Front Discs

[Debs]

I need some advice as money is getting tight..

Last time baby was serviced I was told that I may need the front discs changing soon.. Something to do with being slightly warped.. Ive never had a problem with the front brakes and I thought they were ok.
My questions is... Do I let Kawasaki do them or would you recommend I do them. Everything has always been done by them as I am very happy with the service I receive, but if its a very easy job and I can save some money I would like to try..

I dont want to pay out for something that I could easily do myself.

Baby is in for her 48k service on Wednesday and it may be mentioned.

[pistole]

- easy job.

- but if your brakes feel fine , pads still have material on them and , eg , no shuddering when braking from high speeds , its probably not a worry.

- if you want to change the discs , you'd need the special tool to loosen the fr. axle (looks like a big reversed socket - some have tried the reverse end of a sparkplug socket with success ) and the calipers need to be removed before the wheel can come out. As for the bolts attaching the discs to the wheel , I'd recommend loosening them first before taking off the wheel. That will make the job much easier rather than dealing with a loose wheel.

- as for gettting the fr wheel off the ground , you only need her to be on the c.stand and then use a scissor jack on the exhaust collector (the lowest portion of the exhaust) and jack the front up that little bit to lift up the fr. wheel.

- good luck.

[tommytool]

Your disk bolts are likely to be thread locked in and well fast. Don't risk rounded one off like I did on my old fazer.
If they don't shift try heating them up carefully with a blowtorch. Then it's easy peasy.

[Martin#30]

The labour cost to fit new disks (~£50) is nothing compared to the costs of the disks themselves (~£700). If I were changing disks, I would also want to change the pads at the same time so there is another £120 parts, £25 labour.

If there you are not experiencing any negative issues with the brakes, I agree with pistole, don't worry about it.

Martin.

[BigAlan]

I agree with the others, if its not broke don't fix it, check the thickness of the disks and compare them with a new set, I don't know what the minimum thickness should be sorry, check the brake pads and see how much meat is on them.

Ok if you do need to change the lot then eBay can be a good source for alternative disks and as others have said, slacken off the disk bolts before removing the wheel as they are indeed thread locked with red stuff, might be worth getting some yourself and putting it back on the bolts when they go back.

If the weather was better I am sure there are some of us around who could help.

Alan

[Debs]

Thank you for all the advice.

I can get my tyre fitter to take the wheel off which isnt a problem.

Is there any make that could be recommended? The Armstrong ones look ok on fleabay.

[virginiajim]

If you are going to take the discs off, it's much better to loosen the bolts while on the bike so you can get leverage on them, although mine weren't gorilla tight when I took them off.  If you aren't having any problems and the pads seem to be wearing somewhat evenly, I wouldn't muck with them.  You really don't have to use new bolts either.  I've taken mine on and off multiple times without replacing the bolts.  They haven't flown off yet. 

[viper]

DEBS


If i ever need new front rotors on my GTR im going to try the cheap chinese ones. I ran these on my zzr1200 for about 4k miles before i sold it and they were superb, they were made from a higher grade stainless steel than my stock ones as they never showed any signs of rust unlike my stockers. Its very contraversial using these chinese rotors but where do you think your originals are made ??

have a read of this thread i did on another site which got about 5k hits, lots of opinions for and against them, read through the thread as the argument for thenm gets stronger. all the negative opinions are from guys who have never tried them
The rotors i bought were the Arashi brand which is a good brand in china so try to get them. at the end of the thread there are a picture of the rotors a few years later.

Id fit them to my gtr in a heartbeat and even if i only got a few thousand miles out of them id still consider them good value

http://zzrbikes.com/threads/70842-Cheap-chinese-rotor-feedback-(-UPDATE-2010-)

these are the discs

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Brake-Disc-Rotor-Kawasaki-ZX-10R-ZX-10R-ABS-GTR-ZZR-1400-ZZR-ABS-1400-BLK-/330751772409?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item4d025786f9#MRLOCATE

boomer put these on his gtr last year , pm him for feedback, this is his thread

http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=1906.0

[Debs]

Thats great thank you...

