18 months ago, I didn’t hesitate to publish some negative comments about the original 360 Brake company. A fabulous concept endorsed by the industry but with a few potential flaws, enough to make many enthusiasts postpone their decision to install it. During the last year I followed the efforts of the new 360 Brake entity completely redesigning their system to make it reliable in all circumstances on most riding bikes. The results: 2 new hub mounted self contain brakes in 5 & 6” with increased stopping and venting capacity. 360 Brake has also extended the list of wheel manufacturers who will install the system for you on your custom wheels if such is your wish. So, today I am happy to welcome the new 360 Brake Company as sponsor of my blog. For more information visit 360 Brake or call 317.875.0360.
360 Brake New Sponsor Of Cyril Huze Blog
Published by December 5th, 2008 in Brakes, Builders, Customs and Editorial.17 Responses to “360 Brake New Sponsor Of Cyril Huze Blog”
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I would like to see a heads up test of the 360 product versus the Beringer
RE:
“… 360 product versus the Beringer …”
So how big are either of these….?
Outside the obvious cooling issues, could either of them be put inside a drum & backing plate to produce a better front brake in a classic application.
A better “stock appearing” front brake on the EL couldn’t hurt.
-nicker-
Does either the 360, or the Beringer have DOT certification?
“Nicker”
Their website says the 360 brake itself is about 2 5/8″ thick, which is too thick to fit in a factory backing plate setup (I checked it against an old HydraGlide front drum and an old Sportster rear drum setup I had laying around the shop) but the diameter is small enough that a dummy cover could be made to mimmick the classic look… but that may create venting/cooling issues.
Sorry for the type-o… that is 2 5/8″
Well, same damn type-o again… how about 2 and 5/8 inches thick.
Thanks Dave B., I understood the first time lol
Nicker, I am certain that the Beringer unit could be purpose built to whatever application you feel that there is a market for. My thoughts were not for the restoration group, although , that could be significant. I looked more at the bikes being built in the style of rather than OEM. I can see an advantage to having better than adequate brakes for this style of bike.
Thanks for the info. Dave.
Riding an older EL among late model scooters with disks brakes could be a “challenge” in the case of an emergency stop.
Although the foot clutch take care of one problem, arthritis in the hands don’t give ya much leverage over a shoe brake.
A totally disguised unit is probably out of the question, if for no other reason than the venting mods necessary.
Mike, i agree that the Beringer unit appears to have more possibilities for modification.
Just hate to hang a disk on the front of an otherwise vintage EL…. 🙁
Thanks for the help.
-nicker-
Dave B:
DOT does not actually certify or approve motor vehicles or parts, specifically not aftermarket brakes. They only write minimum performance standards for complete vehicles to be sold as OEM. Manufacturers of OEM vehicles are responsible to certify that their vehicle passes these minimum standards under a baseline set of conditions. Manufacturers can “self certify” that they pass the minimum requirements but most use independent testing labs to do that testing.
The test procedure for motorcycles is the FMVSS122 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard). From our experience when people bring up DOT testing what they really want to know is, will my bike stop me if I use these brakes or am I safe riding around on these things?
Our company is extremely concerned with safety. We are riders ourselves and have wives and children that want us to come home each night we are out riding. Our mission when we re-designed this brake system was not only to have a great looking product but a great working product as well. We work with the industries leading brake engineers, and do state of the art testing at a certified laboratory called Greening Testing Labs, which has been an expert in brake testing for over 38 years.
Our brake system has been put through the FMVSS122 on a High technology instrumented Dynamometer and passed. This test is more rigorous than anything an actual rider could ever put their bike through. It undergoes over 24 hours of non-stop braking events at speeds up to 115 mph. Many in the industry believe this is actually a harder test than the rider version of this same test because of a rider’s bias doing whatever is necessary to stop the bike.
We continue to put our brakes through multiple tests of the FMVSS122, under different conditions, as part of our ongoing R&D and are actively experimenting with different materials to continue to make this product the best it can be. We believe based on all our data and tests that if an OEM bike manufacturer wanted to utilize this brake system as stock equipment they would be able to obtain their DOT certification.
