Brake Pad recommendation?

[draggindakota]

Right now I'm running EBC organic pads (FA103) but the squealing is killing me. I've chamfered the edges, coated the heck out of the pads with disk quiet, sanded and polished the guide pins. The squeal always comes back after a few days.

I remember (I think) reading on the purple board that people were running the double sintered EBC's with no squealing. Anybody else using them? The shop I got my pads from said no-go on using sintered pads if the rotor was designed for organics. I've also read that several places on line.

If not sintered pads, has anyone had any luck with other brands?

[Joe A]

I ran EBC sintered pads on my 800, and run them on my LC now. I don't know that they were any more or less prone to squealing.

Here's my method to prevent squealing:

Well before installation (I usually buy several sets at a time to get them ready, and just stockpile them until I need them) I paint the backs of them with the aerosol anti-squeal goop. I give them several coats, letting them dry for several days between.

While I'm changing pads, I clean all the parts that came off in an ultrasonic cleaner with degreaser, and polish the pins with scotch brite or sand paper so there's no binding.

[wally w]

EBC double H. I had a stainless braided brake line and double H pads and needed only two fingers to brake ran that combo for about 6years til I sold the bike.

[WintrSol]

EBC double H. I had a stainless braided brake line and double H pads and needed only two fingers to brake ran that combo for about 6years til I sold the bike.

+1
Also, after cleaning, apply high-temp brake grease to the sliding parts; this also helps reduce squeaks.

[Travlin]

The HH pads have a great following of people that have put 100,000 of miles on them so I tried them last time I went to the mountains to play. I took them off when I came home.

Do they bite hard? Yes they do without fail but I found them to be awfully harsh. I normally run EBC organics and love them due to the deep and predicable bite as you apply more pressure to them. I have a tendency to ride pretty hard at times, ask the guys in the mountains. The organics give me the ability to apply braking in a curve and have a fairly smooth bite from no brakes to lock up and be VERY predicable. In the 4000 miles I put on the HH pads I locked up the rear wheel more often then I think I have combined across the years with the organics. Feathering the front brakes became an exercise of getting a tiny bit of drag on the brake without compressing the forks.

If you are looking for "the most stopping power" the HH pads are just that. If you have lots of weight to haul down, big guy, trailer, 2 up with gear, they will do the job. For me at 170 lbs even adding a passenger at 125 lbs with gear the organics were great for my riding style.

I think maybe one reason for the harshness is that the system on the Intruders is not exactly high tech so you get a very short engagement before you hit the point of lock up on what is a very light bike to start with.

YMMV

[Fred]

EBC double H. I had a stainless braided brake line and double H pads and needed only two fingers to brake ran that combo for about 6years til I sold the bike.

+1
Also, after cleaning, apply high-temp brake grease to the sliding parts; this also helps reduce squeaks.

The HTG is applied at the back of the pad in between the piston and pad---it absorbs the high frequency squeal.

The moving parts is 025 mm and will make no difference.

[WintrSol]

EBC double H. I had a stainless braided brake line and double H pads and needed only two fingers to brake ran that combo for about 6years til I sold the bike.

+1
Also, after cleaning, apply high-temp brake grease to the sliding parts; this also helps reduce squeaks.

The HTG is applied at the back of the pad in between the piston and pad---it absorbs the high frequency squeal.

The moving parts is 025 mm and will make no difference.

The noise transmission through the sliding parts IS minimal, but the grease will reduce wear, and help prevent uneven application of the pads to the disc, which can cause more noise. It takes many miles and lack of proper cleaning during maintenance for this to occur, but the stuff is cheap.

[Fred]

The moving parts should be free to move and not need lubrication of any sort. I set mine to rattle clean.

If you have binding pads causing uneven wear as the pads are locking in the caliper you need a little more than grease. Pads should be loose --they have to fit perfectly, you have to file them for your caliper , you don't just buy a set and hammer them home. Im sure you know that WTsol.

[WintrSol]

Yeah, it takes a lot of bad maintenance to make pads bind, but I have seen calipers that bad - rusted and dirty, all around. A rider that only knew where the gas goes in and the money comes out, for sure.

[old time rider]

I allways make sure the slide pin gets a thin coat of grease after cleaning before back together. We only have one new rider in our old coot bunch.He had just started riding two years before we met him five years ago.He got a low mile old CB550 Honda and had rode it on week ends for two years with out ever putting any lube on the drive chain! The racket was getting bad when a more savy rider asked him last time he oiled his chain? [emoji2] He is a highly schooled man! Now he tries more. He had never done a brake job on a motorcycle till last year. Told him its as easy as a oil change and call if any trouble. He did call to say thanks and just as easy as I told him. The more you can do yourself the more you will venture into bucket trips etc. because you know more about your bike and how to fix it if need be.
More than you would think never get a finger dirty and think a cell phone and plastic card will get them out of any troubles on the road. Most all the trips we take have NO cell service some places and a few most of the trip.