Brake Pads

[Yamahammer1200]

What are the best replacement pads for the stock rear caliper?  Stock wheel and original rotor.  Finally replacing the defective rear Avon Storm radial and noticed pads at 2mm. 

[FJmonkey]

If you are happy with the current braking then stick with stock. Withe front doing about 80% of the work the rear can only do so much before it locks up. If you are racing or ridding real hard then you should consider race level pads. But that is some really hard brake use. 

[balky1]

As my local supplier told me when I last time ordered mine is that, in his book, Yamaha recommends organic pads for stock rotors. Others would probably cause more wear to the rotors. I'm using organics at the back (I still haven't changed the front ones so I don't know what PO has put in) and I'm happy with them. 2 mm is plenty of "meat" still. If you are not planning any longer trip, wear it to the metal. 

[ribbert]

What are the best replacement pads for the stock rear caliper?  Stock wheel and original rotor.  

Many owners, myself included, feel the stock rear brake is too good, requiring an overly sensitive touch under hard brakes. I would not go with grippier pads (such as is recommended for the front), even with standard pads it only needs a light touch and as Mark said, it's not providing much of your braking anyway and you don't want something that's easy to lock up.

This is probably the only time I would recommend organic pads. Their softer, more progressive bite is suited to the FJ's over efficient dinner plate size rear disc and the faster wear rate not really an issue.
There are a few downsides to organic but on balance I believe they are the best choice for this application, in my opinion.

Noel

[ribbert]

As my local supplier told me when I last time ordered mine is that, in his book, Yamaha recommends organic pads for stock rotors. Others would probably cause more wear to the rotors.

He's entitled to his opinion but I don't believe there is any evidence to suggest this is so. There are hundreds, if not thousands of FJs with hundreds of thousands of miles between them out there that would dispute that being the case.
Sintered pads are standard OEM these days on pretty much everything because they have proven to be the best of all worlds for the widest range of riding, even track work.

None of the mods, lubricants, brakes, tyres, suspension, air cleaners, exhausts, lights etc that improve our bikes enormously are Yamaha recommended.

There has been much development in all these areas since the FJ's came out and our bikes are all the better for it. Of all the components in a full front brake upgrade, the EBC HH pads make the single biggest difference, in my opinion.

"Original" Yamaha rotors would have come from a manufacturer supplying dozens of other brands off the same production line, I would be surprised if there was anything uniquely Yamaha about them.

Noel

[4everFJ]

Isn't it because the old vented OE discs were some sort of cast iron, that would be worn down pretty quickly by sintered pads?

Modern brake discs are made of a much harder steel/alloy and can therefore be used with sintered pads without issues.

[balky1]

Isn't it because the old vented OE discs were some sort of cast iron, that would be worn down pretty quickly by sintered pads?

Modern brake discs are made of a much harder steel/alloy and can therefore be used with sintered pads without issues.

He did mention that the book says that OEM discs are of softer material, he even asked me if the discs on the bike are still original. Maybe that's what you're saying. I'm no expert and I can't argue in any way.
Then again, people say a lot of things and you need to take it with a pinch of salt. But since he is a sales person in his own store, he could easily have said that Yamaha recommends more expensive HH pads and earn more from me, but he didn't.
As I read here on the forum, when you guys change your discs you get the new pads with them and instructions with recommended pads to use (at least as far as I understood your posts). So, there is a reason why, for example, EBC recommends to use one type of pads with specific disc. That's maybe the reason for the OEM discs, too. Or am I missing something here?