Front brake pads

[florence]

Recently, I changed the original master cylinder, which I had been using since 1995, as it had failed and was leaking brake fluid.  I replaced with the one from David Silver and I have to say it has transformed my brakes, much better feel and stops more quickly.

Another useful addition has been stainless steel replacement caliper piston.  Saves the almost annual caliper rebuild.

Braided hose is a sensible choice too.  Obviously, not period correct but I think worthwhile.

Pads are EBC Sintered.

[royhall]

Changed my front pads to the EBC FA13V that Skoti recommended and the stopping power has increased by about 50%. The front brake is now feeling a bit more up to the job.

[Grewth]

I want twin discs on my F1, with drilled discs all round - yes, I know that they don't really work any better,  I just like the style.
I think that the extra front disc should remove the need for high performance pads and discs

[Treve]

Halo - new on the forum
Bringing this brake thread to life. Does anyone have experience with the Brembo pads 07HO0229 for our CB750K0-K6? It´s a so called "Carbon Ceramic pad.

[JezzaPeach]

For me the EBC pads and modern hoses from HEL made to measure, together give the braking needed.

[neat street]

Just to point out that if you replaced the pads as well (as you stated) they may just need to be bedded in, aalthough they are not the best brakes, they may well improve :-)

[Treve]

Since Brembo makes these, someone should have tested them and have some kind of opinion. I have steel braided brake hoses and now I'm going to choose brake shoes.
I have EBC FA012V and these Brembo pads as my main options. Maybe it doesn't matter which ones I choose.

[K2-K6]

The ceramic pad type seems quite stable and works well on the applications I've tried. I've not used them on a 750 disc though, so general observations from me.

It appears there's some marketing "flexibility" in the naming though as "Carbon Ceramic" is very obviously already used for much more expensive disc materials and associated pads.

My experience is that they have a gentle initial bite, then more accumulated friction effect (their publicity of friction co-efficient seems to agree with this in the graph ) as they are both clamped and getting hotter. I like that linearity and consistency more than pads that give first touch superficial high bite feel.

They do give smooth surface and low wear characteristics to the pad that's very consistent over life.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I fitted Brembo Carbon Ceramic pads to my 400, I am happy with the performace compared with the  DS ones that came with the bike.

I also have the DS master cylinder, the front brake lever is virtually devoid of free pay with no sponginess.

[Treve]

Thank you both for your thoughts "Ted" and "K2-K6". Interesting to read because I have never heard about Brembo pads to our 50+ year bikes before. I was a little suspicious to that "carbon ceramics"-naming. But with your comments I am prepared to give it a go. I will give a revue later on.
Thanks

[K2-K6]

They have a whole range to choose from, that's if you want to move into particular direction, some of which may cause increased disc/rotor wear. The CC offer reasonably rounded performance. 

Brembo Motorcycle Pad Materials
Sintered (SA/LA/SP/SC/RC): The standard for modern bikes, these use metallic powders, lubricants, and abrasives fused under heat/pressure.
SA (Sintered Road): Ideal for front street application, providing good initial bite and stability.
LA (Sintered Road - Front): High friction, stable, and offers ~30% longer life than SA.
SP (Sintered Road - Rear): Excellent durability for rear applications.
SC (Sintered Compound): Track-focused, offering higher, more consistent friction for hot, aggressive riding.
RC (Racing): For high-temperature, track-only use, offering maximum friction.
Carbon Ceramic (CC): Designed for comfort and durability, featuring a blueish color, good for all-weather, everyday street riding. They produce less dust and are less abrasive than sintered pads.

Brembo have been quite active recently, also moving into cycle brakes MTB etc.

[K2-K6]

They have a interactive element on their site https://www.brembo.com/en/solutions/for-your-bike/sa-pads which if you scroll down, then you can select different material in comparison on a "distribution" graph to illustrate the properties within each pad.

[Grewth]

If you think that your K7 is bad, it's  got the improved caliper introduced with the F1 with theoretically 21% more braking force than the earlier type.
Maybe it's because I grew up with Japanese bikes in the '70's, I don't seem to be disturbed by the lack of braking power.

[K2-K6]

My view is that of not to focus on the pad material as a utopian answer, but in making the brake work correctly you'll have more choice of pad that may be more suitable for the intended use.

They, all these era fours,  have reasonably decent performance  ..... if they are working correctly. Think they were all less than 30ft from 30mph when tested in contemporary road test etc.

Virtually all disc system accumulate the same fault, that with how the seals at both ends are maintained and assembled. The earlier posts in this thread give good overview of what to clean etc.

No illusion that they match far more modern equipment, but saying they'll never perform well is wrong in my experience.

Often the first touch and how aggressive that is will be confused with brake power, which ultimately may not be the case.

A correctly maintained system should be able to use various pads with different focus, but not to correct a fundamental shortcoming, more as typical use scenario solution.

The more aggressive friction materials may take greater toll of the disc surface as replacement rotors in more current systems are normal. Less so with these original fit period disc rotors.

[Treve]

Thanks "K2-K6"
I realise that what you write is completely correct. If the brake calipers are not working as they should and are adjusted correctly, there can be no braking regardless of which pads are installed.

But I would like to know what I put in the brake calipers and what properties each pad has. I don't like buying a pig in a poke. I refuse to buy NOS or "original" brake pads without knowing how they are constructed. "Original" is not a given advantage for me when it comes to brake shoes.

I've read quite a bit about the CB750's disc brakes on two or three different SOHC forums without Brembo being mentioned before. I've also recently been on Nissin's website and searched. They don't make anything for the CB750 69-76 but they do have alternatives for the F models and up. A quite interesting line-up.

During my search for alternatives to undefined NOS and "original" parts, I have come across the following interesting manufacturers' offerings at this moment:
- EBC FA012V
- Brembo 07HO02-29
- SBS 502HF

Then there is a flood of unspecified brake pads everywhere on the web. It's sad that the sellers aren't more careful about saying what they actually are selling. A lot of it is probably good stuff. Others are best suited as paperweights.

Interesting if the forum members could fill my list with more well-functioning brake pads for our SOHCs.