Brake pad recommendation

[kaplang]

It!s time to once again replace the front brake pads on my 1997. Is there any good reason that I should only use OEM pads from Honda? The disc rotors still look good and I don't want to use after market pads if they are going to wear out the rotors. Any pads I should stay away from? I know OEM pads are expensive but so are discs.

Any help would be be greatly appreciated

George

 

[Igofar]

purchase your OEM pads from Ronayers.com or similar place and you'll find them just as cost effective as the aftermarket pads such as EBC.
Pad choice is like oil choice, I prefer the OEM pads, since pads are cheaper to replace than rotors .02

 

[ST1100Y]

I prefer the OEM pads, since pads are cheaper to replace than rotors .02

+1... and I also never experienced any fading with OEM pads... regardless how 'aggressive' you beat that rig up and down alpine passes...

 

[JasonFJ]

OEM or aftermarket will be fine - there are countless guys running both types without issue. I personally use aftermarket, as I prefer a more aggressive pad and any small increase in rotor wear that may occur (not that I've ever heard of anyone running into issues...) as a tradeoff for stopping quicker is worth it to me.

 

[jmcarruth]

OEM are hard to beat fot the ST1100.

 

[Brant]

Honda OEM pads is your best option. Those honda rotors will eat up anything else like a mandolin. I previously used a set of EBC pads on my STeed as the dealer was out of the Honda pads. The ones they carried are the TT series, which are the only ones that will survive the Honda rotors. Still, after a few yrs. of using them, then going back to OEM pads, there is no comparison to the feel and smoothness of the OEM pads on OEM rotors.

 

[dwalby]

Honda OEM pads is your best option. Those honda rotors will eat up anything else like a mandolin. I previously used a set of EBC pads on my STeed as the dealer was out of the Honda pads. The ones they carried are the TT series, which are the only ones that will survive the Honda rotors. Still, after a few yrs. of using them, then going back to OEM pads, there is no comparison to the feel and smoothness of the OEM pads on OEM rotors.

The Honda OEM pads are made by Nissin and are HH friction rated. If you go with EBC go with the FA142HH (double check that number I'm not 100% sure on that) as they are also HH rated and will give you similar braking performance to the OEM units. The TT series are for dirtbikes, not sure how those would work on the ST, but I suspect sub-optimum. If you go with anything other than OEM, make sure they're HH rated, or they will not stop as well as the OEM pads.

I don't understand Brant's comment about the Honda rotors being tough on pads, I've used a few different brand pads over the years and haven't noticed anything unusual.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Honda OEM for me. I don't understand claims that one can stop faster/shorter with aftermarket pads. I have great linear control with the Honda pads and can lock up either end at will, or just short of that. Without noticeable fade. What's different about any particular aftermarket pad, or rotor for that matter, that would shorten my stopping distance? Seriously...

John

via iPhone 4S

 

[dwalby]

I think internet pricing has leveled the field a bit over the years. I never bought OEM pads because they always cost 2x or more what the equivalent aftermarket pad cost, and the aftermarket pads were just as good, sometimes better depending on the bike. For the ST I think the EBC HH pads are equivalent to the OEM, but I wouldn't claim they're better. But now I see I can get the OEM pads for about the same cost as the EBCs online, so maybe next time I'll try those again. Not sure if its similar nationwide, but the SoCal dealerships would mark up their OEM parts to the point they were never competitive, so in the pre-Internet days I just got in the habit of buying SBS or EBC pads.

 

[DriverRider]

Honda OEM for the wing excellent braking and they don't beat up the discs. I once went with the lower priced EBC pads and wound up with a noticeable loss of braking power and they quickly wore out.

 

[Igofar]

May be that when folks purchase aftermarket pads, they want to think the pads are better, and stop faster, so to them, they are
I've used several types of pads on too many vehicles to count, and always end up going back to OEM with Honda's.
After hearing how good my friends EBC HH super duper pads were, and how they stopped several feet sooner than Honda pads, I called him out..
Both ST1300's, both ABS models, both panic style stops from 40mph and 60 mph, every single time, the OEM pads stopped quicker, in a shorter distance.
Now to be fair, perhaps I can just operate the brakes better than him, but then again, he's been riding a motor for years

 

[Reginald]

I have EBC pads on my ST1300; don't like them. They are thicker and rub the rotor a little more than the OEM pads; although, they are not heating up my rotors. My front wheel only spins 2 revolutions with them. With the OEM pads the front wheel would spin 3 times. Just saying.

 

[dwalby]

Honda OEM for the wing excellent braking and they don't beat up the discs. I once went with the lower priced EBC pads and wound up with a noticeable loss of braking power and they quickly wore out.

Not sure about the Wing, but EBC had two different friction compounds that fit the ST calipers. The HH rated ones are OK, the GG ones had less braking power. Many people bought the GG rated pads not knowing the difference and were disappointed.

 

[dwalby]

I have EBC pads on my ST1300; don't like them. They are thicker and rub the rotor a little more than the OEM pads; although, they are not heating up my rotors. My front wheel only spins 2 revolutions with them. With the OEM pads the front wheel would spin 3 times. Just saying.

the caliper pistons should be able to retract far enough to fit any thickness pads (within reason), unless you had topped off your fluid and can't retract the pistons far enough because of hydraulic lock in the master cylinder reservoir. I don't have a 1300, so they could be different, but I would tend to doubt it. Take a little fluid out of the reservoir and try to retract the pads a bit further with a large screwdriver or similar tool.

 

[Reginald]

the caliper pistons should be able to retract far enough to fit any thickness pads (within reason), unless you had topped off your fluid and can't retract the pistons far enough because of hydraulic lock in the master cylinder reservoir. I don't have a 1300, so they could be different, but I would tend to doubt it. Take a little fluid out of the reservoir and try to retract the pads a bit further with a large screwdriver or similar tool.

My shop supposedly fix my system with new pads and brake flush. Ha. While fixing my suspension system with Race Tech fork springs, I noticed my front wheel would spin only a 1/4 revolution. So I fixed the SMC, flushed the brakes correctly, cleaned up the calipers and now it works. The shop did quite a few things wrong. But after I got it working it still spins fewer revolutions than the OEM pads. My pistons are pushed flush to the calipers with these pads, they ain't going to move no more..

 

[DriverRider]

Not sure about the Wing, but EBC had two different friction compounds that fit the ST calipers. The HH rated ones are OK, the GG ones had less braking power. Many people bought the GG rated pads not knowing the difference and were disappointed.

No doubt that is probably true but why in the world would a respected Company even offer a pad compound that was inferior to OEM when it comes to a safety related item.

 

[dwalby]

No doubt that is probably true but why in the world would a respected Company even offer a pad compound that was inferior to OEM when it comes to a safety related item.

My guess is the pad also fit a different bike that came with GG compound OEM pads, so they had an existing application that was appropriate. I don't know if they even make them any more, this was a common confusion on the old ST forum in the late '90s.

 

[Igofar]

To make money? I have spoken to the folks at ebc and they even said there have been fitment and clearance issues the certain moels-ST1300- etc
Why spend all your hard earned money on the bike then pinch pennies on cheaper pads?
Its not very often a person will find any aftermarket part that will fit better than any oem part on just about anything. .02

 

[dwalby]

I have spoken to the folks at ebc and they even said there have been fitment and clearance issues the certain moels-ST1300- etc

Interesting, seems like copying an OEM brake pad would be a simple enough exercise, surprised to hear they sometimes screw it up. Will they refund your money if you complain about one of their marginal fitting pads?