Factory Parts: Beryllium Brake Calipers

Science is very important in motorsports. Just ask factory teams how much they spend on one-off pieces, compounds or materials for testing and racing. Metallurgy is the branch of science and technology that focuses on the properties of metal. Today’s metal is beryllium in the application of brake calipers. Pictured are beryllium Brembo brake brake calipers from Grant Langston’s 04 KTM 250 SX. Beryllium’s characteristics include heat and thermal conductivity, linear thermal expansion and high flexural rigidity. This in a nutshell means that brake calipers made from this material are more resistant to warping when hot and due to beryllium being a good conductor of heat, they cool faster. Keeping brakes cool leads to a consistent bite and less fading. You can buy those little brake master cylinder extensions but your wasting your money due to it being so far away from the heat source; the caliper.

Photo Credit: Motocross Action Magazine