Looking for brake pad opinions...

[chef1366]

Where's Boondocks to fuel this fire? ;-)

[49er]

I am controversial? I didn't know that. Oh, pardon me...I'm controversial.

49er, I report on my experience in riding 4 consecutive GS850's and now my GK. 21 years and over 400K miles. My present GK has 123K miles, of which 98K are mine.

I report only on what my vast experience has been after all that time and all those miles.

I frankly don't give a damn what racing teams have found or not found. On our antiquated brakes, I can truthfully report, out of my experience, that brand does not matter! Safety is not an issue here; all of the brands work the same, and I ride rather aggressively, as anyone who knows me can verify.
The issue is value for the money, which is why I own a 23-year-old GK with 123K miles.

The original post calls for input from the board participants as to whether an ROK brand set of pads will work on his GS bike. I told him that ROK works great, and so does every other type I've tried in my 23 years of riding GS bikes, all of which share the same caliper/disc/pad combination.

Yes, I'm controversial, simply because I know what the hell I'm talking about. My strongly held, "controversial" (note the correct spelling) opinion on this matter should carry more weight than most people's, simply because of my long-time, real-life experience with pads.

Being called "controversial" is a compliment, so thank you so much!

Arrogant Grandpa

Good on ya Grandpa. It's healthy to let off a bit of steam now and then!

The incorrect spelling of "controversial" was meant to match the drawl associated with the other incorrectly worded part of the intro "is" instead of "are".
Hey, you missed that?
I do give credit where it's due. You've got Balls.

[Grandpa]

I must admit that I missed the "is", Bill Clinton's favorite word...

I guess I is contraversial after all... :-D

As for Boondocks, I bow to him for his incredible knowledge and understanding of electrics, and his ability to write so descriptively and precisely on such technical matters. I admire the guy.

I totally dislike Boondocks, however; he is a pain in the ass!

Like me...

I would love for him to join this thread, but I haven't seen any posts from him in a while.

[Nessism]

Maybe I'm being gullable but vintagebrake.com has some good things to say about the Ferodo Premium pad material. Kind of expensive, $31 per caliper, but not too bad for us with only one disc up front.

http://www.vintagebrake.com/pads.htm

[Grandpa]

Total waste of money when you can get a set of brand-new pads for less than $20, including shipping, on eBay.

I just looked at my records, and they show me that I bought a set of Ferodo front brake pads for $18, including shipping, on eBay 2 years ago.

In order to get good buys like this, one has to be patient and buy only when the item is not urgently needed.

In my garage sits a spare front wheel with a brand new tire installed; a spare rear wheel with a brand new tire installed; and a complete set of brake pads, front and rear, hanging from the pegboard. All on eBay, and I was the only bidder each time.

It's called, "Planning ahead". Try it!

[chef1366]

I always have backup front and rear pads ready to go. Also purchased from Fleabay.

[hikermikem]

Thank you all for the discussion & tips regarding brakes and such...

As with all things, I can see that there's those who get replacement parts based on the best "engineered" or "performance" aspect of the part, and then there are those who use price and economic value as a guide.

I would say I'm somewhere in the middle, with a noticable lean towards the cheap side!

Since I'm not a super aggressive rider, nor do I put more than 5K per season on my bike, I will most likely go with inexpensive pads like the SOK from e-bay.

Appreciate the feedback,

Mike

[Nessism]

My '79 550 front brake judders when it's applied. The bike has less than 1000 miles from new and the original owner must not have ever used the front brake since the rotor looks like new.

I'm torn on whether or not I should replace the pads or try to burnish them in some more before spending money.

Ebay offers all kinds of old brake pads for this model brake caliper - with the round pad: Tuff Stop, K&N, and a couple of generics are available for about $10 or even less. Using Grandpa's theory, all these are the same. EBC's are a little more but are a known commodity so I'm leaning that way.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LQQK-NEW-SUZUKI-BRAKE-PADS-GS1000-GS750-GS550-GS425-GS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10066QQihZ018QQitemZ280165211028QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUZUKI-GS1000-78-79-750-550-FRONT-BRAKE-PADS-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQihZ002QQitemZ120130578385QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-Brake-Pads-K-N-Suzuki-GS425-GS550-GS750-GT550_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34284QQihZ007QQitemZ170134143203QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

[rockford]

Pads

I've only used Vesrah and EBC but thought they were very similar and not a danger to my rotors. I can't tell the difference in performance but I'm sure people with more experience might. I never try to save money on either pads or tires because both are really important....and don't need replacement all that often, anyway.

