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Brake Upgrade Opinion

23K views 24 replies 16 participants last post by  GoFaster 
#1 ·


Since the Stock brakes are really bad.......... We are going to make a Brake upgrade kit for the R3.


Just wanted to get some feedback.

Brembo Upgrade Caliper 34mm 2 opposing pistons.
Much more clamping power then stock

They also include better pads as well.










OR

Brembo 4 Piston Caliper.
Obviously even more braking power... but caliper and bracket are approx. $180 more then above setup.










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#2 ·


Since the Stock brakes are really bad.......... We are going to make a Brake upgrade kit for the R3.


Just wanted to get some feedback.

Brembo Upgrade Caliper 34mm 2 opposing pistons.
Much more clamping power then stock

They also include better pads as well.



OR

Brembo 4 Piston Caliper.
Obviously even more braking power... but caliper and bracket are approx. $180 more then above setup.




.
I'd vote for offering both options as a Level 1 and a Level 2 upgrade.

I'd also like to see a package with just braided lines and better (but non-racing) pads for the general street rider like me.
 
#5 ·


Since the Stock brakes are really bad.......... We are going to make a Brake upgrade kit for the R3



.
Who says they are "really bad"? Probably someone who doesn't know how to bleed their brakes, I'd expect. I am running stock brakes with braided lines under race conditions - "really bad" brakes is bullshit. A Brembo upgrade is nice, but selling an upgrade kit by misinforming forum members is no bueno.
 
#6 · (Edited)
No Offence to Hard Racing, as they have to sell stuff.
This should be in the sponsors section.

But Im with Stirz here, the only people here that might possibly need brake upgrades, are thos who race, and the irony there is that most of us run production rules so we don't need to and caant anyway.


There was thread where someone had fitted Brembos and Ohlins for the shiny brandname.
yep he had the 1980 bias ply tyres on.

There are impressionable new riders here who wont need to uprgade anything for 5-10 yrs and think there is something wrong with a perfectly good new bike.
This happens on every 250 forum (Except Ninjette, the mods are experienced racers)
I blame the Internet.
 
#7 ·
Not gonna lie I'm a name brand ***** when it comes to parts and I'm glad they are here to put out new parts for us. I would say the stock brakes are not to par per people's liking so they are offering a better setup out there. If brake lines are enough stopping power for you then they can offer you that as well. I'd rather see a company offer better parts than seeing people throwing LEDs, HID kits without retro, reflective wheel tape, etc. I've been in the Grom scene and they helped pretty much anyone on there even if you don't buy their products. I'll even say I've never even bought any parts for my Grom from them but they are willing to help anyone in need. Here's my whored out Grom. Did I need all these parts? **** no but I'd rather do it right or not do it at all...
 

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#8 · (Edited)
You kinda missed the point they were making! A vendor stating the OEM "brakes are bad" as a selling point is kinda messed up. Most of the riders here according to Stirz's poll are brand new riders and a Vendor making untrue comments to sell a product really puts a bad taste in my mouth! IMO. I have ran the stock brakes and lines on the track and have almost gone over the handle bars when you grab a handful!
 
#9 ·
I'm also in the Stock brakes are not that bad camp. True they need some time to bed in witch I did on the street for about 300 miles. Then I bled the brakes and put on some great Vesrah pads making it even better! Have not even added a steel braded brake line yet. Braking performance on the track and street is good enough for me.


They are not one finger braking good but two fingers on the brake lever will haul you to a stop!
 
#10 ·
Of course Yamaha wouldn't put out brakes that doesn't work but people are already replacing pads and lines because it doesn't meet their needs/expectations. They're here just for "opinions" of another system. They're not here to make a quick sale and you'll see in the long run how much support they'll have. If everyone just wants upgraded pads or lines then that's all they'll offer. I hope this thread doesn't put a bad taste in their mouth and not offer better performance parts cause they have the best install videos! Lol
 
#11 ·
I also agree that stock brakes are fine. Of course, I added braided lines and re-bled everything. I had also bought some sintered pads for the track, but I actually didn't put them on and I didn't miss them while there. Next time I plan to be more aggressive and then who knows, but so far I've been fine with stock brakes. That said, I'm normally a sucker for blingy Brembos...
 
