Looking for disc brakes

[Darkman]

does anyone know where i can get some front discs for a GSXR 400 for reasonably cheap.

[James Deuce]

Freddies. Ring Richard at TSS.

[Darkman]

Freddies. Ring Richard at TSS.

ouch..$320 each!......not quite what i was hoping for.

[James Deuce]

That's the cheapest I could find too - I went for slightly more expensive ones in the end because they had "nicer" carriers.

Sucks, I know.

[Toast]

Freddies. Ring Richard at TSS.

Freddie's Discs? I've heard they're absolutely shit. Warped within 300kms.

[Madness]

http://www.metalgear.com.au/

W.Whites are the NZ agents, they wholesale through bike shops. I seem to remember their prices aren't too shabby??

[Toast]

http://www.metalgear.com.au/

W.Whites are the NZ agents, they wholesale through bike shops. I seem to remember their prices aren't too shabby??

Metalgear discs are really mint...and you get brake pads matched to the discs with every set.

[James Deuce]

Metalgear discs are really mint...and you get brake pads matched to the discs with every set.

Speaking of "shit", I've had Metal Gear front discs for 2000kms and the "free" pads are hopeless. They do NOT work in the wet at all. The brakes are either ON (very weakly) or OFF. The vibration from the pads slapping around in the calipers is WORSE than the warped OEM disc I bought the Metal Gear rubbish to replace. It's cost the poor buggers at TSS hours to try and get them set up right including rotating the carriers around the wheel mounts to get almost 0 run out, and still they vibrate like a transexual's purse.

They've also installed a second set of discs and pads to check run out and mounting consistency and the first set were better.

I would not reccommend them. The only other disks available in the price range and immediately available are Freddies and there is no way they could be worse than the Metal Gear ones.

[Toast]

Interesting Jim2. That's the first bad experience I've heard of with Metal Gear...and it's pretty high on the scale of bad experiences.

[James Deuce]

Yes it is one of the only negative experiences I've had in the last few months. Sorry if it came across a bit strong, but after my experiences I felt I had to speak up. All those bike reviews I've done lately are thanks to those brilliant guys at TSS lending me bikes while the workshop guys try to fix the brakes.

[Devil]

I bought a pair of EBC pro-lite rotors from starcycle.com in the states. $175US per rotor. With the current exchange rate that's cheap as chips for decent brakes.

[Toast]

Yes it is one of the only negative experiences I've had in the last few months. Sorry if it came across a bit strong, but after my experiences I felt I had to speak up. All those bike reviews I've done lately are thanks to those brilliant guys at TSS lending me bikes while the workshop guys try to fix the brakes.

Nah, didn't come across too strong. If you've had a bad experience with a product, by all means speak up.

A motorcycle disc brake system is hardly complex, and assuming that the guys who put them on bolted them in the correct pattern (and pretty safe to assume that a bike shop did that), then there's not really any other failing point, and it's hard to excuse the discs of fault.

[Ross-coe]

I too have purchased Metal Gear discs for my K5 GSXR600 and had a similar problem as James.
Firstly, I am an A grade mechanic, have worked in the motor industry for 37 years and in that time have worked in several garages and have worked in two motorcycle dealerships as well. So I know how to repair and fit brakes, etc.
I fitted two new discs from MG, plus new sintered pads, stripped & serviced both calipers completely and even renewed the front wheel bearings (just in case), (steering head bearings renewed previously, wheel and tyre checked and rechecked) but I too ended up with a brake shudder.....which is what I was trying to get rid of in the first place with my OEM discs. I had to send them back to Aussie so they could 'fix' them....... "What, you're not going to send me new ones!!!"
After a couple of weeks I got them back and duly fitted them to my bike.
I have only had one run on them so far and have not really run them in properly yet....so will withhold my final verdict for now, although they are feeling reasonably OK.
They (MG) were helpful, but one has to ask.....why did this even have to happen in the first place?! I'm not that impressed. And what about the inconvenience?! Take my old discs off, put new discs on, find them bad, take new discs off, re-fit my old discs, remove old discs, fit 'fixed' ones on!!! It better be the last time, I hope so anyway!
I used a dial indicator gauge on the latest set they sent me and found one disc to have 3 thou run-out and the other to have 2.8 thou run-out. Like I said, "Not impressed". The other thing I wanted to have a bleat about was the weight of the darn things! My original Suzuki discs weigh approx 1505 grams, the MG ones weighed in at a whopping 1940 grams - that's an additional 435 grams per disc - a total of 870 grams, which comes to 1.91802, or nearly 2 pounds extra! I guess it'll help keep the front planted on the track, but it will also cause it to be slower turning in and........who needs extra weight on a sports bike anyway?!?! CRAZY!!!
I guess you get what you pay for - there's a reason they're cheaper!
Oh, why they're heavier is because the centre hubs on the discs are made from steel (my magnet doesn't lie!) - the factory OEM disc hubs are alloy.
EBC Prolites for me next time I think.
Cheers.

[scumdog]

Comment as per above is the reason I recently repaced the discs on the front of my T-Sport with factory items - ok, they ARE floating discs from a different model but they are bolt-on items.

Original 'solid' non-floaters warped, touching the brake lever doubled my pleasure as the Harley vibration level went through the roof and the mirrors blurred (yes, even more than normal...).
New items stop better and smoother although I could almost do with an adjustable-reach brake lever now.

Personally I would do a lot of research before forking out the coin for after-market items...just saying...