I dont intend changing them if I dont have to. Just want to be prepared incase I do..

I will check out the links.. Thank you 

[O.C.]

Viper is correct, not everything manufactured in China is poor quality, and those 'wavy' discs look the dogs 

[viper]

Viper is correct, not everything manufactured in China is poor quality, and those 'wavy' discs look the dogs 

rotor quality is something that is debated as is tyres and oil ect. Over the last 20 years ive seen all sorts of opinions and tests and verdicts on different priced rotors and my conclusion is thus

OEM discs on heavy/sports/powerfull bikes just seem to warp early in their life, some makers are dogged with it , some fair better than others, some owners seem to report constant warping issues while others like me have never had it happen on any bike.

If Oems warp once they will probably do it again. expensive aftermarket brands seem to be the popular choice , but again ive heard loads of stories of they warping and loads of stories of them being great.

Chinese discs are controversial, mainly because of their price, a lot of riders will say that they are not prepared to take a risk with cheap brands, believing they will explode or something, Ive heard of them warping and even the rivets lossening, i think worst case senario is that after a 1000 or 2 miles they may warp , i think its worth the risk v the price of european expensive ones

checking that your buttons turn freely every service / winter ride  prolongs the life, weve done this topic before

Definately go for a chinese brand that others have used, me and boomer have used the Arashi ones. Im sure there are good and bad chinese ones available. when i got my chinese rotors i put them in a bucket of salt water for a few days and they came out with no rust, my Oems would go rusty if they bike was left unused  for a few days

[SirToU]

Hi Debs, I've never replaced the rotors, although I'm pretty sure they were replaced on that bike at 12000 miles (under warrenty).  but while the bike was with me, the calipers and pads were cleaned/brushed at least every 3k miles.

Therefore, based on that I am replacing mine (with OEM's) (at BK, because the bike is there) yours should be good for another few thousand miles - I've now done 43k - so a quick calculation should be about another 5-6k miles.  I can't remember what the min is, but I believe its on the side of the rotor.

New disks are Circa £500 for OEM and pads are £90 for EBC HH (BK Usually keep these in stock).  The caliper bolts and pad pins were always fully copper slipped, so the pads will definately be just as easy to do yourself and at least worth, taking the calipers off and checking the amount of pad material left - have you ever replaced these yourself or while you had the bike?  if there is only a minor warping, it might not be warping at all, and if you have not cleaned the calipers and pads well, the buttons on the rotors will have siezed, and this will cause the rotors to feel like they are warping...... if its only minor - I doubt they have.

Let us know how you have got on, its a shame I'm not down that way any time soon otherwise I would come and help you out.  :-(

Talk to you soon.

Neil

[Debs]

Ive not done anything on her besides adding extras... All the technical stuff has always been done by BK...

[Boomer]

My Ahashi (Chinese) discs are pretty good.
They brake as well as the OEM ones and so far no warpage (2000 miles) but then I never had a problem with the OEM discs either.
When changed my OEM discs were at 4.1mm & 4.2mm thick and still working fine.
I replaced them as the guy who does my MOT told me that since they are marked "Minimum 4.5mm", they would fail.
He had missed the thickness the year before.
I paid £170 including import duty for BOTH front discs. The EBC ones are £180 each.
I also fitted new EBC HH pads and wheel bearings whilst I had the wheels off.

[viper]

My Ahashi (Chinese) discs are pretty good.
They brake as well as the OEM ones and so far no warpage (2000 miles) but then I never had a problem with the OEM discs either.
When changed my OEM discs were at 4.1mm & 4.2mm thick and still working fine.
I replaced them as the guy who does my MOT told me that since they are marked "Minimum 4.5mm", they would fail.
He had missed the thickness the year before.
I paid £170 including import duty for BOTH front discs. The EBC ones are £180 each.
I also fitted new EBC HH pads and wheel bearings whilst I had the wheels off.

thanks boomer, that really good to know, defo arashi for me should the need arise