I have just heard this, has anyone else?
GS from November to be supplied with Brembo front calipers
- Thread starter Stevie900
- Start date
Be still my heart.
No more bicycle brakes 
Er what’s wrong with the current brakes?
My new bike is in build mid to late October so we will see
I was told this by a Motorrad dealer.
imo the hayes are better than the brembos,better feel and ultimatley more powerful
Brembo is a single block radial, Hayes is a split calliper design. The solid block should be better at transmitting the brake pressure to the pads due to the lack of flex in the calliper itself. Solid block calliper design is the standard today on performance motorcycles. The bite of the brake can also be influenced by the composition of the brake pad material. If the brake calliper is more effective in transmitting the brake pressure then more heat will be generated, thus you will need a suitable brake fluid like Dot 5.1 or better cooling to negate the effect of brake fade.
Why the marked difference between the makes as Brembo is probably the defacto fitment to motorcycles I don't know. I'm not a huge fan of the current brake system on the 1250 GS/GSA due to the ABS interference and lack of feel through the brake lever. Sharp - yes, bite - yes, but it lacks in the tactile feel and adjustability when used in anger. That is my experience and opinion, every arsehole has one as they say.
Why the marked difference between the makes as Brembo is probably the defacto fitment to motorcycles I don't know. I'm not a huge fan of the current brake system on the 1250 GS/GSA due to the ABS interference and lack of feel through the brake lever. Sharp - yes, bite - yes, but it lacks in the tactile feel and adjustability when used in anger. That is my experience and opinion, every arsehole has one as they say.
No,
But the first five years of my professional career was designing & testing brakes with Girling. (Where are they now…?)
So why would one brake fade and the other not?
Were the two “experiences” effectively the same?
Was the fade due to pad material overheating (resulting in poor braking)or fluid boiling (resulting in no brakes at all)?
Were the pads equally worn, equal thickness, equal weight?
Same fluid, same age, same water content?
Same heat into the brakes from earlier driving?
Same bike, same weight?
Does one caliper retain (significantly) more heat than the other?
Were the discs the same, diameter, thickness, material, weight?
I don’t know if the Hayes and Brembo pads are interchangeable, they may have different pad & swept areas, neither do I know if the discs or master cylinder are different on the two installations. Different master cylinder and caliper piston areas could give different feel, but would not affect fade.
I don’t recall ever suffering fade on my bike brakes, though I have in cars, both in testing, and in “real life”. Maybe I don’t push the bikes hard enough.
But the first five years of my professional career was designing & testing brakes with Girling. (Where are they now…?)
So why would one brake fade and the other not?
Were the two “experiences” effectively the same?
Was the fade due to pad material overheating (resulting in poor braking)or fluid boiling (resulting in no brakes at all)?
Were the pads equally worn, equal thickness, equal weight?
Same fluid, same age, same water content?
Same heat into the brakes from earlier driving?
Same bike, same weight?
Does one caliper retain (significantly) more heat than the other?
Were the discs the same, diameter, thickness, material, weight?
I don’t know if the Hayes and Brembo pads are interchangeable, they may have different pad & swept areas, neither do I know if the discs or master cylinder are different on the two installations. Different master cylinder and caliper piston areas could give different feel, but would not affect fade.
I don’t recall ever suffering fade on my bike brakes, though I have in cars, both in testing, and in “real life”. Maybe I don’t push the bikes hard enough.
That's correct in the US. BMW north America recalled over 9000 units to change to Brembo from Hayes
Was a machining problem apparently, which has since been rectified.
Were the two “experiences” effectively the same? As close as they could be , same roads , same time of year , same riding , same country.
Was the fade due to pad material overheating (resulting in poor braking)or fluid boiling (resulting in no brakes at all)? The lever started to go to the bars and needed the span increased to take up the lost lever but slowing for a bit was the best to regain lever.
Were the pads equally worn, equal thickness, equal weight? Always start a tour with new pads , carry the same gear (minimal)
Same fluid, same age, same water content? New fluids as part of the touring pre prep.
Same heat into the brakes from earlier driving? Same roads , similar speeds , not a test situation.
Same bike, same weight? One was the 1200 gs the second 1250 gs
Does one caliper retain (significantly) more heat than the other? God knows , but they faded.
Were the discs the same, diameter, thickness, material, weight? Similar mileage
I do push the bike and the Brembro were good but in the case of my usage the Hayes were just better , no fade and having experience of both types this is what I found.
