The guide to choosing the right Gale Speed rear master cylinder for your motorcycle.
Because there are so many different bikes and footrests it’s hard to give a recommendation based on only the bike model and year. The best thing is to do some basic measurements. To help you on your way, follow the steps below.
STEP 1: DETERMINE THE BOLT DISTANCE
Most bikes use either a 40mm, 45mm or 49mm bolt distance for mounting the MC. Check which one fits best. For the few bikes which have the holes not inline but with a slight offset there is the 4mm offset type as well.
Step 1: Detemine the mounting hole distance
The bolt size of the Gale Speed rear cylinder is always 6mm. For rearsets that use M8 bolts there are shims included to reduce the hole size to M6.
Step 1b: Collars to reduce M8 rearset holes, to M6 bolts.
STEP 2: DETERMINE THE CONNECTOR TYPE & SIZE
What type of connector is needed to connect your brakes to the footrests? Standard a ball joint is supplied. Some bikes however use a clevis style connector or nut type connector.
Step 2: Choosing the right connector type.
After you have chosen the connector type it's important to consider the connector size. All connector styles come in an M6 and M8 variant. The connector size also corresponds to the size of the rod end of the MC. This means if you need for example a M8 clevis style connector, you will need a rear MC with a M8 rod end. Do you need a M6 ball joint? > You will need a MC with a M6 rod end.
Combine the needed rod end size (M6 / M8) with the mounting distance from STEP 1, and you can already pick the correct rear brake cylinder!
STEP 3: DETERMINE THE NEEDED LENGTH
After you choose the right rear cylinder and connector, its time to determine the needed length. Take your old rear cylinder and measure the distance from the upper mounting hole to the bottom of the rod end. Now the Gale Speed has a distance between the mounting hole and rod end of 102mm. Is this shorter than your OEM rear cylinder? Consider the 18mm rod end extension, which you can get here.
Step 3: Checking the correct length.
STEP 4: FLUID RESERVOIR OR THUMB BRAKE CONNECTOR
If you will be using the rear brake just as a foot brake it's important to consider the right reservoir. You can reuse the OEM reservoir of course. If you are looking for more practicality, consider one of the cnc machined reservoirs. Especially for racers that often have to refresh or drain their brake systems, these specially made reservoirs will make your day better.
They come in three variants:
Using a seperate reservoir is also an option. You can reuse your OEM reservoir, or in case you need it order a Gale Speed reservoir here.
If you plan to use a Gale Speed thumb brake, and really take braking to another level, these rear MC's can be seamlessly paired to a thumb brake. To be able to fit the thumb brake to the rear master you will need this small adapter. This allows you to mount the brake hose from the thumb brake to the rear master.
EXTRA POINTS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION
Gale speed uses banjo bolts with a fine thread pitch of 1.00. In case you need different banjo bolts for this they can be ordered here.
Because every manufacturer uses a different kind of brake light switch for the rear brake it is necessary to address the proper function of the brake light yourself. Most switches are connected to the rearsets and changing the master cylinder won’t have any effect on the working of the brake light. In case your brake light switch does get affected by a new master cylinder there is the possibility to use a banjo bolt with a pressure switch. Take a look here in case you will need one. We however do advise the retain the original switch in case that's possible.
For easier bleeding of the rear master circuit, consider using a banjo bolt with bleeder. While this is not necessary, it does make bleeding easier in some instances.
