Topic: Which Brake Pads?

[Vintageguy]

Have a 1978 750F SS and wondering which brake pads y'all might recommend for a new set of general purpose replacement pads? No track days here, just occasional riding. Thank you for any/all responses.

[Shtonecb500]

vesrah

[HondaMan]

Try to avoid the ones they dub "Environmentally Friendly". Those both squeak loudly and don't stop AT ALL when wet.

[grcamna2]

This is for the front disc brakes on your bike ?  I would think OEM stock for the use you want.

[spotty]

SBS sintered, use them in all my bikes

[sbutler]

Spotty,

I went to SBS's web site to look for the part number for a 75 CB400F but their database did not show any matches (also tried a search for a CB500 and CB750 with no results).

What I am looking for is a pad that improves the stopping distance (i.e., higher friction coefficient).  As most of us know, the older Honda's with solid stainless steel rotor are somewhat marginal.  The wear I observed on the original pads  was minimal, so a higher wear rate is not a problem if the pads have more "bite".

[bryanj]

You think Hondas are marginal, i pdi'd one of the first 1340 Harleys in UK and nearly put it through a shop window the brakes were that bad, even worse than my 1959 sls Triump T110!

[Tim2005]

Spotty,

I went to SBS's web site to look for the part number for a 75 CB400F but their database did not show any matches (also tried a search for a CB500 and CB750 with no results).

What I am looking for is a pad that improves the stopping distance (i.e., higher friction coefficient).  As most of us know, the older Honda's with solid stainless steel rotor are somewhat marginal.  The wear I observed on the original pads  was minimal, so a higher wear rate is not a problem if the pads have more "bite".

Sintered/semi-sintered pads help improve stopping distance in my experience on the 400F. There are 3 suppliers of these out there, AP Racing LMP101ST, EBC FA013V, and Vesrah, though all of them can be quite hard to find stock of. The AP ones are softer, the EBC ones take quite a while to bed in but then grip & wear well. I've never tried the Vesrahs.

[scottly]

What I am looking for is a pad that improves the stopping distance (i.e., higher friction coefficient).

There is a two letter code for the coefficient of friction for pads. The higher in the alphabet, the greater the grip. The first letter represents the cold performance, and the second letter is the hot performance. The standard EBC pads for my twin piston caliper on my 750, for example, have a rating of GG, but there is also an HH compound, which is what I'm using. You will have to see what is available for your 400. Also, I would strongly recommend a smaller master cylinder, such as 12-13mm instead of the stock 14mm.
Vintageguy, your '78 F also came with a too-large master cylinder, in your case 17.5mm. You will get a greater increase in braking by switching to a 14mm MC than you will from any pads. If you want to get serious, you can do the two-piston caliper upgrade:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,89771.0.html   

[spotty]

Spotty,

I went to SBS's web site to look for the part number for a 75 CB400F but their database did not show any matches (also tried a search for a CB500 and CB750 with no results).

What I am looking for is a pad that improves the stopping distance (i.e., higher friction coefficient).  As most of us know, the older Honda's with solid stainless steel rotor are somewhat marginal.  The wear I observed on the original pads  was minimal, so a higher wear rate is not a problem if the pads have more "bite".

try a bike shop that stocks sbs and ask for 501HS , the stock ones are 501HF which will still be better than stock honda items ( before the inevitable sh1tstorm comes down upon my head i used stock for years then got the sbs ones - i worked for the importer - and they were a vast improvement )