Author Topic: Front rotors from China. (Read 17702 times)

mike-s4 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 11, 2011, 11:16:05 AM »

Quote from: VirginiaJim on November 11, 2011, 10:43:15 AM

What pads are you running and did you change them when you installed the rotors?

I`m not sure what brand they are but they are the brass type. I have experimented with lots of different kinds/brands of pads with the same results. Warped rotors. Kawasaki has never tried to blame the pads. After all, the oem pads warped the first set of rotors.

BTW- The front rotors on my 1997 ZX-11 are original and straight as an arrow. Never had a problem.

VirginiaJim · « **Reply #21 on:** November 11, 2011, 11:36:40 AM »

Brass? What brand are you using.. Kawi, EBC, CL....? I would think switching to the new Kawi pads would be sufficient, though. There are at least two problems that affect the rotors. One is the physical warping of the disk and the second is the transfer of excess pad material to the rotor. Both cause the shuddering.

mike-s4 · « **Reply #22 on:** November 11, 2011, 12:28:55 PM »

Quote from: VirginiaJim on November 11, 2011, 11:36:40 AM

Brass? What brand are you using.. Kawi, EBC, CL....? I would think switching to the new Kawi pads would be sufficient, though. There are at least two problems that affect the rotors. One is the physical warping of the disk and the second is the transfer of excess pad material to the rotor. Both cause the shuddering.

Hi Jim, I think they are the SIXITY brand. I know for certain they are sintered bronze. But there never was any issue of pad buildup on the rotors that Kawasaki replaced under warranty. They cleaned them and checked them with a dial gauge each time. I saw the posts about pad buildup and cleaned the rotors when they started to vibrate. Did not solve the problem. They were bent.

Rawman · « **Reply #23 on:** November 14, 2011, 03:09:29 PM »

Since you mentioned you have an '08, I have to mention the change in pad material for the '10 and the carrier change in '11. Kawasaki first tried to say it was pad material transfer, now they say the carrier wasn't wicking away enough heat. So anyway, what type of pads and/or carrier do they replace your with?

mike-s4 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 14, 2011, 09:29:40 PM »

Quote from: Rawman on November 14, 2011, 03:09:29 PM

Since you mentioned you have an '08, I have to mention the change in pad material for the '10 and the carrier change in '11. Kawasaki first tried to say it was pad material transfer, now they say the carrier wasn't wicking away enough heat. So anyway, what type of pads and/or carrier do they replace your with?

Rawman, I went thru lots of pads. 2 sets from kawasaki then some kevlar ,and some other brand of sintered type.I think they are SIXITY brand (ebay). I don`t know about the carriers.
I had the bike out again today and everything is fine. But i won`t be doing any big mileage until spring.

nsrrider · « **Reply #25 on:** November 16, 2011, 06:25:37 AM »

got a set of those rotors on my tuono.......only about a thousand miles on them but so far real good......maybe even better than the OEM brembos.....

Steve in Sunny Fla · « **Reply #26 on:** November 16, 2011, 06:32:15 AM »

Quote from: mike-s4 on November 10, 2011, 07:47:22 AM

Am I the first person to put these on a Connie? The zx14 forums have positive posts about them. I did a search here but found nothing.

Nope - and it's still a connie - steve

mike-s4 · « **Reply #27 on:** November 17, 2011, 10:23:30 AM »

Quote from: Steve in Sunny Fla on November 16, 2011, 06:32:15 AM

Nope - and it's still a connie - steve

Hi Steve, Those certainly look like the same rotors. You can get them with black or gold carrier. The black looks really nice on that connie. Have you had any problems with them ? How many miles ?

Steve in Sunny Fla · « **Reply #28 on:** November 18, 2011, 07:56:38 AM »

They're only got a couple thousand miles on them so far, just put them on is october. I took off a set of OEM zx11 rotors that were (are) in very good condition. Still, i definitely got more bite from these wave rotors. Don't know why, but it's obvious. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. steve

Jeremy Mitchell · « **Reply #29 on:** November 18, 2011, 08:00:14 AM »

Quote from: Steve in Sunny Fla on November 18, 2011, 07:56:38 AM

They're only got a couple thousand miles on them so far, just put them on is october. I took off a set of OEM zx11 rotors that were (are) in very good condition. Still, i definitely got more bite from these wave rotors. Don't know why, but it's obvious. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. steve

How would you rate the build quality compared to a Galfer rotor? I suspect that these are produced by a company that is run by someone that came from Galfer or something like that. They look top notch in the pictures and I am definitely leaning towards using these when my warranty expires.

Z71 · « **Reply #30 on:** November 21, 2011, 06:37:49 PM »

Quote from: VirginiaJim on November 10, 2011, 07:52:35 AM

It's possibly the first time here... ZX-14s have the same rotor issues that we have.

