Brake pad advice

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Need front brake pads.
pickings are slim or my google-fu is waning.

Caltric set of front pads and rear shoe (though I don't need it yet) is $20.64-cheap. Ad doesn't say what they're made of, that I can see.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2909581286...TZDHB/ZIuc7IciVkpTP9Hl6oCw==|tkp:BFBMyNfTv6Bi

Vesrah Organic front pad set only - $20.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2850737993...RET/lOb3Ilui5XaC0/wvk0Gm4u|tkp:Bk9SR47iiL-gYg

Vintage NOS pads that probably fit - front pad set only - $34.50
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1661589662...27VbnFicsfYuzu8QdftBfZWw==|tkp:Bk9SR47iiL-gYg

I want decent pads, not for racing, just good pads. I ride a lot off road, if that matters.

Can't remember what I bought last time.

What am I missing?

Any help appreciated:

FYI, this bike has only 1 front caliper/rotor and drum rear brake.

Thanks for reading, folks.

 

[Baatfam]

Z1 Enterprises has EBC pads for $34...
https://www.z1enterprises.com/motor...ake-and-brake-parts/brake-pads-and-shoes.html

I trust Z1 more than eBay...

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Thanks, Bob. I kinda think that’s where I bought the last set. Don’t know why my brain didn’t come up with Z1. Will likely order those later this evening. I’ll wait a while if anyone else wants to chime in. Right now I’m gonna go thrash my kids new dirt bike around, see what kinda trouble I can get into.

 

[Nessism]

Ferodo Platinum. None better. They won't tear up your rotors. Please double-check my research, but these seem to be the proper PN...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352508814028

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Thanks for that, Ed. They look right. I don’t know how you linked that part number to my bike. I don’t see it. Give me a clue, maybe I’m just being dumb.

Moot, anyway as I just ordered the set from Z1. Oh, well. If they’re the same as the ones I have on now (and I believe they are) they do not appear to have mistreated my rotor.

 

[rphillips]

It's good everybody seems to like Z1... Possibly Z1's EBC FA51's are better than the ebay EBC FA51's. I hope so, price is more than double.

 

[Nessism]

Thanks for that, Ed. They look right. I don’t know how you linked that part number to my bike. I don’t see it. Give me a clue, maybe I’m just being dumb.

Moot, anyway as I just ordered the set from Z1. Oh, well. If they’re the same as the ones I have on now (and I believe they are) they do not appear to have mistreated my rotor.

Hey Rich,
There are only a few of different brake pad styles for the GS calipers, and pretty sure these are the right ones. I like the Ferodo's on my KZ, so thought you might like these. Can't go wrong with EBC though.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I appreciate that Ed. Will keep it in mind for next time.

 

[bwringer]

My GS850G is currently wearing the red EBC "semi-sintered" pads ("V" suffix, IIRC), and I think these are pretty close to ideal. Rotor wear doesn't seem to be a problem, they work great in the wet, and they're a distinct step up from my usual top choice, the regular EBC black "organic" pads.

The Ferodo Platinums are fantastic in terms of power and feel, but they do greatly accelerate rotor wear if you care about such things. You'll have sparkly bits of brake rotor all over the place. I don't think they're made any more, so any you find will be fairly old.

Vesrah pads are quite good as well. On par for power and feel with the EBC black pads, but they never seemed to last nearly as long.

There are a couple of other major brands on par with EBC, but much harder to find, like SBS, Galfer, etc.



The cheapo Chinese pads peddled under assorted "house" brands (like Caltric, Bikemaster, Emgo, etc.) and many weird made-up brand names are dangerous junk. Avoid under all circumstances.

 

[Grimly]

This thread prompted me to go shopping for more pads, just in case the ones I like get harder to find.
Scored a set of Carbon Lorraine 2694 A3 pads for a reasonable price
https://clbrakepads.co.uk/collections/motorcycle-performance-brake-pads
The current set have lasted well, and nowhere near worn out anyway, with zero disc wear that I've noticed.
Only slight thing with them is they need to be warmed up for optimum performance, but after the first couple of dabs on the brakes, they're ok.

 

[Nessism]

Ferodo Platinum is an organic compound. Ferodo doesn't have much of a presence in the US market, but I think they are popular in Europe, and Platinum is still a current material. My bike hasn't accumulated enough miles to truly understand how they treat the rotors, though.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I guess 13K miles is decent for a set of pads, especially when you only have a single caliper and a drum rear. Sounds about right?

