Galfer black, blue, green, HH brake pads

[BigBluef6]

I have been looking for a way to stop a Valk (2001 standard decked out to look like a tourer) better than what OEM offers.  I stumbled onto the Galfer Brake company while surfing the net.  I sent an email to the Galfer asking about what options they have for the Valk.  I got a response from CycleBrakes.com who said they are people who handle retail Galfer questions.  It looks like Galfer has 4 different brake pad models that come in sizes for the Valk.  They are black, blue, green, and HH pads, each with a different compound.  (If I were naming brake pads for a motorcycle, black and blue would not be on the list.  ???) You can see the compound descriptions at the link below.  The HH pads say they are a bit more rough on rotors compared to the other compounds.  However, if i read the descriptions correctly, it sounds like the HH pads would offer the best stopping power.

Galfer also makes brake rotors.  One thing i found interesting in the description of the HH pad is "These HH pads are rougher on rotor surfaces but work with optimum performance on Galfer Brake Rotors and other high-carbon content discs. "  Does anybody have any idea if Valk OEM rotors have a "high-carbon content?"  Until now, i did not realize that rotor content was a significant concern.  I strongly suspect this is why EBC pads and OEM rotors do not play nice together.


My questions:
1. Has anybody tried any Galfer pads?
2. Has anybody tried the Galfer HH pads and noticed any significant difference in OEM rotor wear?
3. Has anybody tried Galfer rotors?

http://www.cyclebrakes.com/html/galfer_brake_pads.html

Thanks folks!   

[daytona]

Use the search for suggested  B pads on OEM rotors! I concure with whats said.

[BigBluef6]

I searched for brake pad info before my post and found nothing specific to Galfer pads.

[98valk]

search under my handle and brake pads for more info and some links.

HH pads are the highest friction rating for sintered bronze street pads. the oem pads are HH.
sintered bronze cause the least amount of wear on stainless steel (SS) rotors.
gafler colors are for different uses based on needed heat generated to stop. basically race track verses street.
oem rotors are SS.
ricky-d will tell u to use organic pads so there is no rotor wear however the same initial stopping power will be less than oem unless the organic pads are already hot.

I use vesrah as of now, which are know to make most oem pads. ferodo also get high marks.
other sites state that gafler pads work best with their rotors.

[DFragn]

search under my handle and brake pads for more info and some links.

HH pads are the highest friction rating for sintered bronze street pads. the oem pads are HH.
sintered bronze cause the least amount of wear on stainless steel (SS) rotors.
gafler colors are for different uses based on needed heat generated to stop. basically race track verses street.
oem rotors are SS.
ricky-d will tell u to use organic pads so there is no rotor wear however the same initial stopping power will be less than oem unless the organic pads are already hot.

I use vesrah as of now, which are know to make most oem pads. ferodo also get high marks.
other sites state that gafler pads work best with their rotors.

Aren't most sintered pads made with the softer alloy copper? As far as rotor wear there should be less wear [would we notice?] with sintered copper than sintered [the harder alloy] bronze, but less braking power that I doubt any of us street riders would notice.

[Robert]

I have the HH pads with Wave rotors by EBC and do really like them and yes the stopping is quite a bit better. No noise no fade and yes they are harder on the rotors but seem to last longer. IN fact it seems they dont like to be babied at all. The easier you use them the harder they are on the rotor. I have never liked the braking on the Valk till I got these. The steel that is used in the rotors is a big deal since really the HH pads are sintered bronze which in effect is putting 2 pieces of metal together to stop. One has to wear away and with high carbon steel it doesn't become the rotors Some uses are knives razor blades HS drill bits. The softer metal on the rotors wears out faster but provides smoother and quieter braking. On stock rotors the Kevlar or carbon pads stop real well with the minimum of noise and limited fade and are a upgrade from the organic pads. If you use stock rotors HH pads are not recommended and will not only wear the rotors but will be noisy. Honda rotors are made out of some pretty soft metal and wont hold up. Copper is not used it is all bronze. Think of brushes on a motor its similar in composition.

