Quote:
Originally Posted by Luddite
A quick update on the Serie Oro discs and sintered SA pads that I fitted earlier in the year (post #72).
It's been a while since I replaced any pads and I'd forgotten just quite how long they take to bed in, more so sintered pads than organic. Apparently, they are not fully bedded in until there is at least 90% surface area contact between the pad and the disc.
Initially, I thought I'd made a mistake in going for the SA pads as they felt very wooden with noticeably less braking power than standard. In addition, they squeaked and squealed like running your finger around the rim of a wine glass. I even tried some copaslip on the back of the pad - something I haven't done since the days of my CX500 (sorry!).
However, after a little over 300 miles, the pads and discs bedded in and the squealing stopped. The braking power increased considerably and came in much sooner than with the standard pads. In fact the first couple of times I used them in anger after bedding in, I triggered the ABS - something that I'd never managed to do in seven years of riding with the standard pads.
Once I'd recalibrated to the feel of the brakes, I could again brake smoothly but with less effort. I can see why Ducati don't fit them as standard as they could cause problems for new riders, especially without ABS.
As I changed both the discs and pads together, I don't know how much of the improvement is down to the discs and how much the pads but I'd guess it's mostly the pads.
So, if you want to improve your braking power without spending too much, I'd definitely recommend these SA sintered pads - just be patient during the bedding in period.
Flip - didn't you fit these pads to your 900 recently? How have you found them?
Oh, and thanks again to Simon at WSC Performance for the great deal on the discs and pads.
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So, not quite sure how I missed this but here's my thoughts on the SA pads I fitted earlier in the year.
I fitted them in time for my little trip over to Belgium as the pads that were in there had been on for years, although I wasn't experiencing any issues with performance I just thought age was getting the better of them. I did notice the pads (also Brembo) were divided into two rather than the three of the new ones - so perhaps better wet weather performance?
I managed to get a couple of hundred miles done before the trip and I agree that they didn't feel their best at that point.
Since then they have racked up about 1200 miles and they feel much better although not significantly than with my old pads- I think the fluid change had the most effect by firming things up at the lever.
Overall, I'm not disappointed or blown away by them and they most probably are an improvement- pads are always a compromise on the road as they can affect disc wear massively which is why I have always chosen to go with Brembo on the Monster as they maintain their claim that their pads match the disc material for the best combination of performance versus wear- at least for road use.
