front brakes

[ken65]

can anyone tell me from their own experiences how much of an improvement to the braking is achieved by only adding braided lines, new pads and leaving the rest stock? the reason i ask is that's all i did to my xj and it brought the front brake into the 21st century, thanks in advance, ken

[fj11.5]

 Well for me not much, the lines made the lever pressure better after a mc rebuild to make the most of it ,but even with goldfren ceramic pads the stock calipers felt very wooden, no feeling of slowing down or bite,even after 200 klm with lots of gentle pad breaking in,,new discs didn't give any improvement, , then fitted a 14mm mc, made it worse with standard calipers,  even after a proper clean and rebuild of the calipers , so fitted blue spots and havnt looked back ,,what xj did you have,I had a 80,s 750 seca, that originaly had  a shit braking system,half hydro fluid half cable, , swapped it out for xj900 master cyl, lines and calipers 110% improvement

[ken65]

thanks for the reply, its an 81  650 with a single disk up front, yesterday i did a couple of emergency stops and was happy enough how the brakes handled,maybe as Ive never really ridden a modern bike i don't know what a good brake is.

[fj11.5]

Mate,if you ever get the chance ,take a later model bike for a ride,don't worry about going fast,but worry about stopping your eyes hitting the visor if you grab a fist full of brakes.  these new braking systems are brilliant

[ribbert]

Rod, what sort of pads did you use with the blue spots?
Did you previously have single pot calipers?

[ribbert]

can anyone tell me from their own experiences how much of an improvement to the braking is achieved by only adding braided lines, new pads and leaving the rest stock? the reason i ask is that's all i did to my xj and it brought the front brake into the 21st century, thanks in advance, ken

Yes, the braided lines will improve things.
Yes,EBC HH pads will make a big difference. It is not my opinion but a matter of fact that these pads are the grippiest pads you can buy. More friction = less effort = better brakes.

Another member here tried another brand HH pad assuming they would all be much the same. He then changed to the EBC and could not believe the difference.
I have added all the brake upgrades one at a time, these two things alone will give you a significant improvement.

[ken65]

thanks noel

[Harvy]

It doesn't take modern brakes to stop in a hurry..... I still recon my old 450 Desmo could outbrake most anything I have ridden....... its amazing what double sided twin leading shoe drums can do! But must keep in mind that it didn't weigh anything, and neither did I.


Harvy

[fj11.5]

 
Hi noel, mine was a gradual upgrade, starting with original single pot 84 calipers, then braids,,twin spot 89 calps, ,14mm mc, , then blue spots with standard fittment yamaha pads,as yet to try aftermarket ones,but will go with your suggestion 
Cheers
rod

[Dan Filetti]

Simply dropping in new EBC HH pads, and replacing the fluid on the GSX-R750 (which already has Kevlar braided lines) was pretty transformative.  The PO swore by Ferodo pads, but they were down-right wooden compared to the EBC HH pads -I did not know until I switched, what sort of positive difference could be had.

Dan

[rktmanfj]

thanks for the reply, its an 81  650 with a single disk up front, yesterday i did a couple of emergency stops and was happy enough how the brakes handled,maybe as Ive never really ridden a modern bike i don't know what a good brake is.

IMO, if you still have the original rubber brake lines you should either replace them or up your life insurance.   

[Firehawk068]

I agree with Dan, and Noel on the EBC HH pads.....................These pads grip like crazy!
I just bought 2 more pairs(FA252HH) for my R1 calipers up front, and 2 more pairs(FA88HH) for the rear(cause I got them half price on a 2-for-1 deal), so I'll just keep a spare rear set in the garage...............I will probably never buy anything but these from now on.......


If your plan is to just put braided lines, and new pads........I would highly recommend these EBC pads. I'm sure you will notice quite a difference.

[ken65]

ok, as soon as ive the funds, the braided lines and ebc hh pads will be going on, thanks