Today we're taking a look at FullThrottle Inc.'s latest handbrake offering for the 03/04 Kawasaki 636, the 2010 Dual Quad, which is sparing no punches and leaving other dual caliper handbrake setups looking like 2003 GPTech adapters.

As with the past dual quad setups, the most obvious element to this setup is the ability to mount two 4 piston calipers. However, with the 2010 model Bill has expanded that to being able to mount 2 radial four piston calipers, and a 2 piston Brembo caliper (which is an excellent upgrade from the stock Kawasaki rear master). Note that I said up to, you absolutely do not have to run all 3 calipers. You can run your calipers in a variety of ways, for example:

  • One 4 piston for the handbrake, 2 piston Brembo for the footbrake (my personal preference).
  • One 4 piston for the handbrake, the other 4 piston for the footbrake.
  • Both 4 piston calipers linked for the handbrake, Brembo for the footbrake.
  • One 4 piston for the handbrake, the other 4 piston for the footbrake, and the 2 piston Brembo for a third brake input such as a fork mounted brake.

I bolded the fact that he uses radial calipers for a very important reason. Due to most modern radial sportbike calipers using the same spacing for their posts, with a simple spacer kit you can run almost any radial sportbike caliper you have laying around. Gone are the days of scowering eBay for old right side Nissin calipers! Use whatever you have in your garage, or find the cheapest thing you can on eBay. My current favorite is the Honda 600RR Tokico caliper - pads are $36 brand new.

Next up, Bill includes with this kit a carrier to allow you to run a 2008-2010 Hayabusa rear rotor. The Hayabusa rear rotor measures out to be 260mm x 5.5mm, which absolutely dwarfs the stock 220mm x 5mm rear rotor. This larger rotor means no more pad trimming, more leverage on the wheel resulting in more power, and most importantly, cooler brakes. I've wanted a big rotor setup for a while now, but I didn't want to spend $300 on a handbrake setup and be pigeon-holed into cheap aftermarket rear rotors, which just can't handle the abuse a stock Nissin rotor can, or the 10 year old ZX-11 rotors that you have to scour eBay for and since they're 10 years old, often aren't in that greatest of condition. The custom carrier design solves these problems, as the Hayabusa rotors are readily available, CHEAP ($10-$30 on eBay) and since they're so new, mostly all in excellent condition.

Bill always strives to make changing your wheel as easy as possible, and well, it doesn't get much easier with this bracket. Even with all 3 calipers mounted, you do not have to unbolt a single caliper to remove your rear wheel. When installing your rear wheel, you put the bracket on the rotor, slide the wheel spacer between the wheel and bracket and slide the whole assembly into the swingarm. The only note here is that if you're using the Brembo caliper, changing pads can be challenging at first. Due to the position of the rear swingarm spool mount, you can't access one of the bolts for the Brembo caliper. I simply grinded it off, but if you don't, you'll have to take out your axle and move your wheel forward a bit to unbolt it when changing pads.

If you are in the market for a new handbrake setup for your 03/04 636, I can not recommend this setup enough. Thanks to the variety of caliper configuration options, use of modern components (Hayabusa rotor and radial calipers) and not to mention, the ease of removal/install, it will be a setup that can grow with your style and demands, allowing you to ride more and spend less time on eBay at 3 AM bidding on antique parts.