Brake rotors

[jduke]

I mic'd mine last night and they are below spec.
Any suggestions on replacements?
Stick with stock? Alternatives?

[MoDog]

Get those groovy wavy wavy rotors; that's what I'm going to do. Do a search; I can't remember where all they can be found, but quite a few of the guys on the board have bought them.

[throttlemeister]

And I don't like em, but I am a loner I guess. I removed them and went back to stock rotors. Their behavior did not fit my riding style and the discs wear too fast.

[Highlander179]

define "behavior" please?

[throttlemeister]

Little to no initial bite, more force needed to create same amount of slowing down, the hotter they get, the better they work.

Now these are all things that would work great on the track, but I don't ride there. I want high initial bite, little force needed and consistent behavior wether they are hot or cold.

They are also very soft. Using my favorite brake pads, which do not give any measurable wear on the stock rotors over 6,000 miles (no suprise), they wore down the Braking wave discs by .25mm over that distance. That's ¼ of the total life of the discs in 6k miles. Using the Braking pads reduced the wear rate, but behavior stayed the same.

I'll stick with stock discs and my fav pads for braking the way I like it.

[Dr. Curve]

Thats why you pay a lot more.........and get the Galfers instead of the Braking Power units. The Galfers are harder, better made, cost more, are thinner, and stop very fast. They especially help control in wet conditions. Take care. I will be switching to Galfers on the new HP Sport...............when, and if, it ever gets here.

[throttlemeister]

Really. If that were the case, it would be all over the board. And it is not, as I think I have read every thread dealing with Galfer and Braking discs. The only reason people prefer Galfer over Braking is because they are 4.5mm instead of 5mm. Personnally, I don't like manufacturers that void warranty on product A if you do not also use product B, which is what Galfer does.

Anyway, the only reason I went with Braking is not because some perceived BS performance increase, but because OE rotors are so damn expensive. There is a reason why the top brake manufacturer Brembo refuses to make wave rotors while everybody else does and that's because there is no performance advantage. In fact, the reduced disc area only causes the discs to get hotter and more force is needed to get the same stopping power. These things are for looks or cheap OE replacement only, and having seen my bike with both I personally prefer the OE look.

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by Dr. Curve

Thats why you pay a lot more.........and get the Galfers instead of the Braking Power units. The Galfers are harder, better made, cost more, are thinner, and stop very fast. They especially help control in wet conditions. Take care. I will be switching to Galfers on the new HP Sport...............when, and if, it ever gets here.

What the man said,here in the Uk 'Brakeing' have a deal with Blunderlich so we have to pay more!! i've a rear Brakeing disc(bought before the deal) it's worn badly,a friend with Galfer has not had that problem.

The only thing,Galfer ain't dearer,well not over here they not.

[Bob Hancock]

Jerry, I've always been quite satisfied with the stockers. Loved the stock brakes on my last R11S and feel the same way about ones on my current bike. I also note that a racer friend had them replaced with stock rotors after his sponsor put the wavy ones on his race bike, and for the same reasons that tm said, as I recall. I really think this is one of those items where the factory does better than the aftermarket. fwiw.

[EZ-RIDER]

I find them to grab better then the stockers

[Kristian,CO]

Originally Posted by throttlemeister

Little to no initial bite, more force needed to create same amount of slowing down, the hotter they get, the better they work.

Now these are all things that would work great on the track, but I don't ride there. I want high initial bite, little force needed and consistent behavior wether they are hot or cold.

They are also very soft. Using my favorite brake pads, which do not give any measurable wear on the stock rotors over 6,000 miles (no suprise), they wore down the Braking wave discs by .25mm over that distance. That's ¼ of the total life of the discs in 6k miles. Using the Braking pads reduced the wear rate, but behavior stayed the same.

I'll stick with stock discs and my fav pads for braking the way I like it.

Thanks for your feedback TM, probably saved me some money.

[EZ-RIDER]

Bs!!!

[bradzdotcom]

my braking wavy wotors have been berry, berry good to me.

one of the stock front rotors is now part of a wall clock.
the other one lives under a wooden planter box so the water drains out the hole at the bottom.

[roger albert]

I'm with Brad.

My braking Rotors have been GREAT, with no signs of increased wear. Could be a bit, but not much at all. Initial bite is better, and max braking MUCH better. Short of the shocks, it's the best upgrade I've made on the bike. I rode an S with the Galfers too. Also nice. Felt about the same as my Braking setup. Both are a big improvement. Made a bigger difference than the braided lines for sure. I'd never go back. Two customers (both actually on RSs) were thrilled as well.

[R111S]

I got an EBC Pro-Lite OEM replacement Disc/Pads for the Front Brake of my '94 BMW R100GS/PD and was very pleased with the improved performance and the price was reasonable too. But that was my only experience with a non-OEM Brake Disc.

You can download their 316 page PDF Catalog from the EBC Website: http://www.ebcbrakes.com/motorcycle.html

Here's the EBC PNs for a '96/00 BMW R1100S:
Front Rotor Left: MD687LS
Front Rotor Right: MD687RS
Rear Rotor: MD653

The later R1100S's have larger Brake Rotors on the front so the PNs are different. There's also specific P/Ns for Integral ABS.

[wswartzwel]

I used the EBC prolites on my Superhawk... They stopped great, (I could lock up and smoke the front tire with 1 finger) but were prone to surface rust ( not a concern for me.. but might not be liked by others)after being ridden hard and put up wet.

[bikerfish1100]

for those of you with worn out rotors- what kind of mileage are you seeing when they go belly up?

[throttlemeister]

My stockers are worn, and it has 72,000km on the clock (45k miles)

[R111S]

Originally Posted by bikerfish1100

for those of you with worn out rotors- what kind of mileage are you seeing when they go belly up?

I would guess that this mileage may vary widely because of differing factors like landscape, city/rural, style, load, etc.

My front rotors look fine at 49K Miles w/4.5mm thickness and using EBC "HH" Pads. My riding is flat landscape, mostly rural, use lots of engine braking, and mostly solo w/o bags.

Here are the Rotor specs for my '99:

[Deans BMW]

Chris at San Jose BMW uses stock rotors and pads on all of their race bikes, he finds that they work best overall.