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Non-OEM brake pads?

6K views 83 replies 12 participants last post by  Silver F 
#1 ·
Hello fellow VTX aficionados!

I've seen the gospel around here is for OEM pads, but I can't seem to locate OEM pads here in Aus without getting another mortgage.

Can anyone recommend decent aftermarket pads? Sintered, ceramic, gummy bear alloy, etc. - thoughts?

Thanks in advance guys.
 
#2 ·
I tried EBC kevlar pads.... mistake, they were horribly noisy, and no measureable improvement over OEM.
That is my only experience- as I follow the OEM gospel here.
Others will chime in soon, but wanted to let you know about the Kevlar pads...at least you can eliminate a choice.
 
#3 ·
what to you want....

lower priced pads... overheat... or just poor stopping
or the aftermarket pads and destroy your brake rotors...

your call

my opinion...


I view it as a PRICE of Riding a motorcycle...

I average 50,000 miles per brake pad set... so every 8 years or so... 86,000 miles currently..

if it does not start.. its an inconvenience... if it don't stop, its a disaster
 
#4 · (Edited)
Bite the bullet, pay the price and ride. I don't know of anyone on here that likes the aftermarket pads, but plenty on here love the OEM pads, there is a reason. I put aftermarket pads on at about 25,000 miles( when I first got the bike), one month later I trashed them and bought a set of OEM's and couldn't be happier!!!! I had 57,504 on Old Grey when I sold it and the pads still looked good.
 
#5 ·
I hear you guys and appreciate the advice, but so far I've found OEM pads for ~$30 with shipping to Aus for ~$80-$90!

I just can't bring myself so far to stump-up almost 3 times part cost just for shipping. I'll keep on looking though. Anyone maybe know of a place that ships to Aus?
 
#7 ·
Thanks man - that was a blonde moment... I've been checking on my phone and it keeps showing only US-based sites. Finally checked at work on the PC and found a couple that stock the necessary parts! Found the OEM pads (front and back) as well as new oil filter and some chrome grab-rail bolts that were missing.

She's finally running like a raped ape after my earlier tinkering, so just need to change the oil and install the new pads, then she'll be good as new! What a fantastic bike - single crank pin watercooled elegance. I enjoyed my Harleys, but this just seems to be an 'easier' bike.
 
#13 ·
Thanks guys!

Always good to question everything, but have to keep the balance otherwise you stray into grumpy old man territory...

As to selfies, don't get me started! Here in Aus it's sometimes called a 'you f@ckin' love yourselfie'. Or a selfie stick is a 'narcissitick'. I must be getting old, but that's something that escapes me.
 
#21 ·
Well, he could always be welcomed in ANTI-tam, Md. (Antietam). I don't know if he enjoys eating an ANTI-pasto salad. I don't think so, he's a raw steak & spuds kinda fella.
 
#22 ·
as that photo from Zanesville breakfast.... I made all the 1800's look small.. even mine...

you do not get that size... eating rabbit food..

at one steak house... the waitress would not bring my meal to the table... so the cook did... FACT..
she could not handle all the RED on the plate....
 
#23 ·
as that photo from Zanesville breakfast.... I made all the 1800's look small.. even mine...

you do not get that size... eating rabbit food..

at one steak house... the waitress would not bring my meal to the table... so the cook did... FACT..
she could not handle all the RED on the plate....
 
#24 ·
Get ready Chuck, I'm gonna derail this thread good and proper.

True story
My bud and his wife come to the house and I'm gonna grill steaks
1. Put bud's wife steak on cook till done. Med. rare
2. Put mine and the wife's steaks on. Cook till med. rare then remove our steaks. Bud's wife's steak still on
3. Put bud's steak on, turn after 30 sec. cook another 30 sec. DONE
4. Remove bud's and wife's steaks from grill
5. Open bottle Heinz 57 sauce for bud's wife so she can eat "shoe leather"
 
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#26 ·
took years.. to convince my wife from ordering shoe leather...

one time. after ordering our meal.. I went in back.. changed wife order.... when plates arrived... wife protested...

I said close your eyes.. here is a very small bite.. try it... med rare is her choice these days...
but she still does not look at my steaks..

Heinz 57 and A-1 steak sauce..is for Fowl ....... :) not beef..
 
#31 ·
Deer meat tastes great. A good part of our diets as a kid. My old man would shoot 3,4 deer a year, off the front porch as they were up in our orchard. Deer meat is very lean, doesn't cook like beef. Burger needs beef mixed with it to fry right. Steaks & chops need to be marinated in milk to rid the gamey taste. If you ate deer properly prepped, and nobody told you it was deer, you'd never know.

WHERE'S that runaway locomotive?
 
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#34 ·
"Going off the rails....on a crazy train!"
 
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#43 ·
Is that a HD trike, or a Gold Wing trike? Prototypes, of course.
 
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#44 ·
I WUZ there last July!
 
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