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Brakko Combined Wheel Brake System

By Paul Crowe

Brakko Combined Wheel Brake System
Brakko Combined Wheel Brake System

Here’s another idea in front brakes, the Brakko combined wheel brake system. It centers the brake disc inside the front wheel, applying the braking force on the wheel centerline and putting the force very close to the wheel rim instead of transmitting the force through the hub and spokes outward to the rim and tire.

According to the company, it could be used for cruiser, touring, sport bike or race bike applications. Besides the technical differences, the look of the enclosed disc, makes the system somewhat unique.

Multiple configurations are possible using more than one caliper and caliper positions. The fork bottoms are removed with the front wheel, it looks like brake fluid runs to the calipers through the hub.

Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of new brake setups, perimeter discs, stealth perimeter discs, 4 disc brakes, the 360 hub brake, even brakes with reverse rotating rotors, yet somehow, the same brakes we’ve seen for so long keep doing the job. You get the feeling the system we have is working pretty well. Sooner or later, someone will jump ahead but up until this time, it hasn’t happened and it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Is this combined wheel brake system an advance or just different?

Check out the video below and judge for yourself.

Thanks for the tip, AJ!

Link: Brakko

Photo and video below:

Brakko Combined Wheel Brake Discs mounted in the wheel
Brakko Combined Wheel Brake Discs mounted in the wheel

Posted on November 30, 2009 Filed Under: Motorcycle Technology


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Comments

  1. Phoebe says

    November 30, 2009 at 9:59 am

    That is so cool! It would look awesome on a neo-cafe racer =)

  2. Tin Man 2 says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:02 am

    The Video would be more usefull without the Music, Who are they marketing this to Companys or TeenAgers? The perimeter brake has always seemed like a good idea to me, but this system adds alot of seals and parts for the central location whose benifit is debatable. Seems over complex for the job.

  3. Al says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:22 am

    So you have to disconnect the brake line to change a tire? Oh yeah, we’d all love more opportunities to bleed the brakes. And I’ve been waiting for someone to complicate brake pad replacement. Sign me up.

  4. Al says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:24 am

    Oh yeah, and cast wheels with twice as many spokes? Gimme some of that increased rotational mass and unsprung weight.

  5. Schneegz says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:32 am

    That looks like a real pain to service.

  6. BoilerUp! says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:57 am

    I agree with Tin Man, this seems like answer to question no one was asking. I can’t wait to see it put into service, it will be interesting to see if the benefits translate into faster lap times.

  7. juanitotheclumsy says

    November 30, 2009 at 11:06 am

    Looks like single-piece wheels are out of the question, too, unless you want all of your spokes on only one side of the rim, creating an unbalanced wheel (because the brake disc is in the center).

    Modern brakes will already flip you over the bars, so it seems to me what would be better is lighter, longer-lasting components, not a complete reconfiguration.

  8. David/cigarrz says

    November 30, 2009 at 11:09 am

    I’m sure Brembo is shaking in their boots over Brakko. The more simple, elegant and effective the system you are trying to replace is the greater the challenge, this effort falls far short.

  9. Rick says

    November 30, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    It is obviously engineered for the looks. Any other selling point especially with regard to “benefits” of the relocated components’ modification to the braking forces is only so much handwaving. I can see it on $40,000 supertoy bikes that are factory- or dealer-serviced only but this is not made for those who touch their own brake pads!

    @Tin Ear 2, De gustibus non disputandum, use your mute button. Why not complain that the production is not in English while you’re at it?

    @juanitotheclumsy, not disagreeing, but note that the wheel can still be made to balance. There are plenty of bikes with single front rotors on one side. You know, you may have something there, a single-sided wheel (cast, not wire-spoke!) could help their percieved maintenance issues.. Run to the patent office, and then get a 3-d video rendered.

  10. dresden says

    November 30, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    Yeah, my first thought was “How the hell am I going to change my pads?”. Neat, but pointless IMO.

  11. Chris says

    November 30, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    The video shows how to change the pads, and honestly, it doesn’t look terribly difficult.

  12. Ola says

    November 30, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    My main concern with this concept is, except more complicated maintenance, is the fact that the wheels are radially spoked. I thought that idea had been put in the trash a long, long time ago?

  13. Kenny says

    November 30, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    Umm seems to me like the Brakko boys have taken Eric Buell’s perimeter brake idea to its next logical step.
    Not sure if I buy the aerodynamic aspect but as someone mentioned modern brakes are already strong enough to throw people over the handlebars.
    If Brakko can keep the overall weight down around that of the competition and the braking force high, brake fade low they very well could have brembo shaking in their boots.
    Not sure how having two sets of bearings will affect performance (At least thats how I assume they’re running those wheels).
    Not sure if the brake pad changes will be quite so easy as they made out and unless they have specialised machinery for mounting the wheels changing the tires by hand would be a real pain. Other than that the only problem I can see is the brakes overheating. Especially with that multiple pad arrangement.

  14. lostinoz says

    November 30, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    they make it seem like the removal of the wheel assembly would have some sort of antileak system like you would find on hydraulic hoses that you would find on a farm implement.
    it also seems to support multiple configurations for caliper placement and position.

    Practical? probably not, a nice way to spend a few thousand dollars to set your custom bike apart from the rest? DEFINITELY!

