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front brake pads for DRZ400SM

O

ocinbobo

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Hey Guys,

so after upgrading to a 320 MM front rotor i am looking to change my front brake pads becauee well they are worn down and need to be changed. Anyone have any input as to what brake pads i should og with?

Any info would be great.

Thanks

-Nico
 
I have only used EBC HHs on the DRZ. Works great for me. Good feel, and bite, but slightly more drag and noise than the stock ones.
 
Burned on TT says the stockers are superior -but they are more expensive. I replaced mine with stock and have no complaints. I did notice the SM is a different part number than the S (as I recall) but they look the same.
 
EBC MXS is my favorite pad. Excellent initial bite.

Whatever you get, make sure it's sintered.
 
Are you running the stock caliper? Most pads for the DRZ are designed for off road use so over heat when you get a bit aggresive. I use the Carbon Lorraine SM3. They're designed for Motards. I sold a few sets to my customers and the feedback is that they have great initial bite with very good feel.:thumbup
 
Performance Friction carbon metallic pads

Funny how great the DRZ brakes are when it's sitting in the garage.

Riding for the first time in about a year reminded me how relatively sucky they are.

A quick email to Performance Friction (my favorite brakes pads) surprised me that they are available for the DRZ400SM. Less surprising when there seems to be about 100 motorcycles that it shares front pads with.

http://www.performancefrictionbrakes.com.au/pad_details.php?id=7581

The fronts are momentarily available in the 95 compound and the rears in 80 and 99.

http://www.performancefrictionbrakes.com.au/technology.php?pageId=28

The front part number is 7581.95.08.92 (95 compound)

The rears are 7537.80.11.92 (80 compound) & 7537.99.11.92 (99 compound).

I was jonesing so bad to the get the fronts but I figured that I didn't need them and with the way PFC regularly updates their compounds I should wait. That lasted about 36 hours and I was happy to find that my stock pads are almost toast, with the inner pad down to 2mm at most.

Bye bye suckass brakes!!!! (I hope)

Stay tuned...
 
The fronts (7581.95.08.92) aren't a perfect replacement. The shape is close enough that I was able to use them after a tiny bit of grinding to clear the sliding half of the caliper and I had to bend the spring clip to put enough pressure on the pads to hold them against the caliper.

Without riding back to back in comparison to the stock Nissin pads, especially when weeks lapse between rides, I'm not expertly sure how the PFC pads compare. I'm certain that they do need a little heat to work, were stronger when slowing from higher speeds and have good feel and predictability. They do drag more than the stock pads and make a pleasing (at least to me) buzzing/whistling (whizzing?) noise when on the brakes that was unfortunately a little distracting off the brakes when it would take a second or two to become inaudible because of the drag.

A coast race on the San Jose side of Mt Hamilton, had me probably a 1/2 mile behind everyone else by the end mostly due to the drag.

I know from experience that the PFC pads will be very easy on the rotor.

I love Performance Friction's Carbon Metallic brake pads on other bikes that I've used them on and will keep using my current set until they wear out but can't recommend them for an '06 DRZ400SM because of the fitment and presumably at least partially related drag issues.
 

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distraction from disappointment
 

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Never tried the Extreme Pros but I loved the EBC HHs pads on my DRZ, even with the horrible R6 master cylinder.
 
I'm confused now. EBC rates the MXS as an HH pad and the other HH rated pad, the Extreme Pro, has a product code of EPFA185HH. Is there a third EBC HH rated pad for this caliper?
 
UKtech1 said:
Are you running the stock caliper? Most pads for the DRZ are designed for off road use so over heat when you get a bit aggresive.
Click to expand...

This is exactly right. Except to add to that, the caliper itself is also designed for off road use and does not offer near enough stopping power, if you're really hustling the bike.

The best pads are the ones that fit a real caliper, like these;

motostrano_2065_11499461


motostrano_2061_5710387


motostrano_2065_11313687


Every other change to front brake is just putting lipstick on a pig.


YMMV
 
pad shapes
 

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I talked to Performance Friction this morning.

They're going to take care of me and send me the correct pads. The Performance Friction pad shape is 7542.

Assuming that EBC's catalog is correct, PFC has a considerable problem.

If any of you are willing to help me build some good will with PFC that could come in handy for at least the DRZ-SM and converted with stock calipers CRF250/450 and YZ250/400-450F SMs owners amongst us please post pics of your front brake pads along with year, make and model.

If we are helpful enough, it might be possible to get a special run of 07 compound pads that are meant for roadracing with higher cold friction and bite than the 95 compound that the 7542 is normally manufactured in. The 07 is stronger than the 05 that my R6 cannot use the full braking power of because the rear tire won't stay on the ground. The 95 compound is probably spec'ed because of the dirt applications.
 
Yes, it looks like PF has their fitment reference messed up. This caliper is the same one that has been used on most japanese dirt bikes for the past 15yrs.

96-09 DR650 uses the 7542 pad shape

I'd be in for trying the 07 compound.
 
Don't get me wrong, the 95 compound is strong enough to make for excellent brakes on a 500 (?) pound ZRX1200 and supposedly won a World Superbike championship or two with Troy Bayliss.

I'm hoping for the 07, too, but am about as eager to get the 95 in the correct shape.
 
Update.

Delay in progress on this is due more to me as it is to Performance Friction.

It's looking very possible to have a batch of pads made in the 05 or 07 compound. I'll know in about two weeks.

This would benefit most of us with the ubiquitous Nissin two piston caliper as used on most Japanese dirt and motocross bikes, notably for this forum CRF150/230F, CRF250/450R, KX250/450F, RMZ250/450, YZ250/450F and most importantly of all that queen of all underpowered, weak braked pigs, the Suzuki DRZ400SM:party.
 
No, sorry, I haven't been able to follow up with PFC. I intend to do so by the end of this week.
 
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