The CX500 brake setup is nothing to call home about—in my opinion, it desperately needed an overhaul. The stock system simply doesn’t inspire confidence, especially by modern standards, so upgrading it became a priority.
The overhaul consists of multiple steps and includes:
- Changing to a bigger brake caliper
- Changing to a bigger brake disc
- Running sintered brake pads
- Installing a new master cylinder
- Installing steel braided brake hoses
In this post, I will summarize all images, notes, and other content regarding the CX500 brake overhaul, giving a clear overview of what was done and why these upgrades make such a noticeable difference. Enjoy!
This is how the big brakes looked when I bought them:
Dirty and rusty, not usable before a rebuild.
A good diference in size, the old ones are 240mm and the bigger one is 275mm
The difference in caliper size is also notable, going from a single piston to a double piston setup. 30/32mm
The discs cleaned up really well. Coated them with high temp engine enamel, this will provide a durable finish.
The disc also got sanded to make the braking surface ready for the pads. I stored the discs for multiple weeks to continue working on the next step which is: Calipers.
As seen on the content above the caliper is fully stripped of its parts and paint. Don’t let the bare finish fool you this caliper is going to look like new.
Preparing for paint is the next step, ofcourse all of the brake seal grooves will also get cleaned. But before we get to all of that we must also adress the hardware for the caliper.
Pistons cleaned up really well, and all the hardware has a nice coat of black oxide on it.
We will have to see if the coating holds up over a significant timespan.
Spray painting the calipers was a succes, unfortunately a little dust got in the coat whilst wet but still better then the original state it was in.
I sanded down the Honda lettering to make the text pop. I belive the OEM spec has this also.
The caliper has been fully rebuilt.Everything has been done according to Honda’s specifications and the proper greases have been applied.
Sintered pads give a nice contrast to the caliper, ofcourse when riding the color will fade due to brake dust.
I can proudly say that 2 steps of the brake overhaul have been completed successfully.
Stay posted, I will update here when the next steps have been taken.