Brake pads - whats the difference?

[James83]

I want to replace the brake pads on my ZX6R, so this being my first bike that I’ve had to do this job on, I googled and hit the first result that came up - https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorcycle/brake-pads/bike/kawasaki/1997/zx6r-f3

Now, I understand that some pads are more effective than others, but the cheapest Are £40 for a set of front and rear, vs £200 for the most expensive, and I don’t understand how, when the cheapest pads will lock up a wheel, how the more expensive ones can be 4 times better? Surely anything past the ability to lock the wheel is overkill anyway? Is it purely about heat tolerance, or is there more to this? Is it just paying for the brand name? I fully accept that there may be a good reason that I'm not aware of, so feel free to explain.

Also, I commute and occasionally do weekend blasts on the twisties. No track days. Any reason the Armstrong HHs wouldn’t be good enough? Other than the usual “XXX pads suck because I said so”, obviously

[Tungtvann]

I've never seen a set of pads for £200.

[James83]

Actually, I was a bit off there, I assumed the most expensive rears were the same price as the most expensive fronts. Highest price for a set is actually £160. Even so, that a huge margin from cheapest to most expensive.

[supZ]

generally speaking oems are perfectly good enough.

a lot of trackdayers i know still use oem pads on their hondas.

that said a few higher end trackdayers/racers i know love performance friction pads and they cost a bomb.

a lot of it just comes down to technology.. sintered, organic, friction modifiers, cooling mechanisms, anti-glazing formulas, low dust, wet performance, etc.. etc..

honestly i couldn't tell you whats better or worse in a lot of cases.

i use oem on my blade (roadbike) and sps or bendix sintered/hh on my trackbike. sps are too soft to last any length of time on the road but they're good for the track.

only use those as i was recommended, gave them a go and found them good. and not too pricy.

a lot of people say stay away from the cheapy brands like goldfren, but then i also know people who have used them and they're fine.

/shrug
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

OEM for me in my 954, used SBS in my trackbikes in the past. They were fantastic.

There are many different factors in brake pads, it's much the same as tyres. In that they appear to be relatively simple, but are actually pretty complex in terms of design.
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[Hetzer]

Sintered EBCs do the job perfectly well for me (16 stone on a lardy-ass ZRX1100).

My pads are probably a fifth of the way down the performance pyramid, but the pyramid's getting pretty thin at that point. And very expensive above.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[totalllama82]

Used sintered EBC pads on all of my bikes. Work great. I normally get them off eBay.
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Gone: Haotian HT125-8 / Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat / Kawasaki ZX9R C2
Current: Kawasaki ZZR 1400 A7F

[Walloper]

I would fit sintered if I could.
There is some concern that the harder material wears the discs.

I've never had to replace discs due to wear so maybe that is only relevant if you ride like a tosser on the road or you use your bike on a track.
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[pdg]

The pads I'm currently using say on the packet they're HH sintered.

After 5 months they are yet to fall apart (unlike the (probably) Galfers they replaced).

I paid about 23quid for the full set (twin disc front, disc rear) new. From China via Wales. I found the cheapest set I could, then went one step up to the HH version.

They stop my bike in the dry, they also stop my bike in the wet. I really can't say I need any more than that.

[SQL]

I have goldfren s33 racing pads in my bike, they are good.