off. While you have the rear brakes apart,make sure the piston slides in and out.They usually sieze up when the brakes quit working.A good cleaning and some grease(not on the pads) should fix them up.
Goodluck.