Brake pad advice

[bluehonda]

 
Pretty soon I'm going to need new brake pads for my 99 ST1100 and a mate who had work done to the front of his ST (forks, tyre and new pads) was told by the mechanic that he needed to fit ABS specific pads.
The only reason I can think this would be so is because the brakes might get hotter but the ABS almost never comes into play. I've never had to use the ABS but living in the bush on a gravel road I like having it.
Can somebody tell me why specific pads are required and if the cheaper pads are just as effective as the more expensive pads.

Thanks
Brad

[Biggles]

I got mine here:

http://www.metalgear.com.au/

They also sell on eBay, but I live near their shop in Brissie.

They offer metal or organic pads and they are as good as OEM but half the price.

[saaz]

As far as I know there is no such thing as ABS specific  pads, just pads that work properly. The ABS ST11 from 96 on does use different brake pads to the standard model, but only because the brakes are physically different.

[alans1100]

Pretty soon I'm going to need new brake pads for my 99 ST1100 and a mate who had work done to the front of his ST (forks, tyre and new pads) was told by the mechanic that he needed to fit ABS specific pads.
The only reason I can think this would be so is because the brakes might get hotter but the ABS almost never comes into play. I've never had to use the ABS but living in the bush on a gravel road I like having it.
Can somebody tell me why specific pads are required and if the cheaper pads are just as effective as the more expensive pads.

Thanks
Brad

I think the guy is getting confused between pre-96 1100's which had 2 pot calipers and 96 models onwards which had three pot calipers for the combined brake system. That's for the 1100A models like mine but I wouldn't know about the standard 1100.

The last set I got was OEM from David Silver spares and fitted myself.  A cheap aftermarket set supplied by Honda dealer were on the bike before but after a year or so the rear pads were a little noisey.

[Malcolm6112]

I got three sets of EBC sintered from America for under $100.

EBC have a great reputation.

 

[Aj1300]

Brad, when was the last time you changed your brake fluid? Your brakes will feel spongey if you have changed your fluid. If your pads are getting very low, they will heat up quicker and you can suffer from brake fade.
Cheers 

[bluehonda]

Thanks for the advice AJ, my brakes are working fine.
I realised the pads will need changing shortly after having visually checked them.
How much of a nightmare is it to change the brake fluid on an ABS bike?  Can gravity help at all or is it a lot of squeezing and pushing to move the fluid around?

Brad

[Biggles]

How much of a nightmare is it to change the brake fluid on an ABS bike?  Can gravity help at all or is it a lot of squeezing and pushing to move the fluid around?

It demands a very close following of the manual instructions.  Haven't done it, but I read them, and you'd want to have it nearby!

[Maverick75]

I did the fluid change the week after buying my 01 ABSII. It was pretty straightforward following the procedure in the manual. The only real point to note is when you're bleeding the rear circuit at the front you need to use extra force for what I seem to remember was the L-H caliper to overcome the action of the delay valve. I have the genuine manual on CD too.

I enlisted the help of my missus who is very experienced with the procedure as all of my vehicles (6) get annual changes. She operated the lever/pedal and I bled at the wheels.

The procedure is a dream next to the one on a servo ABS BMW, trust me.

[Malcolm6112]

On the 1300, the fluid has to be removed from the system first.
Then new fluid gets bleed in.

Consult the workshop manual. It explains things clearly.
If you don't have a manual, send Brock a PM.

 

[Brock]

Manuals are available online, in the relevant 1100 or 1300 section. Its a sticky so they are at the top of the page.

[basadia]

I have just trashed a set of rear organic pads on my 02 police bike after only 12 months. I am considering going the sintered option to get longer pad life but have been advised that the sintered pads will wear out my disks much faster and that fitting them was not advisable.
Can I get any feedback on whether I can still use the sintered option?

[Biggles]

There's a good comprehensive analysis here:

http://www.braketech.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71:sintered-versus-organic-pads&catid=17:tech-talk&Itemid=69

A lot of us use the sintered pads. 

[saaz]

The original Honda pads are sintered.  Some of the after market pads are sintered but are more aggressive, so will wear out the rotors earlier.  I used some EBCs and others early on, and replaced my front rotors at 100,000kms.  I put on metalgear rotors and sintered pads, and at 210,000kms rotors still fine. Replaced the pads at 192,000kms.  By comparison, the more aggressive pads wore out in 20,000kms!  But they did provide extra braking power.  So sintered pads can have good life and not destroy the rotors, but don't get the highest performance ones.

http://metalgear.com.au/mgear-brake-pads-sintered-p-5554.html

If the rear pads are wearing that quick, I would check to see that the pads are not dragging a bit.  If the pistons are not cleaned on the outside before being pushed in to fit the pads, they can stick on a bit.

[basadia]

I could only get non sintered pads locally, no one had the sintered ones in stock. I will be ordering a sintered set for my next change.
I tend to use the rear brakes a bit which might be part of the reason my rear pads wore out in just 12 months.

[Biggles]

Of course it's about mileage rather than months.
I got 25,000 kays out of my OEM rears and 31,000 out of the sintered replacement set.

[alans1100]

I can't even remember exactly when I last changed my brake pads.......1st set I had done by the bike dealer who fitted an aftermarket set was at 60,000 kms so maybe at 80 or 90,000 kms when I went back to OEM pads for my current set which were 75% worn at the last tyre change at around 154,000. The wear rate would be lots more if I lived in a city rather than a country town.