[efoltyn]

Hi everyone,
I have questions for you regarding swapping out front brake pads on my V-Strom (they are not shot, just want better feel).

The majority of the threads here suggest the HH sintered pads. However, as an engineer designing a lot of water quality facilities for highways (trying to get rid of copper from brake wear), I am looking at other alternatives. Have any of you tried the organic Kevlar pads? Are they as effective in stopping and not fading as the sintered brakes? The descriptions on Happy-Trail website indicate that the green compound may be slightly better for rotor wear.

I commute in Portland , OR city traffic ( a lot of stop and go along with aggressive braking for the idiots of the world) and the rest of my riding is longer distance, loaded camping.

I'll probably shoot Blair at SV Racing a PM to also ask his opinion.

Thanks,

 

[Corkus]

Here is a Link to Murphs.

Good luck.

 

[SittingDuck]

I've used kevlar and carbon pads on my racecar before, and they are great for track days. They don't fade; the liquid boils though.

 

[PTRider]

The brake pads have friction ratings. The first letter is the normal temperature and the second letter is the hot temperature. EBC organics are rated GG; HH pads have higher friction ratings.
EBC Organic Kevlar® Brake Pads Product Index Page | EBC Brakes

If you use the organic pads you give up some grip. Try them and see if they meet your needs. They will probably work fine.

 

[bwringer]

I've noticed that HH pads have poor initial grip in the wet compared to the organics. There's a heart-stopping wheel revolution or two before you get the braking force you wanted.

All brake pads are affected by H2O, but the HH pads a bit more. On the flip side, they are, of course, more effective in the dry.

For most people who aren't doing a track day, I recommend "organic" pads. I'll be switching back when my set of HH pads wears out.

 

[swingset]

I've run both and noticed very little difference, honestly. I wouldn't hesitate to buy either, really.

 

[Azure]

I've finally replaced the original front brake pads on my '09 Wee at about 35,000 miles. Whatever the stock pads were, I now have sintered metallic Galfer pads on there, and if there's any difference in their performance at all, I would say that they feel slightly less effective than the original pads.

Also, I have replaced the organic rear pads with Galfer metallic sintered pads as well, expecting better grab. There's been a problem getting the pads to bed down on the rotor. The left pad seems to touch the rotor at the rear but the media seems angled so that it isn't really touching at the front. As for the right side pad, there is a tiny "lip" on the outer edge of my rotor that seems to be making contact with the top edge of the pad media, preventing the pad from engaging the rotor with the full flat of its face. I'm going to remove the pad and sand that top edge so that they don't make contact there. Hopefully then the pad will contact the rotor flat. I don't know why my old pads didn't have this problem.