You remember that when it was launched the revolutionary 360 Brake was unanimously acclaimed by the motorcycle industry and got the original inventor, the Baldwin Wilson Development Corporation, quite a few professional awards. Then, some controversy started when the company had difficulties to assume its success by filling orders on time, then when it was discovered that in some very extreme conditions, the 360-Brake could overheat because of insufficient venting. The new 360 Brake company, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, was formed in October of 2007 after purchasing the assets and intellectual property from Baldwin Wilson Development Corporation. At that time I talked to Dale Needleman, the new President, and he told me that he was starting a new engineering and R&D campaign, to create a more functional, better performing brake. 360 Brake selected the new engineering team, with specific braking expertise, forming a cohesive team with one goal: to redesign the original 360 Brake to be a competitive product for the custom motorcycle market. The 360 Brake engineering team developed a testing protocol based on the FM VSS 122 DOT test. They tested the new brake for 4 days on a closed course in controlled conditions. Readings and tolerances were documented and repeated to validate 
the data. After completing these tests, the new team expressed their utmost confidence in the product. “We really wanted to get quantified data on the stopping power and the heat dissipation of the brake,” Needleman said. “After employing our new designs and completing the rigorous testing protocol, the 360 Brake performed extremely well, surpassing the testing protocol in some instances by well over 100%!”. I remind readers that this unique braking system is completely contained in a five-inch hub mounted around the axle; it looks like there‘s no brake at all. The circular piston and pads are activated by hydraulic pressure delivering 360° of braking pressure to the rotor in a compact hub. In its new design, the new rotor, which is grooved and vented, together with the brake hat’s newly designed venting system, effectively eliminates dust build-up providing superior airflow to the brake. Dealers will be able to see the new brake at the Cincinnati V-Twin Expo, 3rd floor, booth 4225. 360 Brake
Dale Needleman Launches A New And Improved 360 Brake
Published by January 13th, 2008 in Brakes, Customs, Editorial and Wheels.12 Responses to “Dale Needleman Launches A New And Improved 360 Brake”
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Nice to hear they re-worked this brake. Safety is always the main issue. It would have been a shame that a great idea disappear because of lack of reaearch and development.
I wish them success, this is a fantastic concept and I would love to use this on my customs.
With our Gatorz Eyewear build which uses clear wheel (yep, those wheels that look like bullet proof bankers glass) we were seriously wanting to use this brake….but when the stuff hit the fan a few months back we held off…now it’s good to hear that they are back. We hope to be able to use it but still need to know about their availability and reliability…..we’ll be looking for you guys at Cincinnatti….
Cj and Guilty Gang at http://www.guiltycustoms.com
Hey
That sounds good
But I have 360 brakes front and Rear for my customer…BUT it was not good work for stopping power..too heavy overheat and make my customer be dangerous…PLS change it up new
PLS talk to my friend Spencer at this
TITAN MOTORS KOREA
Indian Jimmy
Ok wait a minute…. Isn’t this the same guy that was running the old company? How come on previous posts Mr. Needleman said BWDC had no issues with the brakes and now he is saying they have completely redone them? Seems to me someone should be doing a recall on all of the brakes that got sold under the old company. Seems like now they change the company name and no more responsibility to the customers who may get killed from the old brakes. Why the sudden jumping of ship? How do you run a company that has no problems than run a new company and suddenly revamp everything? If nothing was wrong in the first place other than “Media Hype” why the new company and why redo what wasn’t broke in the first place? Will this be followed by DOT testing and will the origonals be recalled?
I’m hoping they will help those of us who bought the original setups with some type of retrofit/exchange. I used 3 on my chop and when the poo hit the fan I went back to traditional setups.
Food for thought, but not to be construed as a defense for less than optimal braking…
There are those who elect to not run front brakes, seems to me this offers less stopping power than the 360.
Then there are those who chose them old skool Chopper Stoppers (fangled version of a bicycle coaster brake). No one can tell me that they’re any better than a 360.
Bottom line is that while the 360 may have it’s faults, it most likely superior than either of the above examples. To paraphrase Mr. Eastwood “A man’s got to know his brakes limitations”
so ANT, your saying the 360 is better than no brake at all? hope your not on a commission basis. LOL
since 360 is bringing this product back to an unhappy market i’d have to assume their testing is thorough. unit looks wider than previous so looks like new spacing for anyone waiting on a replacement.
I’m not knocking 360 and I’m not taking a position either way (exceptin “69” and you gotta have a nice pair of boobs)
But you summed up what I wuz tryin to say….if you have realistic expectations (instead of assuming you have the stopping power of dual 8 piston floating ceramic brakes with reverse engineered alien technology) then you should be otay.
On their worst day, the 360 has got to be better than pulling a Freddy Flintstone. Just don’t plan on grabbing any change from the dime you stopped on.
After the Vtwin Expo I contacted the new company. I had 3 on a chop but went back to discs when the poo-poo hit the fan. Having about $3K invested in their brakes, I would have thought they would be more stand up about helping those of us who bought the original run, but this is not the case. Well actually they are. The original run of 360 brakes is not their fault. But I would think they would be interested in keeping their distance from the original deal. I can exchange my old 360s for the e new improved deal about $500/unit. This would be a total of $4.5K I have invested in 360 brakes. Sorry folks. You got me the first time. Maybe again someday when hit the power ball. In the meantime, those HAWG Haltyers look pretty good.
any feedback on this redesigned brake? finally got 2 sets replaced after waiting 10 months! wondering if its insane to pull the HHI set-up i had to purchase in the interim.
In reference to SUL question on the new 360 brakes, I am a dealer for them in Florida. I have had the old brakes and now the new brakes on an Art In Motion Bagger. I had no problems with the old brakes and now I have installed the new brakes and have no problem. I also have all of the spacers available to do the installation on Harleys and can provide the parts for a custom if I get dimensions of the application. Installing these brakes give you the best looks and the performance is great too. They should be installed by a certified installer such as myself. I can install them at my shop on your wheels if you could give me the bike or ship everything to me and I will ship it back completed and ready to install on the bike. Thanks, Tom 407 847-0119