We are committed to manufacturing only the best and safest products for the motorcycle industry. I hope this has helped answer people’s questions as they relate to DOT
Dale Needleman
360 Brake Company
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Dave B:
The thickness of the Brake is 2.625 inches and the diameter is either 5″ or 6″, there are 2 models. The thickness replaces hubs that are attached to a billet wheel. For this reason, stock cast / forged wheels 1 pc will not work without significant modification. We now offer some spoke wheel applications for the360 Brake. For all of the above reasons, the 360 Brake is most adaptable to mid and wide glide front ends( 6″ or wider at the flat in the leg) , as well as most swingarm or tailpiece configurations, and for use with custom billet or spoke wheels.
As far as a head to head test, we have never seen the Beringer Prototype brake before this article. As well it does not appear to be built for the same applications as our 360 Brake. I would not anticipate any reason to test compare these 2 products.
Mote than ever, during these economic troubled times, all bikers should support any brand doing R&D to offer more performant products. Support 360 Brake for their efforts.
Dale,
There is no reason in the world to test your aftermarket braking system against any other aftermarket braking system other than to see which system will stop a bike in what distance or to anticipate what point, brake fade might become an issue of stopping the bike in time to avoid a crash.
Some of the readers/riders on this forum actually practice their panic stops as part of keeping fresh on riding skills and abilities.
Other readers on this forum are builders or customers of these builders and their interests may include liabilities incurred or assumed in using either aftermarket product.
AnARchY MoCo has installed the new 6″ 360 brake and it is a substantially better product than the one offered by the old Baldwin-Wilson Co. We have not had a chance to road test this product yet, due to current weather conditions in OH, but believe it will be give adequate stopping power for the intended purpose. We love the idea of this product and stand behind the New 360 Brake Co as we believe they have put the proper R&D into making an great product. Now, the brake will obviously never stop like a pair of 6 piston calipers on 13″ rotors, but that’s not what it is designed to do. People must keep in mind the intended application is to make your bike look better, not perform like a canyon carver. We have had lots of time on the old 360, and the stopping may not have been great, but it did work. AnARchY MoCo is about to engage in the testing to have this product TUV approved. We will share the testing results with Cyril as soon as they become available. And if you are looking for something to show off those high dollar wheels this product can’t be beat. It is awesome!!
Dale,
My interest concerning DOT or NHTSA or whomever’s approval of the 360 Brake is this… as a custom builder I want to be sure that putting one of these things on a bike won’t get me sued if bike’s owner ends up under a semi truck.
I’ve been following the 360 brake’s development since Baldwin Wilson because I like the concept and have no problem modifying wheels, or making spacers-tophat bushings-crush sleeves, and the like in my shop, so I would like to try one out sometime… I just have to cover my ass by researching a new product before I put it on a customers bike.
By the way, your site and videos look good, were very informative and easy to understand. I wasn’t dogging your product by inquiring whether it was DOT approved, I just wanted to know before I bought one of them.
Dave B. Thanks for the comments, I did not think you were dogging us, I was trying to be exact, because a lot of people throw things around like DOT, but do not actualy understand the facts.
Here is what you want to know. The testing protocol is described in the FMVSS 122 test protocol.(federal motor vehicle safety standard test 122) This is the protocol written for DOT Standard. Our brakes have gone through these tests both on test tracks and on a Dyno at a certified brake testing laboratory. We use Greening in Detroit. our brakes have passed those tests indicating that they meet or exceed specific parameters. That info combined with results from hundreds of brakes in use, we feel that the brake will pass the DOT testing of a complete bike, when that test occurs. Multiple builders are considering the 360 brake as an OEM Component, and we are confident that the brake will not be a problem during testing. The brake is also heading towards TUV testing in Europe.
Please keep in mind that our brake is not a competition brake, and is not intended for all applications. Anarchy MoCo above does a nice job of summerizing what the brake is good for.
I have 360’s on the front and rear of my softail, and my wife and I put a lot of miles on it. There is more than enough brake for normal use.
As far as getting sued goes, unfortunately 360 or any other manufacturer of parts regardless of testing or approvals, cannot stop someone from suing you, even if they were riding recklessly or exceeding the specifed product limitations.
Dale,
With the retro style being in vogue these days, I wonder if you have considered approaching the guys at Wheels for Choppers about fitting the 360 Brake onto the classic Invader Wheel? They are a great looking wheel (at least in my opinion) and have a hub that is narrow enough to accomodate the 360 brake. Of course they would have to design a hub to accept the 360 Brake, but I don’t think that would be a problem, because they will make custom hubs to fit just about any bike. Maybe an opportunity for both companies???
I know I would certainly be interested.