[kenors]

I don't know if you use eBay but I picked up mine last year there. A quick check shows up:

Vesrah VD-355JL Sintered Metal Brake Pads Sintered/Metal VD-355JL 1721-0176 | eBay

We understand that such delays can be very inconvenient when they occur, but we do not have any influence over such situations.

www.ebay.com

Vesrah Sintered Metal Brake Pad Set VD-434JL High Quality Replacement Pads | eBay

Pad consists of 50-60% copper combined with carbon, ceramic, tin and abrasives. Iron backing plate is plated with copper to make it a stronger bond with the pad friction material. Excellent initial brake pad bite.

www.ebay.com

Vesrah only lists up to 2019 but I don't think the pads changed with the 2020 model.

 

[jjscsix]

I don't know if you use eBay but I picked up mine last year there. A quick check shows up:

Vesrah VD-355JL Sintered Metal Brake Pads Sintered/Metal VD-355JL 1721-0176 | eBay

We understand that such delays can be very inconvenient when they occur, but we do not have any influence over such situations.

www.ebay.com

Vesrah Sintered Metal Brake Pad Set VD-434JL High Quality Replacement Pads | eBay

Pad consists of 50-60% copper combined with carbon, ceramic, tin and abrasives. Iron backing plate is plated with copper to make it a stronger bond with the pad friction material. Excellent initial brake pad bite.

www.ebay.com

Vesrah only lists up to 2019 but I don't think the pads changed with the 2020 model.

I do have an Ebay account and they have very good prices on your link. Thanks

 

[Pmack]

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

I put 120 miles in the bike today. I had high hopes that all would be well. The bike brakes great and gave no indications of any problems….until I got home.

I put the bike on the stands and gave the wheel a spin. One-quarter revolution!!! Pulled the calipers and found uneven wear, different from the first pics, and again both calipers the pads looked identical. And they had hot spots on them. I know I did nothing to heat them up, and it was a 50 degree day. The hots spots had to be from the dragging.

So I gave the OEM pads I was replacing a good cleaning, put them back on the bike and went for a 20 mile ride with plenty of stabs at the brakes from 70 MPH. Get home, back on the stands. Wheel spins like five FULL revolutions. Almost like it was going to spin forever.

I’ve been on the internet looking at pads. My first thought is to go with OEM pads. They served me well. I’m also considering the Versah but having a problem finding them listed for the bike on sites I already have an account with.

Frankly I’m glad the problem is the EBC pads. That means it’s not something I did wrong. I do plan to call Revzilla tomorrow and see if the will take them back or at least give me a discounted price on other pads. They can probably sell me the OEM pads but I can’t find them in an online search.

thanks for all the help

A friend of mine told me to stay away from EBC pads specifically. He said they were prone to warping.
My Vesrah's have been great.
YMMV.

 

[rcannon409]

Jjs, the EBC pads did the same thing to me, on three occasions. This is where I also learned the Galfer pad made the brake lever feel soft...like it had air in the lines.

I learned to tell folks to avoid EBC and Galfer. It wasn't like I woke up one morning and decided to hate the companies.

I wonder how often this happens and no one notices? If you have a shop do the work, it would be easy to assume this is how it works.

The Vesrah JL pad is pretty good. It's a step above oem, at a good price. If you want a serious upgrade, you need the RJL.....the JL friction rating is lower.

I've used this compound before and was impressed. The cost was in the middle of the JL and RJL.

Vesrah ZD-355CT

Vesrah ZD-355CT

www.kurveygirl.com

If you order from Kawasaki, try the pad from a 2014 zx10. Oem quality, and it's more aggressive than our stock pad.

 

[jjscsix]

I ordered a set of Vesrah (spelled right this time 😉) pads and new pins yesterday.

I have invested $80 more in believing the EBCs are the problem but until I install the Vesrahs I’m not claiming victory yet. They should be here this weekend.

When I can confirm the EBCs are the problem I will call Revzilla and see if they will refund me. I’m not optimistic they will, but I will try. I am A VERY good Revzilla customer.

I want to thank all the advice here on the forum, especially rcannon409 and Kenors who have been trusted forum friends for many years. That is not to discount the others who have shared advice, but I go back ten years or so with those two.

 

[_MotoMa83_]

+1.. enjoying reading this topic, learning about the pads options and the solutions to the most reliable products by oem specs. EBC didnt bite well w my ninja400 either.

I would like to learn how to change the brake pads, bleed the lines and keep the disc clean.

Thanks for the knowledge and experiences ya'll are sharing. I read 5 hrs on this forum before I purchased my moto, and another few more already..👍🏼

 

[rcannon409]

If you download a service manual, it will tell you how to do all of that. Even though the caliper changed in 2014, it uses the same pad and pin. Any year of the service manual will work.

I know any of us will help with questions, but the manual is the best place to start as you can see what tools are needed and it shows exactly how to do the job correctly.

 

[Murphyau]

<< snip >>
Vesrah only lists up to 2019 but I don't think the pads changed with the 2020 model.

Vesrah changed the N1K name in their catalog. They list the Ninja1000 up to 2019 and the 1000SX up to 2021. The p/ns are the same for all years.
They also list the Z1000 (same pads) up to 2022.

