Semi-metal pads... any reason not to?

[Guest]

Howdy all. I have organic pads on my 81 GS650GL, and they brake the same way organic pads do on a car - to me, even with a perfectly functioning and maintained system, organic pads feel spongy and ineffective. I've run semi-metal pads on all my cars since I first tried them while living in a mountain area.

They're fantastic, and I want them on my bike. Are there any reasons to avoid them? I know that semi-metal creates greater wear, but will it do anything like make a lockup more likely or will the pads perform poorly when wet/cold? I'm looking at some from Bikebandit.

I have a single front rotor on my bike, if it matters.

Right now, everything about the bike is sort of moot, until I repair the leaking rear final drive oil seal. I lost the seal in a move, and am very disappointed to find out that it was a $40 seal. Oh well!

Happy Rides

[jeff.saunders]

Semi-Metallic pads contain more metal than organic pads.

Vesrah lists their semi-metallic as having more than 50% metallic compound.

This type of pad will wear rotors quicker.

Realistically, the front tire is what is going to determine how quickly you stop - although the more agressive pads will bite quicker and will require a little less effort.

[WilliamGLX81]

Jeff - I think that turbocharged bike is AWESOME! anyway, thanks for the response.

Also Old Skool, do you see a problem with the kevlar pads wearing the rotors? I had been assuming kevlar was just a special organic pad, not semi-metal. I just looked it up, and it looks like kevlar pads might be semi-metal + kevlar. There is contradictory info on them. Can you give me any feedback about them?

[Ranger]

I wouldn't if your rotors are nearing minimum spec requirements for thickness. Semi metallic generate a significant amount of more heat than organic. It is pretty easy to warp rotors with the speeds these bikes can travel.