BrakeTech Rotors, FYI
 

With about 55k miles on my rotors grabbed by newish EBC HH sintered pads, 01 RC51 calipers & MC, and before I reassemble the front end after replacing the steering head bearings (which believe it or not looked excellant and did not require replacement with the Allballs tapered roller bearings) and fitting up my forks rebuilt & revalved by Greg, I was planning on cleaning the rotors (as I usually do) with red Skotchbrite pads & isopropyl alcohol but instead decided to now remove the rotors and beadblast clean them (I have my own bead blast caabinet). However, just for kicks, I contacted Braketech regarding what they recommended. Their rotors are very ingeniously designed to tranfer braking forces into a "buttress" and only use the floating buttons for lateral & axial expansion alignment. Below is their response along with my questions to them.

Thanks for the inquiry:

The AXIS™ Design Full-Floaters are designed for use with the stock wheels and calipers for simple bolt-on application. At a full 5mm thick, these unique full-floaters offer substantially improved performance in terms of both modulation at the lever and overall braking power. Plus we’ve further upgraded our entire line of performance rotors with the inclusion of technologically advanced and computer controlled Cryogenic processing, this 40 hour deep cycle freezing treatment provides greater thermal stability and reduces wear.

The patented advanced floating system of the AXIS series full-floaters is many times stronger than conventional semi-floating brake rotors. The heart of this patented design has the floater buttons controlling radial and axial float only, they are non-load bearing. All of the considerable braking forces are channeled through the trademarked Direct-Link™ architecture comprising over an 800% increase in surface area load transfer as compared to conventional floating brake rotors...simply a far superior design!

In simple terms, you'll not find such as collection of technically advanced design features nor manufacturing processes in any other brake rotor...including Brembo. EBC is manufactured to a much lower price point and not in the same league.

Iron provides a higher coefficient of friction over stainless, with more feel and feedback at the brake lever. But get them wet - they're going to rust. If you're a fair weather rider like me, then it's a non-event and not an issue. However, if you ride distances where inclement weather is a definite possibility, you're better off with our AXIS/Cobra stainless steel series in the optimized petal design.

We offer several upgrade material options for your bike:

AXIS Design Performance Rotors
FRONT FLOATERS: 298mm x 5mm
• BTH-29.0; Billet cut Ductile Iron in black, $349.95 ea.
• BTH-29.S0; Cobra stainless steel w/ optimized petal design, $324.95 ea.

If you ride in the rain, our recommendation is to stay with the stainless steel Cobra series since rust will be an ongoing issue with iron rotors.


On pads, typically the Ferodo [Platinum] organic pads have the most feel and modulation at the brake lever. For genuine racing or extensive track-day use, the CP carbon based offers very high friction and tremendous overall stopping power. For real-world street use with stainless steel or iron rotors, we recommend the high performance Platinum pads as they offer great overall power and modulation.

If you're looking for the highest performance levels on the street or canyons, go with the Ferodo SinterGrip pads. For racing or frequent track use, the new SinterGrip XRAC is your pad. They're used by many top World 600 SuperSport teams including Belgarda Yamaha, the U.S. Factory Yamaha team and Kawasaki Canada, etc.
For best all-around performance, the HH rated SinterGrip ST, is the best bang for the buck dollar value.
Pad options include:

FRONT PADS
• FDB533P; Platinum organic, $31.95 per caliper
• FDB533ST; SinterGrip ST HH-rated, $38.95 per caliper
• FDB533CP211; Carbon/ceramic race, $57.95 per caliper
• FDB533XRAC; SinterGrip XRAC with Array Cooling, Pro Race, $72.95

REAR PADS
• FDB754P; Platinum organic rear, $32.95
• FDB754ST; SinterGrip ST rear, $33.95

If your bike is not already equipped with the late generation of radial pump master cylinders, that would be another area for improvement. The increased piston size along with the substantial increase in leverage ratio makes for a truly significant performance improvement you can immediately feel every time you pull the lever! The 19 x 18mm units from Nissin include two different perches depending on your need as well as an integral brakelight switch. They are priced at $219.95 in either black or gold. A matching clutch radial pump is available as well (gold only).

Hope this helps.

Jeff Gehrs
BrakeTech USA
+1 951-471-3476 ph
+1 951-471-3536 fax
www.braketech.com