[DIVE_DUCKY]

Ducatisti,

I want to replace the plastic reservoirs for the brake fluid and clutch om my 2003 M1000. I found some billet brake fluid reservoirs from Rizoma. I don't see specific clutch reservoirs, but as far as I can tell on the bike, these are identical, other than the fact that on my bike the clutch reservoir is smaller.

Would it make any difference if I switched the small clutch reservoir for one the same size as the brake fluid reservoir? Would that have any negative side effects?

Anybody have any other options for better looking reservoir replacements?

I am also looking to replace the pressure plate on my clutch. Does the installation involve any serious technical knowledge or does it 'just screw on'? Together with an open clutch cover, this should make a pretty picture, am I right?

I should have never gone to the Monster meeting in Belgium this weekend. A group from the Dutch Ducati club went to check out the bikes and as you can imagine, I now have the mod-urge in a bad way :

DUCky

 

[CRASH!]

I think you should be able to put a larger resevoir on, no prob.

Going the other way though would be a really bad idea

 

[DIVE_DUCKY]

Any ideas on if the reservoirs for brake and clutch are the same? They look identical....

DUCky

 

[S4R996]

The Rizomas are the same size and that size is small, the size of the clutch res. They say it will work for the brake but that makes me nervous so I decided to leave it the way it is and go with custom res. covers instead. As far as the pressure plate and cover, it's a snap, just make sure and torque everything to spec. the spring bolts are light, something like 4 lbs. or something, but check to make sure and have fun moddin'.

 

[Norm]

The size of the resevoir is pretty much arbitraty, I run both the clutch & brake from one small resevoir on my grey monster - no problem.

 

[s4strati]

ditto what norm said. i run the rizomas which are fairly small and was considering splicing the lines together to run just one reservoir but figured it would be "overkill".

the master cylinders only need a reserve of fluid equal to the volume they displace on a full lever-throw. so when you pull the lever, there's still enough of volume of fluid to keep air from getting into the line from above.

the reason the brake unit is larger than the clutch one is because the clutch's system is constant. in other words, the actuator rod that the clutch slave pushes to lift off your pressure plate is always the same. the brakes vary in that as your brakepads wear out, the caliper pistons steadily travel outward to continue to apply the pads' remaining friction material against the rotors. as they continue to travel outward, the fluid in the reservoir slowly drains into the lines to occupy the space in the calipers that the pistons originally occupied. this volume of fluid isn't all that great and if you take the proactive action of peaking into the rez every month or two, you should be fine running a small reservoir for the brakes.

i remember balking when i saw some of the detail pics of that mondo "cafe racer" jesse james built for honda in cycleworld a couple months back. his "reservoirs" consisted of a short length of tubing that was capped with a rubber stopper. not what i'd personally be comfortable with, but no reason it wouldn't work.

 

[Speeddog]

I run one of the clutch reservoirs on my front brake, works just fine.

Like Strati said, you just have to monitor the fluid level a little more often than you would with the huge stock reservoir. Really not a big deal with it in plain sight like it is.

 

[MrDigitaL]

I put multistrata ones on my S4.
I think it cleans up the front of the bike alot.

 

[Norm]

On race bikes, I run the rear brake without a resevoir, but with the hose/bolt setup. Works fine.

 

[infoage1]

If you are going to run a smaller reservoir on the brake side (I do), I think the most important thing is to remember to change your fluid that much more frequently. Regular brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it can absorb moisture (water). The more moisture it absorbs, the lower the boiling point. As your fluid boils, the vapor created is compressible. This is not good. The result will cause your brakes to feel increasingly spongy, or even not work at all...at a time when you need them most.

The OEM brake reservoir is 45cc; the OEM clutch reservoir is 15cc. So, I would change fluid three times as often. Water can also cause expensive corrosion problems. I change my fluid every two or three months.

 

[Tigre]

Rizoma makes two sizes of reservoirs -- one with a "window" and a smaller one without.

I obtained one of each size from stuart at spareshack and mounted the larger one on the brake side and the smaller on the clutch side. The "larger" one for the brake fluid is still smaller than stock, but with the window you have a way of seeing how much fluid is inside. The smaller one doesnt' allow you to do this, but for the reasons discussed above, this is less important.

I would probably recommend getting the larger one on both sides just for the "window".

Tigre