best aftermarket brake pads for stock GS 1150 brakes

[Guest]

My GS 1150 brakes need an upgrade. The pads are not worn out and are the original Suzuki pads (bike has 11,700 miles on it). I hope there are aftermarket alternatives now that provide more bite using the original brake calipers. Any suggestions for alternative replacement pads??

[bwringer]

Any of the major brands will work fine. EBC pads work well and are available everywhere. Galfer, Vesrah, Ferodo, SBS, etc. are also good. Just changing the pads will make a big difference -- 30 year old stock pads are pretty bad.

Avoid the cheapie Chinese no-name pads from fleaBay (Volar, Pyramid, and a million other doofy names), or the "house brand" pads (Bikemaster, Tusk) you'll find many places.

There are some sintered pads available that work GREAT, but they're rough on vintage rotors. I have at least three sets of rotors stored up, so I currently have a set of Ferodo Platinum pads on my GS850G. I don't even know whether these are still available, but holy crap they work well. They are visibly wearing the rotors, though.

Also, I hope it goes without saying that, if you haven't done so already, upgrade to stainless brake lines and very probably rebuild your calipers and master cylinders with fresh OEM Suzuki seals and pistons.

Good fork springs also dramatically improve braking performance and control -- I'm quite partial to Sonic straight-rate springs. http://www.sonicsprings.com

[jstewart]

Ordered EBC sintered HH pads front & rear today. I am finishing a restoration project on my 85 GS 1150 which included new braided SS brake lines, rebuild kits from Suzuki for the calipers & master cylinders, rebuilt forks including new Progressive springs, a Hagon M63087 shock and new tires. A lot of other stuff as well that I have posted about on other sections of this forum. Thanks for your advice concerning replacement pads.

[Grimly]

There's a slew of NOS good name brand pads on the 'bay and other places, as many older motorcycle shops closed and their inventory was snapped up by ebay resellers. Last year I picked up a lifetime supply of decent GS pads for pennies on the Euro, compared to what they would have cost over the counter.
Stock up while you can.