Hayes vs brembo. Why does brembo suck?

[ROKIN]

I have 2 Gen 2XRs right now. They are both the same year. But one had the Hayes breaks and the other has brembo. I took both to the track and I have to say the Hayes feel way better. They engage sooner and more consistantly and throughout the breaking they feel very reliable.

While the brembo feel sluggish and sqwishy. They don't seem to respond as well and they don't seem to give as much in max breaking.

Has anyone else experienced this? What is your opinion?
They have a recall for my Hayes breaks but I don't think I'm going to let them touch them because they want to put the brembo.

[the bartender]

i believe the word you are looking for is..... braking.

feel tends to have more to do with master cylinder than calipers.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by the bartender

i believe the word you are looking for is..... braking.

feel tends to have more to do with master cylinder than calipers.

This the Gen 2 MC was designed and chosen with Hayes callipers in minds, when they had issues and were swapped to the Brembos it was because the Brembos worked and they were good enough and the MCs weren't changed with them.

Probably more to do with the fact that the Hayes are 34mm pistons whilst the Brembos are 32mm if i'm not wrong.

[Mareng1]

Originally Posted by Antares

This the Gen 2 MC was designed and chosen with Hayes callipers in minds, when they had issues and were swapped to the Brembos it was because the Brembos worked and they were good enough and the MCs weren't changed with them.

Probably more to do with the fact that the Hayes are 34mm pistons whilst the Brembos are 32mm if i'm not wrong.

That would explain it.   

[lospsi]

Interesting notes, I've been looking at upgrading my MC with a Nissin radial one from newer S1000RR and maybe get the matching Haynes calipers. They sell rather cheap, I want some more initial feel from the brakes, they seem to have a "step" in performance when braking that irritates me.

I wonder if the S1000RR Haynes calipers fit without spacers?

[bazzer]

Interestingly going from a 34mm piston to a 32mm piston with the same MC you'd think you would get a firmer lever wouldn't you.

[lospsi]

I've been thinking of getting the hole front brake system (mc and calipers) as they are sold for cheap and they are already combined by the factory.

Since posting my reply, I've been searching on the forum about brake upgrades, XR caliper pistons are 32mm and it seems they would work best with a 17mm mc.

My problem is that I don't know what should I change/upgrade to achieve the performance I like. I'm not a hard braker and I find the performance of the brakes good enough. But, I'm experiencing a lack in feeling or better yet, a lack in consistency when braking with average force (like while commuting). When I push the lever, bike starts to stop but along the way of applying force on the lever there's a small step from braking 20% to 40%. I hope that makes sense...

Calipers are cleaned and system is bled 6months/5000kms before.

[bazzer]

I have a gen 1 and I have just replaced the standard calipers and MC with Brembo M50s and an Brembo MCS master cylinder. Its transformed the brakes on the bike. Great lever feel and very predictable.

My standard setup had a terrible feel, like you say powerful enough but lots of lever travel and just felt weird.

[bropane]

Originally Posted by bazzer

I have a gen 1 and I have just replaced the standard calipers and MC with Brembo M50s and an Brembo MCS master cylinder. Its transformed the brakes on the bike. Great lever feel and very predictable.

My standard setup had a terrible feel, like you say powerful enough but lots of lever travel and just felt weird.

I have a Gen 1 also and my brakes felt very squishy with the standard setup. I bled them out, turned the handlebars to the left, wrapped a bungie cord around the lever, and let it sit overnight. Next day the lever felt great. I got the tip from Mark's S1000XR maintenance book. I believe the theory is that it pushes all the air up to master cylinder reservoir. I've done the same thing on another bike with a Brembo braking system (2018 KTM 1290 SAS) and it worked great also.

ROKIN give it a shot. It's damn near free and you have nothing to lose.