Hawk brake pads

[ErikSTT]

I have used Hawk pads for years on my street and race cars and have a lot of confidence in them; I will need pads soon for the STT and want to know what their reputation is in the motorcycle/Buell community. They are priced quite well (jpcycles.com) and are more familiar to me than anything else except EBCs.

[Rhino1]

Go with EBC HH [smirk]

[user_deleted]

what rhino said. i stock EBC's for the 6 piston and 8 piston XB's. great pads, good pricing, give excellent lever feel, very clean compared to the chinese garbage the factory installed.

[konarider94]

hawk is very popular on the audi forum im on. no one has mentioned them before on here that i have seen. i have the lyndall gold front pads on mine and they work nice but make a ton of dust so i probably wont use them again.

i just looked at those hawk pads and they are also rated HH. Knowing their reputation as a brake company im sure its a great option. price looks pretty reasonable too.

[ErikSTT]

Yeah--kind of what I am thinking too; I just ordered the Hawks. Their car stuff is fantastic--used them on my racecar for years. I'm sure they will be good for a road bike.

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/216629_1019111164675_5271_n.jpg
Me in the RX7 at Blackhawk Farms.

[Rhino1]

That's just it--they may or may not be, as car competence doesnt always translate to motorcycle competence. Some manufactures, like Ferodo, EBC, etc., have a history in both areas and "get it" when it comes to either. Some, like Vesrah, Galfer, etc., seem to specialize in motorcycles and really tend to understand our needs.

Let us know how the Hawk pads work out.

[ErikSTT]

Shall do...and I appreciate the commentary. How is the SAE "HH" rating determined? I know that is the highest standard available, but do brake manufacturers just "say" our pad is manufactured to an HH standard, or does that rating need to be granted via a test?

Hawk has been around a long time and are an industry leader in the frictions business (like Ferodo, etc.)--I have no reason to not trust the "competence" in that arena, be that a car or a bike. I do know that their car pads require a very specific bedding-in procedure, so that a "transfer layer" of friction material gets on the rotor. I will be interested to see if that applies here. Stay tuned.