Brake pad break in

[ll2]

My stock honda front brake pads are finished 100 percent today. yes, 100 percent!

Bike is at 10,500 km. I had spirited rides, hard city rides with lots of hard stops and three track days with them so i say they hold up well IMO. it was 5000 kms for honda cbr500r's one disc setup!

Actually, front pads started to show a lot of weakness during the last track day and a couple of times, lever nearly touched the throttle! So, did not push the bike hard. also honda bigwing does not have any spare brake pads at the track day which i found it very odd too.

i was at Honda Bigwing BKK 1500 km ago to check a couple of things and guys did not tell me there that time. complained a lot to chief mechanic and might get free rotors from bigwing although they are totally fine now.

I had to ride back from pattaya with those 99 percent finished pads and commute this week but all done with rear brake - yes, it can be done, i just remember my poor times when i was an university student, i had no funds to buy pads at times - and very very minimal front brake as dont want to damage the rotors - in reality, the front rotors are not super smooth now for a while started before this incident but i believe that is normal with stock sintered pads.

In fact, wanted to get EBC brake pads but they arrive late to Thailand and i have no chance to wait. thanks yankee99 his assistance on that, i will get a replacement set from them.

So, today finally have time and getting Ferodo Racing Italy front brake pads from Bigwheel as they have one that can fit my bike - a cbr500r one actually buy it fits as same calipers - and a set is only 1100 THB! including labor which is much more better than stock honda pads- they were around 2300 thb/set something if i dont remember wrong!

http://www.ferodoracing.com/products/motorcycle/brake-pads-and-shoes/sintergrip-road-st/

http://www.ferodoracing.com/products/motorcycle/brake-pads-and-shoes/

and their history. they started by producing brakes for horse carriages in 1879! http://www.ferodoracing.com/company/history/

These are HH rated sintered pads and it promises great modulation, feel and stopping power.

So, i would like to ask, what is the procedure for breaking the brake pads in? I know, if one dont be careful with break in, pads might be glazed and become less effective. but some say, you need to be slow on them at the beginning and some say no worries, just push them hard from the beginning.

and anything specific with HH pads?

what is your experience on this? what do you recommend?

thanks in advance.

[RubberSideDown]

Here's the procedure from EBC- I think the 300mile distance on the street is extreme, but you can modify it as you see fit:

http://ebcbrakes.com/articles/bedding-in-new-motorcycle-pads-and-rotors/

[BKKBike09]

"In fact, wanted to get EBC brake pads but they arrive late to Thailand"

​Where were you going to order them from? I ask because I wanted to order some EBC HH front pads. I had some questions though about cost / delivery time etc so I filled in the online contact form on the 'EBC Thailand' website (as per details on their FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/EBC-Brakes-Thailand/338649192904028 ) but never got a response. In the end I ordered online from US. Each set of pads was only US$ 32 although the shipping adds another US$ 50+, and I'm figuring on another THB 1,500 tax unless the package can sneak through ...

[ll2]

not from EBC Thai website.

a good friend of mine from this forum yankee99 helped me out.

it is www.demon-tweeks.co.uk and they quoted a great price!

[coobah666]

Pinch the wifes nail file and give the pads a quick rough up, install, and go hard

[metisdead]

A post offering nothing of value to the topic has been removed as well as a reply. I hereby suggest that somebody studies this forum rule:

7) You will respect fellow members and post in a civil manner. No personal attacks, hateful or insulting towards other members, (flaming) Stalking of members on either the forum or via PM will not be allowed.

[mania]

I bought my EBC HH Sintered pads from the distributor here in Thailand

Western English speaker & was easy to work with & quick delivery

Name is Gavin Charlesworth

Here is his email

[email protected]

As for break in you can speed it up a lot by getting them heated/up to temp

Hard stops/ slight dragging etc. & they bed in quicker

At least that is what I did

Edited September 1, 2014 by mania

[ll2]

yep, did the same mania. sudden stops ten times from 100 km to 40 km after some kms. also after ten hard stops, you have to cool the brake by riding for a while without using them much.

these ferodo hh sintered pads are great too! great modulation and feeling plus a lot more stopping power. happy with them.

[BKKBike09]

I bought my EBC HH Sintered pads from the distributor here in Thailand

Western English speaker & was easy to work with & quick delivery

Name is Gavin Charlesworth

Here is his email

[email protected]

As for break in you can speed it up a lot by getting them heated/up to temp

Hard stops/ slight dragging etc. & they bed in quicker

At least that is what I did

Thanks. Will file away for future reference as I've already ordered now from the US.

[ATF]

I've used the Ferrodo Sintered pads got them fitted by Pirelli at the last but one trackday and they are great. Much better than stock but like any new pads a little spongy to start with. Just go easy on them for the first few klicks and then just use as normal.

[BSJ]

Today with premium pads there's not a lot to do. Just don't overheat them in the first 100km or so. I've been told that Kevlar pads are indestructable.

I buy out of the UK instead of the USA these days. If the item is the same you will save a heap as Royal Mail is cheaper than USPS.

[rambling]

Is there no downside for these tougher pads in terms of the disc life?

When I was considering EBC for my car that was something I had to pay attention to.

[BKKBike09]

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I buy out of the UK instead of the USA these days. If the item is the same you will save a heap as Royal Mail is cheaper than USPS.

