I have an '04 R6 and the brakes are terrible. They feel wooden and are not very modular. I was thinking of changing my lines to Goodrich steel braided and some Galfer rotors.

Got any pointers? Should I get different pads too?

I do have my service manual so I think I can do the job and plus one of my buddies is pretty much a motorcycle mechanic so I'm sure he can help. But is there someone wise w/this type of upgrade that has some inside knowledge?

 

Do you know what kind of material is used on your current pads? Sintered pads may requires warm up time. Organic pads give you a very firm initial bite but heat up quick. I'd recommend changing the lines and pads before swapping out rotors, since that will be a lot more expensive.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vtec44 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you know what kind of material is used on your current pads? Sintered pads may requires warm up time. Organic pads give you a very firm initial bite but heat up quick. I'd recommend changing the lines and pads before swapping out rotors, since that will be a lot more expensive. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I have stock pads.

 

Get the steel braided lines first. You may find that's all you need. They should come standard on motorcycles...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get the steel braided lines first. You may find that's all you need. They should come standard on motorcycles...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds good. Any secret to swapping in some steel braided lines?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScareyH22A &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds good. Any secret to swapping in some steel braided lines?</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is what I had when replacing my stock lines with steel braided ones:

1) a friend (to fill the brake reservoir while you're bleeding the air bubbles, and just to help out)
2) a small catchpan (or a big one, if you're a klutz like me)
3) small towels that you don't plan on reusing (cover the places near the reservoir you don't want brake fluid to drip on)
4) brake bleeder (I use a MityVac); not absolutely required, but it makes the job a heck of a lot easier
5) dot4 brake fluid (one bottle should be enough)

 

i suggest going with galfer lines and pads. HH pads are good but need to be hot to perform at their best. You can get away with galfer green pads for the front and blacks for the rear. That's the setup that was suggested to me by Todd at calsportbike.com. He's got plenty of good advice and good prices as well. You can also try buymoto.com. I dont like the goodridge lines cause they come with aluminum bolts which can strip easily. Cant go wrong with a full galfer setup. Also might wanna get galfers dot 4 brake fluid. Dot 5 is racing use only but its up to you.

 

Yamaha brakes need work... even with the new radial set-up on the '05 R6, my girlfriend still prefers the brakes on my '03 600RR.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ALL MOTA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yamaha brakes need work... even with the new radial set-up on the '05 R6, my girlfriend still prefers the brakes on my '03 600RR.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didn't notice how sorry they were until I went for a short canyon blast on the 4th. (I haven't really ridden in like 6 months) I came up to a stop light and saw a cop waiting in the opposite lane so I wanted to make the stop. Damn.. the brakes were soooo wooden that I had to use the rears too. I didn't remember them being so hard to modulate. Now I know what people mean when they say R6 brakes suck. I never noticed it 'cause I was just so used to it.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This is what I had when replacing my stock lines with steel braided ones:

1) a friend (to fill the brake reservoir while you're bleeding the air bubbles, and just to help out)
2) a small catchpan (or a big one, if you're a klutz like me)
3) small towels that you don't plan on reusing (cover the places near the reservoir you don't want brake fluid to drip on)
4) brake bleeder (I use a MityVac); not absolutely required, but it makes the job a heck of a lot easier
5) dot4 brake fluid (one bottle should be enough)</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScareyH22A &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Sounds good. Any secret to swapping in some steel braided lines?</TD></TR></TABLE>

When I swapped mine out, i got these:

http://www.speedbleeder.com/

made it so much easier to bleed and you don't need to buy one of those hand-held things.

I'm sure goodrich sells a kit perfect for your bike but if you get it custom made, try to minimize the number of hoses and banjo bolts you get because it obviously increases the costs. I'm sure you can suffice with two lines straight from your reservoir to your calipers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScareyH22A &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Sounds good. Any secret to swapping in some steel braided lines?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Get the brake lines that go from the master cylinder to each caliper.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get the steel braided lines first. You may find that's all you need. They should come standard on motorcycles...</TD></TR></TABLE>



<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vtec44 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you know what kind of material is used on your current pads? Sintered pads may requires warm up time. Organic pads give you a very firm initial bite but heat up quick. I'd recommend changing the lines and pads before swapping out rotors, since that will be a lot more expensive. </TD></TR></TABLE>

how long are stock rotors good for?? I dont think you can resurface them like car rotor right?

 

have you tried simply changing the brake fluid? I would start there honestly, it will take some of the spongey-ness out of the feel.

other than that, SS lines and pads sound like a good plan, unless your rotors are warped, they should still be good.