  15. kim says

    November 30, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    Reminds me of the enclosed disc brakes Honda used on some of their models back in the 80s – the typical Honda way of making complex solutions for problems that don’t exist.

  16. Dorzok says

    November 30, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    too bad Buell didn’t come up with this for HIS ZTL braking system. Maybe, just maybe they’d still be in business. 😉
    seriously though, the only benefit i see in this is there would be no lateral load between the caliper and rotor under full lean and the caliper could be placed at the bottom of the rim for lower center of gravity and better roll chacteristics. if they could keep the weight down it would probably out perform modern radialy mounted calipers.

  17. Bob in FL says

    November 30, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    Doesn’t seem practical when you consider you have to transmit all the braking torque back through a small axle and into the ends of the front fork.

  18. FREEMAN says

    November 30, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    Neat design, but I like the perimeter system more. Very strong, lightweight, and easy to work on.

    Have they manufactured a prototype for this yet?

  19. christopher says

    November 30, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    hmmm. . . with a bit more refinement and minor simplification, i could MAYBE see this being something. right now, i don’t see it being much outside of the high end custom world. that said, it’s an interesting direction that deserves being pursued.

  20. Paulinator says

    December 1, 2009 at 9:18 am

    A sport bike with Dayton hubs…OK?

    I am concerned about the rim keeping enough rigidity without the lacing. They might want to install and inflate tires on built-up rims only. This design has some challanges (as others pointed out), but if they could realize any benenfits then they win our respect. Even if the unit falls short they have a product that falls into the hubless wheel / 300 tire catagory – people will mount it on thier rides just for “the look”.

  21. WillyP says

    December 1, 2009 at 2:12 pm

    An interesting look, for a show only bike… that about it. The reasons against this have all been covered but one, that is the torsional forces acting on the axle as it withstands the force of the caliper in braking. For this design to work, first the axle must be locked into the bottoms of the forks, then the caliper locked to the axle. The typical clamps at the axle are fine in a trditional design because there is little torsional force on the axle. I think you would need a much larger axle so it could be cross-drilled for pins, at each fork and the caliper. That plus the long reach of the caliper bracket would add up to a high un-sprung weight.

  22. Thure says

    December 1, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    Just wondering if this system could be combined with “SPINNERS”.

  23. Al says

    December 1, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    Yeah, WillyP, they’ve taken the braking load of the spokes and transfered it all to the axle.

  24. joe says

    December 2, 2009 at 4:16 am

    Be a pain in the arse to keep cleen and shiny and removing the spokes to change a worn or warped disc. The possitive side is, there won’t be any fork twisting under braking.

  25. Cliff says

    December 2, 2009 at 8:58 am

    Before you say this setup is better than the Buell ZTL, consider this: the Brakko design is more complex but doesn’t achieve anything more than the ZTL system. Additionally, the Brakko pads are hidden behind the wheel itself, out of direct airflow. How is that going to affect pad cooling? Looks to me like a case of over-engineering just because they could. Note to Brakko: K.I.S.S.

  26. netjustin says

    December 4, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    Interesting idea, but definitely not simple. Don’t like the thought of bleeding the brakes for every new set of tires, unless they can incorporate high pressure, pneumatic style quick connects with a *really* good check valve. Still looks like a tall order for mass production and not to be mistaken for the next generation of motorcycle brakes.

  27. netjustin says

    December 5, 2009 at 3:14 am

    Actually, if these good folks can design a wheel that uses spokes on only one left or right side of the rotor, they could then route their hydraulics direct to the caliper. No axle routing required and no need to bleed for a tire change.

    /eating own words

  28. B*A*M*F says

    December 5, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    This doesn’t appear to be a meaningful improvement on perimeter brakes. I’m not sure that one couldn’t inset a perimeter rotor and place all the spokes to one side while running a perimeter caliper.

  29. Lee says

    December 6, 2009 at 9:32 am

    Considering the supposed benefits of this design, why not take the idea to its logical conclusion and use the wheel rim itself as the braking surface? This has been done for many years on bicycles, where such braking systems are light, simple and powerful.

  30. dave says

    December 7, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    Check out glenndynedesign.com We saw these guys in Vegas at bike fest. With production sets of Internal brake wheels. They have sizes 18″ to 26″ for 5-6k a set complete with brakes, discs, sprokets, any wheel finish thats about 15 percent more than standard billet wheels. Thoght you guys might like to see what U.S boys are doing.

  31. netjustin says

    December 8, 2009 at 12:50 am

    @dave,

    Looks like very trick stuff, indeed. Thoughtful in design but again it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the caged brake rotor. A modern Ducati uses a rear wheel that sort of “wraps” the cast/forged spokes around the rim’s horizontal center, allowing hydraulics to stay routed directly to the caliper, without the need to pass through the wheel axle. It’s been done, and apparently quite well even in top competition (e.g. WSBK) with a close second on the 2009 title, and not to mention a decided victory in the manufacturer’s championship. Their package works, and it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to bring this idea four feet forward to the front wheel.

  32. Purple9lemur says

    March 2, 2010 at 12:17 am

    It seems to me that is people are so keen on weight reduction that they should be looking into carbon fibre-reinforced silicon carbide discs. I think that there could be great potential there. I don’t like the idea of the fancy hub. Think of what would happen if one of those seals failed. I’ve been brewing up an idea of my own lately and might link up some drawings later.

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