RELATED MODS: HEL Stainless Steel Brake Lines

I decided that I wanted to invest in some better brake pads for two reasons:

1 - Better braking performance
2 - To stop my front brakes from squeaking!

So when the time came I was happy to see that not only did my local dealer carry EBC Brake Pads, but they also had them in stock ( a rare occurrence indeed!)

The cost was $145.00 CAD (including taxes and my discount) for 2 sets of the front pads and 1 set for the rear.
EBC Pads - Front: FA199 (361-1996)
EBC Pads - Rear: FA174 (361-1742)

Installation of new EBC Brake Pads (Front and Rear)

Front Brakes

Installation is VERY easy and straight forward. You should reference pages 4-16 thru 4-22 of the Service Manual for installation instructions. I will attempt to do my best to summarize these steps.

1. Put bike on center stand. We will start with the front calipers first.
2. Pick either the left or the right caliper. Remove the 2 caliper bolts.
3. Pull up and away on the caliper housing and remove it from the rotor. Be careful to not let it 'dangle' from the brake line. Use a cable tie to secure it so the weight of the caliper does not put strain on the brake line. As you can see in the picture below, the pads will probably stay on the rotor when you remove the caliper.

4. Remove old brake pads. Now is a good time to clean the caliper and de-glaze the rotor (on both sides) with some steel wool. Make sure to use compressed air to remove any dust and steel wool from the rotor, wheel and caliper unit.

5. You are now ready to install the new brake pads. In the picture below, the new EBC pads are on the outside, and the stock pads are on the inside.

6. Unlike a car, you can install the new pads on either side of the rotor and not directly inside the caliper unit.

7. Once the new pads have been seated in place, you need to push the caliper piston back in order to make room for the added thickness of the new pads. If you don't, you will not be able to slide the caliper unit over top of the new pads. You will need some plastic tubing like you would use for bleeding brake lines. I used a bleeding tube that can be used by one person when bleeding brakes, but it doesn't really matter what you use. Remove the dust cover off the bleeding nipple on the caliper, slide your tube over the nipple, then using a #10 wrench, open the bleeding nipple. You might see a bit of brake fluid seep out into your tube.

Grasp the caliper unit in your hands and using your fingers, push back the piston until it is flush with it's rubber boot and the caliper housing. DO NOT push the piston too far or back into the piston boot!!!

8. Once the piston is pushed back, tighten the bleeder nipple and remove the tube.

9. Slide the caliper unit overtop of the brake pads and rotor. Make sure everything is aligned and seated. You should not have to force anything.

10. Add some grease to section of the caliper bolts where the caliper unit slides and a bit of thread locker on the threads of the caliper bolts and re-tighten to 29 ft lbs each.

11. You are done. Give your front brake lever a couple of good squeezes to build the pressure back up in the closed brake system. You can now follow the same steps for the other front brake caliper and pads.

Rear Brake

1. The rear brake is a slightly different caliper unit than the front ones, but the basic process this virtually the same.

2. First, remove the screw plug that cover the brake pad pin. Then using an allen key, loosen the brake pad pin and leave it in the caliper (just loosen for now).

3. Remove the two caliper bolts. Support the caliper unit with a cable tie or string while you work on removing the brake pad pin and pads.

4. With the brake pad pin removed, the pads will fall out. Again, clean the caliper and de-glaze the rotor (on both sides) with some steel wool. Make sure to use compressed air to Remove any dust and steel wool from the rotor, wheel and caliper unit.

5. Once again, you need to push the caliper piston back in order to make room for the added thickness of the new pads. If you don't, you will not be able to slide the caliper unit over top of the new pads. Use your plastic tubing again. Remove the dust cover off the bleeding nipple on the caliper, slide your tube over the nipple, then using a #10 wrench, open the bleeding nipple. You might see a bit of brake fluid seep out into your tube. Grasp the caliper unit in your hands and using your fingers, push back the piston until it is flush with it's rubber boot and the caliper housing. Again, DO NOT push the piston too far or back into the piston boot!!!

6. Once the piston is pushed back, tighten the bleeder nipple and remove the tube. Slide the brake pad pin back in while adding in the new pads as you slide the pin back in.

7. This is about the only tricky part of the whole operation. Carefully hold and position the dangling pads into their respective locations on each side of the rotor and slide the caliper unit down into place. Again, there should be no need to force anything into place. When everything is in the correct place and aligned, the caliper should drop nicely back into place.

8. Grease up the caliper bolts and add lock tite to the threads and replace the caliper bolts. Tighten up the brake pad pin and replace the screw plug.

9. Pump the rear brake pedal a few times to build up pressure

10. Do a visual check that all your brake lines and calipers are all back in place and tight.

11. Go for a test drive!! This is VERY important to do. Don't assume that your brake system and new pads are ready to go. Test them out. Find some quiet back roads and do some hard and constant braking. Your new pads will seem kinda mushy at first and will need a few hundred miles for them to properly break in. So keep that in mind when you go for your next few rides! Also, the EBC pads will have more stopping power once they have broken in than the stock factory pads, so be careful.

- Boneman