Brembo RCS 15 on 2020 RC390

Ltyson

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First post here as I recently purchased a 2020 RC390 primarily for fun track use. I know track use and cheap are two words that do not go together, and I have spent more money than I even care to think about on bikes, racing and track days. over 30+ years. So my hope was just to get the RC390, just have fun on it and not put a ton of money into it.

It really really needs suspension, but for me the brakes were really poor off the showroom floor, so first mod was brakes as that is the cheaper of the two. Started with bleeding them with quality fluid. That helped but still not what I was looking for. Then put a set of Vesrah pads in. Better but not perfect. So next is the RCS-15.

I went to install it the other day and ran into several issues and looking for some feedback. I searched but a lot of the info is for eelier model years and I think there may be some differences on the 2020 but not really sure on that. So just wanted to see if anyone had feedback specific to the 2020.

First was the lever is much shorter than stock. On the 2020 the where the throttle housing is, there is some plastic that extends from the housing to the left that keeps the stock brake assy from twisting out of position so to speak. I dremel'ed this extra plastic off of the housing and that allowed me to slide the new brake all the way to the right and get it snug against the throttle assy and that gave me good two finger braking position. But without any fluid in the system yet, I do notice when I pull the lever it runs into the throttle housing. I am hoping that once fluid is in it, the pressure keeps it such that this is not an issue.

Second then came looking at any clearance issues when going to full lock. Indeed at just about full lock the new lever does run into the front fairing. I see in my searches that some have removed some of the windscreen or replaced the windscreen with after market. I would be fine with removing some of the windscreen, but actually with the lever in position, where mine makes contact is right at where the mirror bolt would go. So not able to notch out the windscreen as my point of contact is slightly lower than that. An after market screen would not help either as it is more the fairing stay than it is the windscreen. So I saw there is a steering stop kit available from the vendors. I assume I will need that, but not sure how much it stops the travel, so not 100% sure it will fix my contact issue or not.

Lastly assuming I get the contact issue resolved, the stock brake line does not have enough length to make it to the new master cylinder. Remember on the 2020 I actually removed some of the plastic that extended out from the throttle assy, then slide the brake assy to be flush to the housing. That effectively moved the master cylinder about an inch to the right. So that did not help what was already a short reach on the line. So now it looks like a new set of lines are needed. If I go that route than I will probably end up removing ABS and such and hope to not run into any issues there.

So is there something different with the 2020 that older models do not have issues with? Can anyone confirm my issues with the 2020 are indeed "normal" issues and not me just being dumb and missing something simple, I think the throttle housing is larger and different then previous years due to the ride by wire and such. But see no way to modify the front fairing to fix my clearance issue without looking into the steering stops, and then the whole new brake line issue, but even then, how do I know the proper length that is needed for the new lines.

Hopefully someone has successfully installed the RCS-15 on a 2020 and can help point me in the right direction.

Thanks,
Ltyson
 

ChrisW

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Hi Ltyson, I have fitted a brembo rcs15 corsa corta to mine with clip ons.
I found that I had to install steering stops (I used the ktm power parts stops) and relieve the fairing stay by grinding away a small section to allow clearance for the lever adjuster. I also trimmed the fairing (front mask) under the lever so that I could place the levers at the angle I prefer and not have them interfere.
The hardest part though is sorting out the throttle housing which doesn’t allow the lever to be positioned easily because it is so big. I used a ktm790 throttle and wired it in to the 390 harness. I then fitted push button switches for the kill and start functions. It’s not and easy job but it works well and solves the problem of getting your brembo master cylinder into the correct location.
As for the brake line, I was able to use the original as the attachment point on the corsa corta is at the bottom.11F768B1-0D65-42B2-91B4-39B834DC87D9.jpeg11F768B1-0D65-42B2-91B4-39B834DC87D9.jpeg
 

Ltyson

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Chris, Thank you for the reply. Your explanation of what you ran into and your pics help a ton. Looks like I have some more work in front of me to get this sorted out. Appreciate the info!!

Ltyson
 

ChrisW

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I used the original brake lines. I haven’t removed the abs. Just loosen all of the brake line clamps and pinch as much slack as your u can without pulling them too tight.
 
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