Brembo question...

Fast Eddie

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My mate has a Harris Tiger (see below). It has the stock Brembo brakes front and rear.

The brakes are overall quite underwhelming. Considering the twin discs on the front, this is a tad surprising and disappointing to my mate (this is his first ‘classic’ btw).

I know these Brembos were quite a common fitment on all sorts of bikes inc Ducs, Bimmers, Lavs, etc.

So I’m wondrin if there are better, grippier pad options available.

Does anyone know ?

Brembo question...
 
I have the same problem on my Explorer ..the OE Brembo pads are sintered and have no feel to them what's so ever
I'm not racing so a nice set or organic pads would do me a treat....but i have never been able to source any
 
If you get the code for the original pads and then enter this code plus organic into Google then any organic pads being made should show up. Alternatively go to the EBC site and use their PAD code minus the last 2 letters. I have some Brembo Goldline 34/30 calipers and the first method was how I tracked the organic pads down.

The EBC method for the same caliper is.

So the EBC code for my caliper was FA244HH, take off the HH (code for sintered) and search for FA244 organic and there are lots of hits.
 
IMO you need to upgrade and fit "twin pot" calipers as these will give a "servo effect" hence improve your braking at little cost.
Four pot, even better!
 
IMO you need to upgrade and fit "twin pot" calipers as these will give a "servo effect" hence improve your braking at little cost.
Four pot, even better!

They are twin pot calipers.
It's a long time since I've had any of those black Brembos but I would agree that EBC organic pads would be well worth a try.
 
Thanks chaps.

Now can you tell me about organic pads? What are the pros / cons / characteristics ?
 
Not sure , I use the ebc HH pads on both Italian bikes with better than stock results ... after rebuilding Norton caliper , new seals , SS pistons , CNW M/C , I used Ferodo pads(?) , not sure what was on there , however the improvement was great ! , in feel plus initial bite ... Obviously not fair comparison , as I made all changes at once ....
 
They are twin pot calipers.
It's a long time since I've had any of those black Brembos but I would agree that EBC organic pads would be well worth a try.

You misunderstood my answer and I misunderstood your post.
The Twin pots I was referring to were half a four pot, on slider, looking at the bikes age, I would like to ask when was the last time the pistons where checked and lubed. Age and road crude do nasty things to them.
 
I use EBC orgasmic pads in all my disc braked bikes. They work well & don't rip the discs up. The amount of trouble I & several friends have had with the HH pads means for me they are simply not worth the agro. My 750 Commando has an RGM floating disc (iron) & the HH pads caused noise & juddering, which went away with organic. Same problem with my mates 888 Duke & same fix. He's a very quick rider & is more than happy with the brakes on the Duke. The strange thing is that bike also has EBC discs. Of course the only way to find out is to try a few makes/types of pad.
 
I have used those calipers since 1983 but the bike is to far away to check what pads I was using.

Brembo do an (Organic) carbon ceramic pad for 08 calipers these days that have a good reputation or simply google what beveldrive Ducati folk are using, maybe the above.

The pads I used to use were quite aggressive as far as rotor wear (annually) but that is what it took in those days.
The biggest feedback improvement after pad material came by default.
For what ever reason (long ago) the stock Brembo master cylinder would not bleed up satisfactorily and was going for a ride the next day.......... I had a near new Suzuki GSXR 1100 master cylinder on the shelf so fit that as a temporary measure until a Brembo rebuild kit could be obtained.

The feedback difference in braking was noticeable, that Suzuki M/C is still on the bike to this day.
What is the bore on that Suzuki M/C I do not know but it must have been different to the OEM item.
 
As Time Warp mentioneed, often the greatest improvement can be had at the master cylinder end. What bore dia. is the stock item on a Harris?
 
As Time Warp mentioneed, often the greatest improvement can be had at the master cylinder end. What bore dia. is the stock item on a Harris?
I agree
A huge difference can be made by going down a size at the master cylinder
 
Single pot calliper, double disc should be enough brakes for anyone who is not doing over 150 MPH on a reasonably light motorcycle. Self-servo is a mixed blessing - if there is too much. I don't like coming down from very high speed with the brake changing while I am doing it.
On high speed steel discs, asbestos based pads are excellent, but carbon race pads won't work if you cannot get them hot enough. The master cylinder on my race bike operates two callipers where it was designed to operate one. The front brake is one-finger operation, leaving the others to operate the throttle
 
The only time I ever know what size the bore of the master cylinder is, is when I take it to the brake people to get it re-sleeved and they tell me.
 
If you have the wrong size master cylinder, too large makes the lever feel stiffer, too small gives more lever travel and feels softer. I use a master cylinder which is designed to be used with only one AP calliper - I use it with two callipers, and it is quite OK. - One finger operation.
 
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