[49er]

[quote=Nessism;712282]My '79 550 front brake judders when it's applied. The bike has less than 1000 miles from new and the original owner must not have ever used the front brake since the rotor looks like new.

I'm torn on whether or not I should replace the pads or try to burnish them in some more before spending money.

Do your brakes judder under hard or moderate braking. If light to moderate, your wheel bearings may be shot causing the wheel and rotor to oscillate between the pads. A warped rotor will also causer this to happen. If your rotor surfaces have been re-machined and the rotor wasn't aligned correctly, this will cause it to runout and cause the brakes to judder.
If the judder occurs under hard braking, you may need to service/replace your front shocks.

[Nessism]

Do your brakes judder under hard or moderate braking. If light to moderate, your wheel bearings may be shot causing the wheel and rotor to oscillate between the pads. A warped rotor will also causer this to happen. If your rotor surfaces have been re-machined and the rotor wasn't aligned correctly, this will cause it to runout and cause the brakes to judder.
If the judder occurs under hard braking, you may need to service/replace your front shocks.

This bike has less than 1000 miles since new. The bearings, rotor (looks brand new – previous owner obviously only used the rear brake), and front forks are in as-new condition.

I'm almost certain the problem relates to the fact that the brakes were never bed-in properly when the bike was new and now the pads are 28 years old. These are the round pads that Suzuki stopped using in 1979.

Think I'm going to tear-down the caliper and make sure it’s clean on the inside, and take some sandpaper and scuff-in the pads to remove the surface layer which has been exposed to the air all these years. If the brakes don’t settle down after that, I’ll order some new pads from ebay.

[salty_monk]

Take the sharp edge or corner off them with a file too & put a bit of copper grease or similar on the back.

Dan

[Dink]

Take the sharp edge or corner off them with a file too & put a bit of copper grease or similar on the back.

Dan

I DO NOT recommend putting any grease at all, of any type, anywhere near brake components, for shuddering clean the brakes down thoroughly, rotors pads calipers and all, then apply a very light smear of silastis to the rear of the pad, let it set then re-fit the pads.

Dink

[Nessism]

I DO NOT recommend putting any grease at all, of any type, anywhere near brake components, for shuddering clean the brakes down thoroughly, rotors pads calipers and all, then apply a very light smear of silastis to the rear of the pad, let it set then re-fit the pads.

Dink

Silicone grease is very common to use on brake caliper parts, such as sliding pins and parts where there is relative motion between the parts. PBC grease with lead is also common. You just don't want to use a whole lot since the grease can run when the parts get hot. If I'm not mistaken the manual even calls for grease on these parts.

[BentRod]

Before you spend any money.. (And believe me, I'm cheap too..) you might want to check just where your brakes stand.

if you can get your mits on a micrometer, measure the thickness of your rotor..

If you are well with in tolerance, say.. no more that a 60% wear, then you can probably go with cheaper pads that may contain harsh abrasives. other wise, i would advise.. if you really need to pinch pennies.. going with CHEAP PADS THAT DO NOT HAVE HARSH ABRASIVES.

I have NO idea how a simple question about the make up of a particular pad turned into another argument over safety vs money.. is it worth it.. how much to spend and which brands are the best.. and grandpa finding more rocks to throw at eiger and willing targets.

MY answer is quite simple. that particular pad you asked about, appears to have more abrasives in it than would normally be required. That is all. I really don't know how it performs. may be you can get another pad from the same company, for the same price, with less abrasive.


By the way.. you guys want to know cheap??

MY pads.. are SALVAGED!! I didn't pay a dime. I took pads that were completely soft and moister saturated, and baked them!.. in a house hold stove!..(What a smell that was) and then i conducted hardness tests with a center punch and a welder's hammer. THAT IS CHEAP people. and ya know what.. they work great.. my bike is more than capable of doing endo's.
on that.. i don't recommend this route. I have access to information through my university, that most people dont.

oh, and rockford.. I use Chenshin tires.. cause they are cheap too.
I will let you guys guess what kind of oil i use..
funny enough.. i put in premium or plus gas...