changing my xj1100 brakes to a more standard setup

[CatatonicBug]

Why not just REMOVE the proportioning valve? It just screws into the banjo bolt hole.

[psycoreefer]

If you swap out the XJ master cylinders, front or back, you will need to put jumper wires across the fluid sensor wires on the bike side connectons, else your LCD instrument pannel will show a light indicating a problem.

The XJ MCs are equipped with fluid level sensors that the XS units do not have. The sensors run into the LCD display computer, and it will show a warning if either the front or rear MC is low on fluid. I think you can by-pass the sensors by jumping the 2 ends on the bike side of the wiring harnes. This will fool the computer into thinking the fluid levels are OK.

I've never seen one of these sensor equipped masters but if the sensor is part of the reservoir would it be possible to swap the sensor equipped reservoir onto the xs style master cylinder, then you could keep your idiot lights and have the unlinked brakes.

[CatatonicBug]

I've never seen one of these sensor equipped masters but if the sensor is part of the reservoir would it be possible to swap the sensor equipped reservoir onto the xs style master cylinder, then you could keep your idiot lights and have the unlinked brakes.

No, the reservoir is not removable on the XJ. It's all one solid piece of metal.

[shutchis]

Proportional Valve "Gutted"

I converted my XJ braking system to the standard XS design; where the hand brake operates the left and right front calipers and the foot pedal operates the rear caliper. I had to “gut” the proportional valve, located on rear master cylinder, to make this work.

Procedure: I removed the XJ Rear Master Cylinder, disconnected the brake lines, and disassembled the proportional valve. It was easy. I un-screwed the threaded hex-head cap, located on the bottom of the proportional valve, using a 12” adjustable (Crescent) wrench and some locking pliers (Vise Grips). I then removed the spring and a 2” copper tube using some needle nose pliers. Note: Be careful unscrewing the threaded cap; the spring, pushing up on the bottom of the cap has enough pressure to cause a small metal “washer”, (covering the top of the spring), to fly off and get lost! I removed a small rubber seal from the underside of the threaded cap, cleaned the proportional valve using compressed air, and re-installed the hex-head cap. I used a metric hex bolt with a crush washer to seal the front port of the proportional valve.

I re-installed the master cylinder (on the XJ11) and re-connected the rear brake line to the rear port of the proportional valve. I bled the rear brake line, master cylinder, and proportional valve using a mini-vac vacuum pump. Note: By removing the guts from the proportional valve, the casing acts as metal “brake line” tube.

The braking force (on the rear end) was acceptable; I was able to skid the rear tire with very firm foot pressure. Avoid skidding and practice your braking skills.

I’ll provide a more detailed description soon with pictures showing the procedure; but for now, here’s my report. I hope this answers some questions.

FYI, I did connect the rear brake line to the front port of the proportional valve, while keeping the proportional valve untouched and un-gutted. The braking force was essentially the same as gutting the proportional valve and using the rear port; so if your brake line is long enough, then you could use the front port connection. My brake line was too short, so I preferred gutting the valve. Stan H.