Aftermarket brakes

Well I have not found a thread that has fully answered my question. Is there an aftermarket front brake setup that works really well? I'm looking to get by under 200$ my old brake caliber was locked up solid.

 

Why not rebuild the existing? The factory brakes are perfectly adequate when functioning 100%. You should be able to pop the caliper with a grease gun and if not, there are plenty of rebuildable ones for cheap $$.

 

^^ what he said.

My caliper just needed some polishing and a new seal (bought a MC rebuild kit from XJ4Ever) and it now works like a charm. Also replaced the brake lines from original rubber to braided stainless steel.

 

There is nothing bolt-on in your price range (and I doubt that there is anything bolt-on available at all anyway). There are plenty of options if you have the ability to make adapter brackets yourself (my first thought is to use YZF600 brakes), but if you have to farm that work out I'd estimate that you should plan on spending $100 - $150 just to have brackets made.

The best route is to free up the caliper (already mentioned), or buy another to rebuild. Both of those options will run you under $100 if the caliper piston is in useable condition (most are).

 

Yes you have---you haven't found a thread about an aftermarket front brake setup that works really well for your 650 maxim because there isn't one.

 

Rebuilding the calipers is not difficult. I used compressed air to get the pistons out, but the grease gun method also works. If you use compressed air the piston will pop out with some force so I used a piece of inner tube to block off one side of the caliper, bolted them together, stuffed some more inner tube inside the caliper to cushion the piston and then applied the compressed air and they came out easily.

 

Dude I just started this exact same project. I'm in college and am on a tight budget so I feel you. I was also working with limited tools, no grease gun, no air compressor. Here is what I did: I took the entire front brake system off of the bike after draining the brake fluid: Master cylinder, brake lines, and caliper. My caliper piston was stuck part way out. To get it out I filed a lot of the gunk away that was keeping it out. Now get this, to push the piston out I took off the brake pads, I hooked one of the brake lines up from the master cylinder to the caliper and filled it up with brake fluid and pumped the brake forever until it popped out. It took a long time but it came out eventually. Be careful where you do this if you do because when the piston comes out so will a bunch of brake fluid. Here is the video I found on this method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHvIA_--BAs
Now I'm in the process of replacing everything on the front brakes. I got a caliper rebuild kit, master cylinder rebuild kit, stainless steel brake line, crush washers, pads, and banjo bolts for $145 on bikebandit.com. The two kits were for specific for my bike ( 1982 xj550rj) and I got one long line instead of two short ones and I bypassed the joint in the fork. I haven't put it all back together yet but if you're interested I will post pictures step by step of the process.

Here was my setup:

 

theres a thread on using a grease gun to pop the piston out quicker than pumping the mc

another thread
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/easy-brake-caliper-piston-removal-contraptioneering-1.35191/

 

I'm a college student, no access to grease gun or air compressor

 

Or use a grease gun

 

the grease gun will go right on the bleader screw and then pump it.

grease guns are a cheap tool to buy or borrow.
you could probaly go to local garage and get the mechanic to do it for you for a small fee.

 

If the master cylinder was able to pop the piston free, then the piston wasn't really all that stuck.

 

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