Coincidentally got an email last night from the US supplier (solomotoparts - US$ 120 all in for two sets of pads + shipping) asking me to prove that the credit card I used is in my possession … by taking a photo of it and sending back to them. Or alternatively paying by PayPal rather than card. Seems a bit silly really and the email was unsigned and had no contact numbers provided so it prompted me to look online for other suppliers. I found a UK-based supplier (wemoto) and, as you say, it works out cheaper. US$ 30 in this case (which should basically cover the import taxes). So have now ordered from them.

Is there no downside for these tougher pads in terms of the disc life?

When I was considering EBC for my car that was something I had to pay attention to.

I've no idea regarding disc life. Even if it is reduced, that's fine by me if the trade-off is improved front bite and stopping power. The standard FZ09 front brakes aren't bad (apparently they're off the mid 2000 series R6); it's just that, being a light and powerful bike, it's very easy to go very fast, very quickly, and a couple of times I've found myself thinking it would be good if the front brake was a bit more positive.

[ll2]

Is there no downside for these tougher pads in terms of the disc life?

When I was considering EBC for my car that was something I had to pay attention to.

sintered brake pads eat the discs but not very significantly. lets say, the life of discs will be lower with sintered pads and higher with organic pads but not a drastic difference.

not sure if you will keep your bike a 100,000 km though to see the difference:)

[mania]

Is there no downside for these tougher pads in terms of the disc life?

When I was considering EBC for my car that was something I had to pay attention to.

sintered brake pads eat the discs but not very significantly. lets say, the life of discs will be lower with sintered pads and higher with organic pads but not a drastic difference.

not sure if you will keep your bike a 100,000 km though to see the difference:)

I am not so sure about the concern of a HH sintered pad wearing a rotor quicker than organic.

I think folks assume a sintered pad stops better so is somehow eating the rotor.

But the truth is in a "Good" Sintered pad like EBC HH they use pure sintered copper alloy

Cheaper HH brands used sintered Iron ( do not know if they have all switched to what EBC uses now or not)

so of course there may be some difference between brands & rotor life

But if you buy a good brand I do not think you will see any more wear than normal brake pads & who knows since

a good sintered pad handles heat better you may even see better life.

Also to note Sintered HH pads benefit is mainly heat performance & longer life

A good Organic pad from someone like EBC is fine for sport & street use too.

Many folks also prefer an organic pad on rear brake as many times the brake is very strong already & a HH

pad might cause more lock-ups if one has a heavy foot

Anyway...........

Edited September 3, 2014 by mania

[ll2]

Is there no downside for these tougher pads in terms of the disc life?

When I was considering EBC for my car that was something I had to pay attention to.

sintered brake pads eat the discs but not very significantly. lets say, the life of discs will be lower with sintered pads and higher with organic pads but not a drastic difference.

not sure if you will keep your bike a 100,000 km though to see the difference:)

I am not so sure about the concern of a HH sintered pad wearing a rotor quicker than organic.

I think folks assume a sintered pad stops better so is somehow eating the rotor.

But the truth is in a "Good" Sintered pad like EBC HH they use pure sintered copper alloy

Cheaper HH brands used sintered Iron ( do not know if they have all switched to what EBC uses now or not)

so of course there may be some difference between brands & rotor life

But if you buy a good brand I do not think you will see any more wear than normal brake pads & who knows since

a good sintered pad handles heat better you may even see better life.

Also to note Sintered HH pads benefit is mainly heat performance & longer life

A good Organic pad from someone like EBC is fine for sport & street use too.

Many folks also prefer an organic pad on rear brake as many times the brake is very strong already & a HH

pad might cause more lock-ups if one has a heavy foot

Anyway...........

yeah not drastic but if you use sintered pads, your disc life reduces. depends on especially how many pads you change a year. you use more braking with sintered pads, you get less disc life.

chart from ferodo racing website. ST is sintered one that i am using now and the others organic.

Edited September 3, 2014 by ll2

[mania]

yeah not drastic but if you use sintered pads,

your disc life reduces. depends on especially how many pads you change a year.

you use more braking with sintered pads, you get less disc life.

chart from ferodo racing website.

ST is sintered one that i am using now and the others organic.

What does Ferodo use for their sintering?

Iron or copper?

[ll2]

yeah not drastic but if you use sintered pads,

your disc life reduces. depends on especially how many pads you change a year.

you use more braking with sintered pads, you get less disc life.

chart from ferodo racing website.

ST is sintered one that i am using now and the others organic.

What does Ferodo use for their sintering?

Iron or copper?

they use copper mania.

but as you said, these differences are not drastic for real world riding.

but i like the braking power and other advantages of sintered pads anyway and OK to change the discs earlier for those advantages, no problems!

i dot think so i will be keeping my bike that long anyway

[Codesh]

My old man always recommended a light scrub with emery paper of both rotors and new pads - and a short break-in of about 100km where you don't do any heavy or high speed braking. Pad materials have changed, but maybe his advice still holds.

[Gweiloman]

My old man always recommended a light scrub with emery paper of both rotors and new pads - and a short break-in of about 100km where you don't do any heavy or high speed braking. Pad materials have changed, but maybe his advice still holds.

I'm not too sure but won't light braking early on cause the pads to glaze over, resulting in less than optimum performance down the line?