Hey all, I just swapped out my brake pads on my VFR for some new kevlar ones. I am not sure of the brand, but they might be EBC. I bought them brand new from a motorcycle place in florida on E-bay. I used to run Vesrah for years, but maybe only EBC once. These new pads work great, however, they seem to be making a sound which is unusual to me. Kinda almost sounds like a slight buzzing sound when I am at speed and apply the brakes. This happens ONLY when I apply the brakes. I check the pad alightment and rotors and no unusual wear marks, and I cannot see anything rubbing. I only have about 50 miles on them, and I have mixed up the braking with some hard stops and normal riding. I figure they are probably not bedded in yet, and "maybe" that is why I am hearing this noise. It is not super loud, however, I can hear it. Also, the pads I took off had the pad material in 3 sections on each pad, and these new ones are just one large block. Maybe that has something to do with it. No, I didn't have the rotors resurfaced either, they don't need it...IMO. Anybody got any suggestions, and or experience the same noise issue with your brakes once you changed to a new type of pad? I was going to take the calipers off again soon, and check the distribution of wear on the pads.
You can't resurface the rotors on a bike, there is not enough thickness even in a brand new rotor and they are stainless steel...not only will they gall on the lathe, but you will bend them trying. You can deglaze them with fine sandpaper (and you should if you are changing pad compounds or if they are glazed up), but if they are badly grooved or close to the minimum thickness in the manual they will need to be replaced. The pad design may impact whether they squeal, some have dust grooves cut in to make smaller blocks and more leading edges that reduce squealing, but my EBC HH's don't have them and don't squeal so assuming a reputable manufacturer like Vesrah, EBC, Goldfren, Galfer etc I wouldn't worry about it being a pad problem. HH's will make a bit more noise (not a grind, not a squeal, but a bit of a metallic growl) than organics, though.