 

[Johnmark101]

Hope the Vesrah pads you ordered are the solution. You will really appreciate them. Good bite but not abrupt and very easy to modulate. They like a bit of heat before the perform at their optimum. Used them on my track bike and they never faded from hard use.

 

[rcannon409]

The JL compound is t as awesome, but for the price they are tough to beat. At @40.00 per caliper they cost less than the rjl.

They make so many different compounds that it becomes confusing. Even more crazy is that each pad feels different even though they appear to be identical.

I wish someone would do an in depth review, but it won't happen. EBC spends sp much on advertising that their brand name is all you see and no one would want to lose that ad money

 

[rcannon409]

This was a good write up on EBC brake drag. His findings make sense.

His observation on Galfer pads does, too. The Galfer pads are built to be used with their wave rotors. A higher friction pad, and those wave rotors don't work well together so they have to take power from the pad to try and get a decent feel.

Multiple Motorcycle Brake Pad Review | Motorcycle Mojo

If you are looking for options for your next set of brake pads for your motorcycle, click here to read our review of many different brake pads today.

motorcyclemojo.com

 

[jjscsix]

Good article RC. Thanks

 

[rcannon409]

Jjs, your caliper clean. Surgical like. With the miles you do, I didn't expect to see It clean enough to where my Mom would have been impressed. What did you clean it with?

I didn't look for the pad material being in a different spot. Who the hell would do that?

It would explain why you saw wear so soon. The dust issues as well. I don't know if you ran yours long enough to see that?

If you can, please compare your Vesrah pads and see if this same thing happened.

 

[kenors]

Very interesting article.

I've never had a problem like this but I have had an issue with EBC pads. Not Jim's issue so I didn't comment. Years ago on one of my beloved VFRs I put on new EBC sintered pads and next tire change noticed the rotors had serious grooves in them. I thought I'd gotten sand under the pads or something. I brought it up with my mechanic and he suggested EBC pads being the root cause. I didn't quite see how but since I rode my bike many years/miles I didn't want the rotors to wear out prematurely. On his suggestion I started using DP pads and did for many years with great results. It's strictly street and maximum braking performance isn't my top criteria but they do have to have a good feel - and not wear out my rotors! I've also run Galfers (at RC's suggestion) and now the Vesrah pads on my Ninjas with good results.

 

[rcannon409]

Kenors, your observations are right on the money. If you dig back through EBC history, you'll find a time when they claimed to have changed the pad compound on the HH pad to reduce rotor wear. It would have been right around the time you had your vfr.

I haven't seen any damage from the Vesrah pads I've used. I don't know if the color will show up. This rotor and pad set has seen nothing but abuse.

They are dark, but there are no ridges or wear points. These don't have over 100 miles on them on the c14 and my zx14 rotors. These are the CT pads. They should clean up as I get more miles.

.

 

[rcannon409]

The Ninja has the Vesrah RJL pad on a set of 320mm rotors from a zh2. These have around a thousand miles and have bedded in properly with much less abuse . You can see a darker color, but that's about it

 

[jjscsix]

Jjs, your caliper clean. Surgical like. With the miles you do, I didn't expect to see It clean enough to where my Mom would have been impressed. What did you clean it with?

I didn't look for the pad material being in a different spot. Who the hell would do that?

It would explain why you saw wear so soon. The dust issues as well. I don't know if you ran yours long enough to see that?

If you can, please compare your Vesrah pads and see if this same thing happened.

I’m short on time right now, but the short answer is I cleaned with non chlorine brake cleaner then with a small amount of brake fluid to lubricate around the piston and flush any moisture out.

I had no dust, and no real wear, just scuffing (Im assuming you mean the pads I just put on).

 

[rcannon409]

I thought the caliper and pistons looked really clean and well taken care of. You might find that on 1 bike out of every 20, if that.

When I saw that I felt very lucky that I didn't accuse you of having a dirty caliper and blaming you for the brake drag. I expected to see clean, but not OCD like clean.

When you have time, what do you do between rides to keep the caliper clean? This is a big deal, long term and I know others would benefit from knowing. Yours is too clean to have ever been dirty, if that makes sense

 

[jjscsix]

Vesrah pads arrived and have been installed. Unfortunately it is cold and raining here today. Tomorrow is just supposed to be cold. I’m well equipped for cold, so I should have a ride report tomorrow.

 

[jjscsix]

Okay, the results are in after a 15 mile ride (cold out!). The wheel spins a full two turns now and has just minor rubbing noise. This is fully acceptable, and I would guess that with miles it will get better.

I have to come clean on something else. In previous posts I said I have never had an issue with EBCs. I just got to thinking a couple of days ago that I had a similar issue on my FJR about 18 months ago.

It was not quite as bad but it was enough that I took the pads off a couple of times to recheck everything. I asked my local dealer mechanic about it and he said not to worry about it. I honestly did not remember that it was just after I put new pads on it. But I looked it up and it was when I put new EBCs on it. I remember the timing because I was a month away from a long trip and I remember wanting to be sure I was comfortable with it before the trip.

Again, thanks for the help. Without this forum I don’t think I would have bought new pads, at least not yet. I would have done a full blown caliper rebuild off the bike. That is a job I really did not want to do.