#12 ·
I haven't had much time with the R3 brakes, but they are similar to the SV650s. Dual piston single sided pull. The SV brakes really sucked. I had my SV down to 355 wet. Brake fade was TERRIBLE because of the single sided pull of the pistons. I experienced constant brake fade at the tight tracks because of the constant braking.

I did the upgrade to the Tokiko GSX-R brakes with a caliper bracket. It was a wonderful upgrade. Plus, there were more brake pad options. It did put me in the superbike category though. I am running CCS though and they don't even have a class for the R3 yet. Unless you count 500 SuperSport...

If there were an option to upgrade I would think using the older style GSX-R, R6, or ZX calipers would be an easier swap because they are more readily available, and cheaper than the Brembos

I do agree this should be in the vendor area though.

 
#13 ·
Well first,I need to agree with most of the comments here for anyone to throw out in an open forum that the brakes are not good and bad really throws a huge net over a lot of new riders, I like the fact that a lot of the forum "Strong Members" were able to see this.
In general MY take is that the new riders are looking for guidance and help to maybe understand things, it gives them an area to read and try to understand....I do not see that Hardracing is a vendor, and maybe they should step up to the plate and pay the fee to become a vendor and from there they can post anything in their own section....

In the past I never thought I would be a "Vendor" I understand my Place here...Im a engine builder and do a lot of items for all lightweight class bikes.I want to share my Knowledge and if I can sell a few parts to riders...Its all good...
 
#14 · (Edited)
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Sorry guys for not replying sooner to the comments.
We just have been slammed the past few days.


Just to clarify, ...... the title of this post was "BRAKE UPGRADE OPINION"
Everyone here at our shop has been riding for 20-30 + years.
We have all had our share of good brakes and bad.


Again....... the post was asking for opinions.


That's why we posted it.

In our opinion...... the brakes are bad. We've had a large amount of customers calling and emailing us to offer brake upgrades for the R3.

For us, you can never have too much braking power.
The day eventually comes when someone pulls out in front of you, or a car swearves in your lane, or a dog runs out in front of you, and the difference between Great Brakes and modest brakes, can be the difference between running into something, or stopping in time.


The longer you ride in life the more experience you have in these situations.
The more you realize... having great brakes is a good thing.



If someone doesn't think the brakes are that bad, that's totally fine.

Again, all opinions.



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#15 ·
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Well we finally got some good weather and were able to finish our testing.

And the Brake upgrade kit did indeed help reduce stopping distance. By quite a bit actually.

Which, .. if a car pulls out in front of you, or changes into your lane, or cuts you off........ could make the difference between stopping in time, or going through the back window. (2 of us, have both been there, done that......... it sucks)

See here if you are interested : >> R3 Brake Upgrade <<



.
 
#16 ·
Hello, I've got a brake upgrade Q: Brembo caliper upgrade or Galfer SS line Kit?

I've had instances where I need to brake pretty fast because traffic in LA can stop in a flash and I'm concerned about the Stock braking power. I'd like to know if I should invest on brake lines or go big with the brembo caliper.

Thanks!
 
#17 ·
You should invest in SS lines whether you have stock calipers or brembo IMO. I suggest doing the lines first then seeing f you like the brakes then. If you sill need more, move on to pads, then the caliper, then Master Cylinder if you really want to go al out. There is a pic Stirz posted of Jason Madama (racer) doing a stoppie on stock brakes just to show to you what stock can do.

That said, I ran SS lines, an R6 brake and brembo caliper.
 
#23 ·
A Set of Sintered pads and a steel line is more than enough of an upgrade. (this is coming from a guy who races)

IF you start putting bigger brakes on the little bike you have more of a chance of locking under hard braking vs actually getting **** stopped.

The biggest upgrade you could do for the R3 is you want better brakes....TZR250 front end. USD forks, twin disks.
 
#25 ·
4 year old thread ...

All the (non-ABS) R3 needs is a braided steel front brake line. Done. That's it.

My roadrace R3 has stock brake rotor, stock caliper, stock pads, stock master cylinder (much of that is required by rules) and a braided steel front brake line. I can lift the rear wheel off the ground using the front brake with nicely warmed-up racing tires.
 
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