All seals were supple and where they should be so did not bother removing the piston. I rebuilt this caliper 13K ago with new piston, slider pins, and everything else but the 2 halves of the caliper. I did bleed fresh fluid through.

Went for a short ride. Brakes feel great.

 

[Suzukian]

Why build something that doesn't need it? I've had very good luck with EBC brakes. I used to get the stock ones, but the EBC seemed to grab better, maybe they're the same, they certainly weren't worse.

 

[slayer61]

EBC in the bikes AND the car. :encouragement:

 

[JMHJ]

Anything to be said for just ordering the OEM pads if you can get them (Kawasaki)? My feeling is that's probably one of those things where the manufacturer's name doesn't mean too much, and aftermarket stuff is probably better.

I can get them for the ZX-11, but they're $55-56/set (or over $160 to outfit front and rear). Looks like I need them now or very soon (rears not wearing evenly from what I could tell with a mirror, while adjusting the chain today.

 

[LAB3]

I'm running Versah branded pads both front and rear on my bike, 20k miles on them and I bought another set "just in case" to replace them. Probably could have gotten another 10k from my fronts, the rear was close to needing replacement. Can't say I've measured my rotors before and after but judging by the looks I don't have anything to complain about and at $20 for all three calipers I'm quite happy with the results.

 

[bwringer]

Anything to be said for just ordering the OEM pads if you can get them (Kawasaki)? My feeling is that's probably one of those things where the manufacturer's name doesn't mean too much, and aftermarket stuff is probably better.

I can get them for the ZX-11, but they're $55-56/set (or over $160 to outfit front and rear). Looks like I need them now or very soon (rears not wearing evenly from what I could tell with a mirror, while adjusting the chain today.

In many motorcycles, the OEM pads are heavily biased toward longevity, and so aftermarket pads often give you a worthwhile upgrade in braking power and feel, at the expense of some pad life. For example, this is the case on my 2015 Yamaha FJ-09, wearing middle of the road Tokico calipers. The stock pads wear like iron, and EBC HH pads are a fairly universal and worthwhile upgrade if you're not overly concerned about making your brake pads last 50,000 miles.

The same principle applies to the '80s Suzuki GS models, too. Stock pads last nearly forever, and 40 years of aging make them even harder and slippery-er. Installing a good name brand "organic" pad brings significant benefits, even though they don't last as long. (The rotors are too soft to last with modern sintered pads.) And even ordinary brake pad technology has improved quite a bit since the '80s.

I'd guess that this mostly applies to OEM calipers and pads from Tokico and similar midlevel stuff.


That said, sporty or premium models often come with high-end calipers (for example, the Brembos found on many Euro-bikes), and so the OEM pads are far more worthwhile. They came with very good stuff, so aftermarket might not actually be an upgrade.

The ZX-11 was something of a flagship model, so I'd have to check the accumulated wisdom of the ZX-11 forums before automatically assuming aftermarket would be better.

 

[JMHJ]

Just saw this last post (I don't get notifications, if that's possible). I ordered some EBC High Performance Organic ones last night. Less than $60 for front and rear. I definitely don't want to wear out my rotors unnecessarily, so sounds like I got the right thing...?

This has aftermarket front rotors (they look pretty good, actually), but probably a stock rear. I'll inspect those closer when I change the pads.

Tires will be the next planned thing. It's got Pirelli Angel something or other. They seem just fine, so I'll probably go back with those. I'm within just over a couple hundred miles of hitting 80,000 miles; 5,000 miles of that is mine since last December : ). Still real happy with it overall.

 

[hank2]

Another new fan of the EBC semi-sintered pads. I've been running a set for 2 seasons. I'd say they are closer to an organic than a full sintered, but definitely have a little better bite than organics. Pretty predictable feel. They also added some noticable braking to the rear vs. organic.

 

[JMHJ]

Got the front brakes done; well, the pads replaced anyway. Calipers probably need attention since the wear was uneven. Checked the rear pads closer but didn't change them; looked like it could go a little longer even though one pad was worn worse. Fronts were BAD - one pad on each. Real good feel on the test ride (EBC organic), immediate difference, but didn't tax them.

Old pads were Galfer...

Oh, the price for those was closer to $90 for all of them (I said $60). I only ordered one set for the front initially, thinking it would be both sides (lol). The price should've told me it wasn't.