[DFragn]

I have the HH pads with Wave rotors by EBC and do really like them and yes the stopping is quite a bit better. No noise no fade and yes they are harder on the rotors but seem to last longer. IN fact it seems they dont like to be babied at all. The easier you use them the harder they are on the rotor. I have never liked the braking on the Valk till I got these. The steel that is used in the rotors is a big deal since really the HH pads are sintered bronze which in effect is putting 2 pieces of metal together to stop. One has to wear away and with high carbon steel it doesn't become the rotors Some uses are knives razor blades HS drill bits. The softer metal on the rotors wears out faster but provides smoother and quieter braking. On stock rotors the Kevlar or carbon pads stop real well with the minimum of noise and limited fade and are a upgrade from the organic pads. If you use stock rotors HH pads are not recommended and will not only wear the rotors but will be noisy. Honda rotors are made out of some pretty soft metal and wont hold up. Copper is not used it is all bronze. Think of brushes on a motor its similar in composition.

There are different composites used in different sintered brakes.
     This is a direct copy from EBC web site:

What is sintering???

This is the fusing together under heat and pressure of metallic particles and in the case of brakes it blends various other elements to enhance friction properties and wear life.

Sintered Brakes have become a standard on 99% of Motorcycles and ATVs from the OE Builders and they also form a large percentage of the aftermarket for bikes and ATV’s.

Sintered brakes last longer and generally speaking handle the heat of heavy braking better. In Road Race use we have to admit that there are almost NO organic pads that come close to Sintered compounds but that does not hold true in streetbike use where EBC Organic compounds in terms of performance are almost undetectable from sintered. Proof of this is that EBC Brakes was the first and probably still is the only Brake manufacturer with EC E R 90 brake safety approval of both its sintered Brakes and its Organic brakes on Motorcycle for public highway use.

Although attempts were made by the OEMs a few years ago to cut costs of Sintered brakes by using sintered IRON, that was deemed a failure and these days the base material is copper.

Sintered copper brakes are made by one of two processes, pressure sintering in a vacuum furnace or sintering through a belt furnace in a controlled atmosphere. The steel backing plates for the brake pads are copper coated and a preformed sintered copper “Puck” is located onto pips in the plate (either male or female) and the parts are passed through a furnace. At a pre-determined temperature the copper coating under the pad puck melts and fused the puck and plate together.

Sintering is a very exact process and the EBC expertise has made it a world leader in such technology and gained it numerous OE contracts.

In the aftermarket EBC continues to offer sintered brakes for applications requiring longer life and higher heat performance and organic pads for sport and general purpose street use.
Both work well in their respective markets and have a place in the industry, elsewhere on this website we can explain the merits of each compound type and assist you in choosing what is right for your riding requirements.

[Robert]

I knew what sintering is but didn't realize it was copper and not bronze thanks and just in case there is a misunderstanding when I said 2 metals against each other is the brake rotor and the sintered pad. 2 Metals usually thats a bad thing especially when it comes to low or no brakes. 

[DFragn]

I knew what sintering is but didn't realize it was copper and not bronze thanks and just in case there is a misunderstanding when I said 2 metals against each other is the brake rotor and the sintered pad. 2 Metals usually thats a bad thing especially when it comes to low or no brakes. 

You're also right too. I believe there is also bronze available from some manufacturers. But bronze may be too much for our OEM rotors.

[Ricky-D]

From Wikipedia:

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age. The word Bronze is believed to be cognate with the Italian: bronzo  and German: brunst, perhaps ultimately taken from the Persian word birinj ("bronze") or possibly from the Latin name of the city of Brindisi  (aes Brundusinum -Pliny).[1]

***

[BigBluef6]

The etiology of bronze.  One never knows what one will learn hanging out in this place! 

Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek αἰτιολογία, aitiologia, "giving a reason for" (αἰτία, aitia, "cause"; and -λογία, -logia).[1]
The word is most commonly used in medical and philosophical theories, where it is used to refer to the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act, and is used in philosophy, physics, psychology, government, medicine, theology and biology in reference to the causes of various phenomena. An etiological myth is a myth intended to explain a name or create a mythic history for a place or family.

[Robert]

Thanks to you guys I'm a genius    and yes anything other than softer pads wont work well.

[DFragn]

Copper (pronounced /ˈkɒpər/, KOP-ər) is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (Latin: cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and malleable, and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color. It is used as a thermal conductor, an electrical conductor, a building material, and a constituent of various metal alloys. Including bronze.

This is an 11 lb. hunk of copper in it's naturally purist form.
It was cut from the tip of a copper ore vein.

I spent most of my life working with copper [architectural] and
this was furnished to me by one of my suppliers.

Just having fun with the bronze / copper thing.  

[BigBluef6]

Cool!!  It looks like a meteorite.