cobra upgrade

[stevo7706]

Any thoughts on upgrading the stock front braking performance? What about aftermarket(JB) arms? The cobra a arms seem to be adequate but stopping power is weak. I'm thinking about new shocks and am looking for advise on what setup(shocks,a arms,brakes) others recomend.My son loves his cobra 80,but i can tell it needs some improvement as he gets faster.thanks for your response

[jay-r]

Do you have the older style front brakes with the plastic brake lines? They are not good. The newer style with the braided lines are different and much better, but it is a quite expensive upgrade. We run JB arms with 400ex brakes. The setup is heavier than stock and has more brake drag. But, on an 80, that shouldn't be a problem. Also, I believe that Roberts Racing is building arms for the Cobra that uses 400ex/450r spindles and brakes. I think you can get the Roberts arms in stock width if you wanted.

[stevo7706]

I have the newer braided lines/brakes. His prior bike was a DRR which could lock up the front tires,but his cobra doesn't seem as powerful. I haven't really investigated since it's basically new. Is the weight issue with aftermarket arms/brakes noticable?

[jay-r]

We have 2 Cobras. One has a stock front end with the newer style brakes. The brakes work well and will lock the front tires. You may need to bleed yours. We just got the stock Cobra and haven't had much time to compare the two. The JB front end does tend to cause the front end to drop in the air. However, my daughter has been riding with the JB arms since she was 6. She has done pretty well with it even with the 50 motor. The +2 arms give you more wheel travel also. The stock front end will turn quicker. I think the JB is better on big, fast, rough tracks. I think the stock front is better on tight, short tracks with a lot of jumps. It is a trade off.

[stevo7706]

Thanks Jay for your help.I think this weekend i'm going to take a closer look at the brakes. If i go the +2 route would i need to get a wider axel also?

[jay-r]

Don't need a different axle. Just add some spacers to the stock one to make it wider.

[gistmarrs]

You can also get +2 hubs for your axle to add width.

[jay-r]

I have seen the g force +2 hubs. I assume these are what you are talking about. What hub fits with the cobra axle?

400ex, LTZ, etc?

[chunky0071]

Calipers may not be the problem we up graded our apex to a yfz450 master cylinder and now have way better brake feel and power!
Just a thought!

[gistmarrs]

I have seen the g force +2 hubs. I assume these are what you are talking about. What hub fits with the cobra axle?

Yes, we have the G-Force hubs. For about $90 they are pretty nice. I think most 250cc+ Honda hubs fit. I know the hubs from a trx250ex will fit for sure.

[jay-r]

Good info. Thanks.