I cannot understand why would Kawasaki use such lousy stock rotors to begin with? I have a Suzuki B King bike with exactly the same front brake calipers, but much beefier looking OEM rotors without the stupid petal edge design. The brakes on the B King are by far the best brakes I ever had on any bike. Incredibly responsible and powerful. Compared to those, the brakes on the Concours are so-so. I realize it is a much heavier bike, but the rotors definitely look a lot flimsier.

mike-s4 · « **Reply #31 on:** November 22, 2011, 05:52:43 AM »

Quote from: Z71 on November 21, 2011, 06:37:49 PM

I cannot understand why would Kawasaki use such lousy stock rotors to begin with? I have a Suzuki B King bike with exactly the same front brake calipers, but much beefier looking OEM rotors without the stupid petal edge design. The brakes on the B King are by far the best brakes I ever had on any bike. Incredibly responsible and powerful. Compared to those, the brakes on the Concours are so-so. I realize it is a much heavier bike, but the rotors definitely look a lot flimsier.

Hello Z71,
The c-14 brakes have no performance problems that i have heard of. Mine are one of the best set of brakes i have ever had on a motorcycle. It is a long-term reliability problem. The rotors start to vibrate after a while. They simply do not want to stay straight. Response and power are not the problem.

mike-s4 · « **Reply #32 on:** July 17, 2012, 06:30:48 AM »

6000 kilometers on them and no vibration.
From new the braking was smooth and as strong as the Kawi rotors.
They seem to get even more powerful as they get broken in.
I'll check in again as the miles pile on.
Anybody else try these yet?

Brake pad questions - I re-installed the same pads that were on the bent kawi rotors.
Sixity brand metallic bronze bought on ebay.

Also- Local Kawi dealer has a set of Galfer rotors for the zx14 on display. They are identical.

martin_14 · « **Reply #33 on:** July 17, 2012, 07:13:48 AM »

thanks for the update. Keep it up!

Daytona_Mike · « **Reply #34 on:** May 27, 2013, 12:00:16 PM »

Quote from: mike-s4 on November 22, 2011, 05:52:43 AM

Hello Z71,
The c-14 brakes have no performance problems that i have heard of. Mine are one of the best set of brakes i have ever had on a motorcycle. It is a long-term reliability problem. The rotors start to vibrate after a while. They simply do not want to stay straight. Response and power are not the problem.

Nope, the stock C14 brakes are weak. My old C10 (with a 320mm BBK) stops better.
C14 is 310mm. I tossed the stock pads and rubber brake hoses and went to all HH pads and SS lines and now I have good brakes.

VirginiaJim · « **Reply #35 on:** May 27, 2013, 02:54:04 PM »

My stock 08 brakes beat the

out of stock C10 brakes. As they are, the C14 brakes are pretty darn good, but I don't ride like ~~Nicky Hayden~~ Dani Pedrosa or need to stop like him, either.

Pokey · « **Reply #36 on:** May 27, 2013, 05:29:12 PM »

Quote from: Daytona_Mike on May 27, 2013, 12:00:16 PM

Nope, the stock C14 brakes are weak. My old C10 (with a 320mm BBK) stops better.
C14 is 310mm. I tossed the stock pads and rubber brake hoses and went to all HH pads and SS lines and now I have good brakes.

You are out of your mind, any of my friends that have ridden mine all commented on how great the brakes were.

Daytona_Mike · « **Reply #37 on:** May 27, 2013, 08:03:32 PM »

Stock C10 brakes are very weak.
The C14 is a big heavy bike and compared to modern light weight race bikes the brakes just do not compare. It is all relative.

I was comparing my 'STOCK' C14 brakes (310mm rotor, soft squishy rubber hoses and stock non grabby pads)
with my highly modified C10 which currently has = 320 mm rotors (stock are 300mm) and hard non expanding Speigler S.S. lines(stock are soft expanding squishy rubber) with 4 piston calipers (stock is 2 pistons)

Now, when I bought my C14 the first thing I noticed is my C14 does not stop as well as my C10 and did not stop good enough for me.I guess I have been spoiled.
So I fixed that with all new H.H pads and all new S.S. lines.
You too will notice the HUGE difference and improvement and your friends will too. Find a C14 with these simple mods and ride one. Many of us have already done it.

Have a look at the service manuals for C10 and C14. " Replace the rubber brake and clutch hoses every 4 years"

Pokey · « **Reply #38 on:** May 27, 2013, 10:04:10 PM »

Must have been something wrong with your C14, mine stops on a dime with minimal effort "always has". I am almost always 1 and no more than 2 fingers for scrubbing off speed or hard stopping, even with my mushy rubber brake lines. Steel brake lines help with feel, they do very little to nothing for stopping power. I have ridden allot of other bikes including super sports, and the C14 has excellent brakes especially in the sport touring category. Granted I do run Galfer HH pads now, and they for sure give me better feel and contact over the OEM pads. The manual says allot of dumb and unnecessary things, replacing lines every 4 years is one of them. Mine are probably more like 6 years old now, considering my 08 was probably built in 07. Your thoughts may differ.

martin_14 · « **Reply #39 on:** May 28, 2013, 12:26:15 AM »

C14 has excellent brakes, no doubt, but there's room for improvement. The three parameters are
- stopping power: more than enough, no complains here.
- lever feel: could be better, and that's where the steel lines come in handy.
- resistance: after two hours doing alpine passes (in the area of Canazei, Italy), keeping up with S1000RRs and Ducati's, I was touching the grip with the brake lever and still not braking much. But it was an extreme situation, no question.

News:

Author Topic: Front rotors from China. (Read 17702 times)