Anyone use aftermarket rear brake pads on a st1300?

I am sure that quality varies between aftermarket brands but there have been so many reported instances of ST1300 brake problems being caused by the use of aftermarket brake pads that it just isn't worth it in my opinion. I am not interested in spending the time trying to figure out which ones are properly and well made and which ones aren't, so I just buy the Honda pads and go ride.
 
I decided to try after market due to the high cost of OEM and EBC. I tried these and have had no problems at all. May be a little less gripppy but nothing that has cause any problems. To put it in prespective...where brake pads on most rides would last a few seasons or more and the cost is not an issue, I live 24/7 on my bike and put a lot of miles on it...280,000 and climbing. So I needed a less expensive, but reliable alternative and these have work for me. Just my perspective.

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Bought these from Amazon, have approximately 40,000 kilometers, lots of pad still left, seems to stop as fast as Oem. Haven't noticed any brake fad . I figured at the price it was worth trying them . No problem with there fit.IMG_5246.jpeg
 
For what it's worth....

OEM Honda pads are thicker in the rear, and thinner in the front. Honda has a white spacer between the pad backing plate and the cage to prevent the heat from cooking the fluid. All the pads have the metal cage behind them.

EBC messed up when they first started making pads for ST's. They chose to cut corners and not include the spacer and or cage. They also decided to make one size fits all pads, thus thicker pads for both applications. What that does is not allow the Front pads to return to a rest position, and back away from the rotor. This causes the pads to ride the rotor, wearing both the pads and the rotors out faster, and always applying the rear brake due to the linked system. This is what causes the rear brakes to drag on most bikes.

That's just speaking about EBC, which is not a "no name" off brand. Those could be worse.

Given your brake are kind of important, and you don't want them locking up when riding, or not working when you need them, what's a few dollars more for OEM if you can afford it?

It's all about your level of acceptable risk.
 
I have all oem pads on both my st13's at the moment. But, I have used a set of ebc on the rear, in the past. I had no issues with those,,, and they performed well for both stopping performance and wear. I would consider using them again, on the rear, in the future. I have oem pads all round at the moment,, because I got a bunch of them at a great price, from a couple of owners who had moved on to other bikes. I believe that I also have a set of front ebc pads in the parts box,, which I will eventually run a test cycle on,,, just out of curiosity. I have never had to replace a front rotor. But I did swap out the rear rotor on my '04,,, but because my smc lockup cooked the original at about 160k km's. The original was not warped,, but it was on min thickness, and I had a nearly new ctx disc on hand,, so may as well use it. The original is now the spare,,,, cheers,, CAt'
 
With over 400,000 miles on five different ST1300s, I did try a set of aftermarket, many years ago. I removed them not long after putting them on because they just didn't have the stopping power the OEMs had.

Since then, OEMs ONLY!
 
I use ceramic pads both front and rear on my RT. OE requires organic on the rear and semi metallic on the front. 20,000 plus miles no regrets and plenty of life left.
 
Mellow said:
You can but many have commented the Honda pads are the best.
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I have no documented proof but I do agree with this sentiment.

I've use EPC brake pads on other Hondas years back for extra spiffy braking. My take is a slight improvement in braking at the expense of rotor damage. So I stopped using them long before my ST.

Had I noticed a significant improvement I'd probably just lived with replacing rotors on a regular basis. No I probably wouldn't.

For my money keep the fluid fresh and paying attention to proper bleeding is far more important than than using EBC pads for street use.

I don't know if EBC and other manufacturers make a "street" equivalent that works as well as factory pads and are less expensive. That's the only way I'd go aftermarket.

There's also mention that EBC are thicker than factory for the rear or front. IDR. That may not be true for all aftermarket pads. It's just easy for me to stick with factory kit.
 
Obo said:
For what it's worth....

OEM Honda pads are thicker in the rear, and thinner in the front. Honda has a white spacer between the pad backing plate and the cage to prevent the heat from cooking the fluid. All the pads have the metal cage behind them.

EBC messed up when they first started making pads for ST's. They chose to cut corners and not include the spacer and or cage. They also decided to make one size fits all pads, thus thicker pads for both applications. What that does is not allow the Front pads to return to a rest position, and back away from the rotor. This causes the pads to ride the rotor, wearing both the pads and the rotors out faster, and always applying the rear brake due to the linked system. This is what causes the rear brakes to drag on most bikes.

That's just speaking about EBC, which is not a "no name" off brand. Those could be worse.

Given your brake are kind of important, and you don't want them locking up when riding, or not working when you need them, what's a few dollars more for OEM if you can afford it?

It's all about your level of acceptable risk.
Click to expand...
This is strange, looks like I could have typed it word for word 😂
Someone was paying attention in class.
Very well worded!
 
Igofar said:
This is strange, looks like I could have typed it word for word 😂
Someone was paying attention in class.
Very well worded!
Click to expand...

Not quite word for word, but you're not far off. I was paying attention. :)

What's that expression? I might not be smart, but I'm not dumb.
 
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