Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP Brembo M50 conversion install walkthrough

[DynastySS]

For those of you who have seen some of my pestering questions, you know how I have been interested in making the swap. I really never like the m4.32 calipers - either for aesthetics or performance. The best bang for your buck is an RCS 19 and pad change, but I went a step further.


Brembo M50 calipers
Brembo Z04 pads
Brembo RCS17 master
Spiegler custom brake lines
Ducabike righthand switches
V4Evo titanium safety wire drilled caliper bolts (not installed yet)







Cost:


$525 brand new M50 calipers
$255 rcs17
$175 Z04 pads
$120 custom lines, banjo bolts plus motul rbf600 brake fluid
$260 right hand switches (arguably optional)
$50 titanium caliper bolts with safety wire (optional and still shipping)
-$545 sold stock calipers, master and brake lines
I would say I am $840 into this project, but if you wanted to reuse the stock switches and caliper bolts it would be around ~$500. Hell, if you went with the cheaper Brembo pads you would be closer to $400 flat.


Install:


Not that big of a pain in the ass, truthfully. I am a 4 or 5 out of 10 in mechanic skills at best. I have never done a brake job in my life, always paid to have it done for my track bikes. All you really have to do is take the seat and fairings off (just a few bolts and they pull off easily with velcro). Then you need to disconnect the gas tank, unscrew two bolts and lift it off. From there you need to snip off the zip ties for all the wiring on the airbox, loosen a ring clamp on the front and back of the box and lift it up. I actually never fully took the box off, which made life hard but I was trying to remove as little as possible. From there you have access to the abs box and I used clear tubing to measure the lines (measured about 90 times). Drain the fluid, remove the old line, run the new line, bleed the brakes and voila. Really not that bad, honestly.


A few things to note - I tried to reuse the stock master cylinder bracket and snapped it in half contorting it. I ended up getting 1/8" thick aluminum, cut it down, drilled a few holes through it and bent it with a vise. I will look to make something prettier in the future. It is mounted to the handguard via the top screw. Also, not having a service manual makes everything way harder. That was really the hardest part - I ended up looking at this parts guide frequently to reverse engineer it. https://issuu.com/ducatiomaha/docs/2...MGU5NTIwOTIyNQ


You can totally reuse the stock switches but you have to reorient it to the left side of the master vs the right, and you would have to shave down the little nub that goes into the bar. Financially the wise move, but I like the ducabike look


The abs to front caliper line is 47 inches, and the buddy line from caliper to caliper is 17.5 inches. I think it came out pretty perfect. I 10000000% recommend using a compressor assisted bleeder, because even with that it took a long while to get it right.













Verdict?


Pretty dang awesome. Stops like a monster and totally looks the part. I am very happy with my mod.


Hope this helps anyone else who decides to follow my path.

[kuksul08]

That's nuts. I never felt the stock brakes on my Hyper were bad. In fact I ran crappier pads because they were too strong...

What I DID hate was the 'double pump' where the lever engagement point would change if I pulled the lever twice in succession. It made for a lot of annoyance entering a corner. Did yours have that, and did this fix it?

[Kenny94945]

I love it....excellent.
Congrats.

[DynastySS]

Originally Posted by kuksul08

That's nuts. I never felt the stock brakes on my Hyper were bad. In fact I ran crappier pads because they were too strong...

What I DID hate was the 'double pump' where the lever engagement point would change if I pulled the lever twice in succession. It made for a lot of annoyance entering a corner. Did yours have that, and did this fix it?

Interesting! I totally don't experience that with the RCS. It might be worth a shot for you. If you are on the stock calipers, you would need the RCS19, not the 17 like I have though.

Originally Posted by Kenny94945

I love it....excellent.
Congrats.

Thanks!

[kuksul08]

Originally Posted by DynastySS

Interesting! I totally don't experience that with the RCS. It might be worth a shot for you. If you are on the stock calipers, you would need the RCS19, not the 17 like I have though.


Thanks!

Did you have it with the stock setup?

[DynastySS]

Originally Posted by kuksul08

Did you have it with the stock setup?

Not that I ever noticed, no.

[Demoni]

Originally Posted by kuksul08

What I DID hate was the 'double pump' where the lever engagement point would change if I pulled the lever twice in succession.

That sort of behavior normally indicates you have a small amount of air in your brake system. Any time I have experienced it a flush/bleed will correct it. Just make sure the lever is adjusted all the way out so you are using the full stroke.

For a stubborn brake system, using a zip tie to hold the lever in it's pulled position for a few hours can help.

[Demoni]

Originally Posted by DynastySS

The best bang for your buck is an RCS 19 and pad change, but I went a step further.


Brembo M50 calipers
Brembo Z04 pads
Brembo RCS17 master
Spiegler custom brake lines
Ducabike righthand switches
V4Evo titanium safety wire drilled caliper bolts (not installed yet)

Great parts choice on the upgrade, results look . Z04 pads make a huge difference!

[DynastySS]

Originally Posted by Demoni

Great parts choice on the upgrade, results look . Z04 pads make a huge difference!

Thanks mate!

[kuksul08]

Originally Posted by Demoni

That sort of behavior normally indicates you have a small amount of air in your brake system. Any time I have experienced it a flush/bleed will correct it. Just make sure the lever is adjusted all the way out so you are using the full stroke.

For a stubborn brake system, using a zip tie to hold the lever in it's pulled position for a few hours can help.

I could never solve it. Bled the system, hung the calipers up in the air. All the bikes in the dealership did it (back in 2015).
After a bleed it would be slightly better, then revert back immediately. Never figured it out.

By the way, great pics OP. I will always love the Hyper.