First, it's been like a million years since I've posted here on the board, but you'll be happy to know that I was an OG Baghira owner back in 2005, and I still am today. Buying my Baggie was one of the best things I've ever done, and I probably wouldn't have loved and enjoyed it one tenth as much as I have without the advice and support of the folks on these boards. I just haven't been riding or modding (or poking around online) as much as I used to, so it's been a while.
Anyway, to the heart of the matter. Many, many Baggie/Mastiff owners (and even Scorp owners, I believe) over the years have had issues with softening brakes due to the deteriorating Grimeca master cylinders. Well, it finally got me. After a change of front pads and bleeding, and then the bike sitting for a couple of weeks, I took her out, headed, down the street to a stop sign, and grabbed a right handful of nothing. One pair of clean shorts and another brake bleeding later (as well as a thorough inspection for leaks - there were none), it appeared that the MC's internal seals could no longer provide enough pressure to operate effectively. So it was time for a master cylinder rebuild.
But of course, rebuild kits for these things are as rare here in the states as porn stars with their original breasts, so it was off to the internet to try and get creative. And you know the rest of the story. Everything's a trade-off between how much you want to change and how much you want to spend.
I decided to look for a used MC on ebay so I could experiment on rebuilding it, when late one night, I came across this listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121711053751
In case that listing is no longer valid, here's a screenshot:
If you think the caption is unhelpful in figuring out this MC's details, here's the entire description: "New Brand Motorcycle master cylinder for MZ-250 and Suzuki. Excellent quality. Not accepted returns. Thank you." Now, I know less than nothing about MZ 250s, so I had no idea if it truly was an appropriate MC for that bike. I'm not even sure which MZ 250 it's supposed to fit, though I assume that it's the ETZ. However, I couldn't help but notice that it looked IDENTICAL to the Baggie rig - lever and all.
Of course, only a moron would order a non-returnable part from ebay just because it looks like the right part. But that price, tho. Nineteen bucks and free shipping. It kind of would be worth it to just take a flyer. I've spent more on dumber things. So I decided to take a shot.
My surprise was more than pleasant. Short of sawing them both in half and measuring the internal dimensions, I would swear that this is a 100% exact match for the stock Baggie master cylinder. There was, of course, one small structural difference:
I guess the ETZ250 mounts its mirrors elsewhere. But lookie here, the stock Baggie mirror mount bolts right up.
And of course, this one is black, instead of the custom faded grey of my MC and mirror mounts (Stop judging me. I had to park my bike on a covered porch for a couple of years. In the antiques game, they call that "patina."). Small price to pay, as far as I'm concerned.
The other issue was that the stock banjo bolt does not fit the new master cylinder. But that was easy enough to solve with this:
http://amazon.com/gp/product/B0022ZKZ8I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bolted on the MC, hooked it up, traded out the lever, which is also identical, for my old one (because I cut it down for handguards), bleed, bleed, bleed, sew it up.
Short term testing shows that the front brake is now as stiff and effective as the day I rode the Baggie out of the showroom. A little too effective for someone who's been riding with the deteriroratinng MC for a few years, if you know what I mean. Of course, it's still the stock set-up. I'm sure you can get way better performance out of a new Brembo master cylinder with a custom fabricated bracket to fit a four pot caliper. But for me, who was just fine with the front brake as built, this solution was a godsend.
So if your Baggie's front brakes are getting a little soft (hey, don't be embarrassed, it happens to lots of guys), and you don't mind the stock set-up, this is your solution. While supplies last, anyway. As far as I can tell, the only downside is that I don't get to scream "nothing's ever easy with this bike!" anymore.
Not bad for less than $30!
