Front and Rear Brake Pads Replacement
I use EBC Double H brake pads for front and rear.
Based on the recommendations I received from ZX-14 owners EBC HH pads were the best performing aftermarket brake pad. The Organic EBCs were not considered to be a very good choice and the EBC pads made for track use were recommended by owners as being good for track use only. They are designed for hightemp and are not at their best on the street. OEM replacement pads were recommended about as often or mentioned as being equal to the EBC HH pads.
So far, my experience with the EBC HH pads has been good. They are perfectly silent where the OEM pads were squeaky at very low speed. The breaking performance and strength of the EBC HH is at least as good as the OEM pads. The most severe braking i have ever done was to lock the front at 70 mph with my 210 lbs on the bike. That was with OEM pads. I don't recall squeezing the lever extremely hard. I was able to modulate the lever to control the locking. I think any pads that work as well as the OEMs will be sufficient for just about any sport or street use, with the ZX-14.
Tools
5mm hex tool
6mm hex tool
wire
Scotch Bright pad
automotive soap
denture brush
brake parts cleaner
sheet of cardboard
new brake pads
torque wrench
Sharpie permanent marker
rag
Rear Brake Pads
Removal
1. Use a 5mm hex tool to loosen the Brake pad pin [P]. Use a 6mm hex tool to loosen the two caliper mounting bolts [M].
Remove and hang the rear brake caliper (see Brake Caliper Removal, step 7.)
2. With a 5mm hex tool, loosen the rear brake pad pin to the end of its threads.
Press the center bar of the spring clip in to relieve tension on the brake pad pin.
Pull and twist the pin to remove it. After the pin is pulled out half way, the spring will pop out and the outside pad will be free.
Block the top and bottom edges of caliper with your finger and thumb as shown in pic below so that the spring clip and brake pads do not fall out.
Continue pulling pin until it is removed.
3. Remove pads spring and pin.
I immediately marked the pads with a Sharpie so that it would be possible to reinstall them with the pads on the same side of the rotor from which they came.
Rear
Installation
4. Rotors should be resurfaced and cleaned of all traces of embedded material from the previous brake pads. Sand papering the rotors is probably more likely to cause irregular wear to the rotors or introduce impurities from the sand paper.
I simply scrubbed the rotors with a scotch bright pad and the same automotive soap I use to wash the bike. I was careful to clean out each hole in the rotor with the small bristled end of a denture brush brush.
I used the denture brush and soapy water to thoroughly wash the caliper and the pistons (rear caliper has shiny dark grey coating on pistons, front has a deep red). It’s hard to clean the calipers thoroughly and this is an ideal time to get it done well since the caliper is removed from the bike. I also cleaned off the pad pin and spring clip with soap and water.
5. I rinsed the rotor, caliper and other parts well with water. Then carefully applied a
brake cleaner to help the water evaporate quickly. Brake cleaner will damage the finish on plastic and paint so if you use it, be careful. It is not good for removing caked brake dust. It is primarily meant to remove grease and loose dust. I sprayed it into a rag and rubbed it on the rotors by hand.
I also laid the new pads on a sheet of cardboard and soaked them with brake cleaner in case there might be any kind of residue on the new pads.
6. The pistons will be extended too far for the thickness of the new pads. Press the pistons into the caliper housing with your fingers so the pistons are about flush with the inside surface of the caliper.
Place the new outboard pad in the caliper.
Insert the pin through the outer facing hole in the caliper and the hole in the pad.
Press center bar of clip to allow the pin to slide over and maintain flexion on the clip.
Position inboard pad into caliper and push the pad pin through it’s hole and into the inner hole in the caliper.
7. Use a 5mm hex tool to thread the pad pin into the caliper.
8. Install the rear brake caliper to the mounting plate (see BRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL, steps 8 through 11).
Torque rear brake pad pin to 13 ft lbs using a 5mm hex tool.
9. The new pads will be thicker than the worn ones. This could the fluid level in the reservoir to rise past the UPPER line. An overfilled brake system may cause brakes to lock when the fluid expands from heat.
Check fluid level of rear brake fluid reservoir and adjust if necessary (see BRAKE FLUID BLEED AND PURGE, steps 1, 2 and 11 through 16).
Front Brake Pads
Removal
10. Loosen the brake pad pins [P]on the front caliper with a 5mm hex tool.
11. Relieve tension on one pin by pressing the center bar of the spring clip.
Remove the pin and mark it top or bottom.
Remove the other pin in the same way.
12. Remove the spring clip taking care not to let the four pads fall out.
13. There are a total of eight pads in both front calipers and it is very easy to confuse them. Label them left, right, top, bottom, inner, outer as you remove them so that they may be reinstalled in the same position if necessary.
Slide the inner top pads out of the caliper toward the rear of the bike.
Label the pads with a Sharpie permanent marker immediately as they are pulled from the caliper.
Remove the inner and outer bottom pads in the same way.
14. Repeat steps 10 through 13 to remove the brake pads from the other front caliper.
Front
Installation
15. Wash the rotors with a scotch bright pad and soapy water. You may carefully apply brake parts cleaner that has been sprayed onto a rag to encourage evaporation and clean any soap residue.
16. If you wish to thoroughly wash the calipers, remove them from the mounts on the fork bottoms (see BRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL, steps 1 and 2)
Wash the caliper, pistons, clips and pins with soap and water and a denture brush.
Carefully apply brake parts cleaner as a final step to cleaning.
Apply brake parts cleaner to all of the new pads as well Be careful to protect painted and plastic surfaces from overspray.
Reinstall the calipers (see BRAKE CALIPER REMOVAL, steps 4 and 5).
17. Press the pistons into the caliper housing with your fingers so the pistons are about flush with the inside surface of the caliper. The bottom pistons in the pic have been pressed in.
18. Slide two new pads into the bottom chamber of the caliper.
Slide the brake pad pin through the outboard hole in the caliper and the hole in the outboard pad.
19. Set the spring clip in place and press the center bar of the spring clip in so that the
brake pad pin slides over it.
Press the brake pad pin all the way through the hole in the inboard brake pad and the inboard hole in the caliper.
Thread the brake pad pin in hand tight.
20. Torque the brake pad pins to 13 ft lbs using a 5mm hex tool. Repeat steps 20-23 for the right caliper.
21. The new pads will be thicker than the worn ones. This could the fluid level in the reservoir to rise past the UPPER line. An overfilled brake system may cause brakes to lock when the fluid expands from heat.
Check fluid level of rear brake fluid reservoir and adjust if necessary (see BRAKE FLUID BLEED AND PURGE, steps 1, 2 and 11 through 16).
Weight
The brand new EBC pads weigh 23.63 oz
The worn OEM pads weigh 22.23 oz
The new EBC pads probably weigh about the same as a new set of OEM pads.
* Last updated by: Rook on 12/9/2017 @ 8:27 PM *