Brake rotors from Hong Kong

[Kfreak]

OK, lately I have been gathering parts for my GSX R front end swap. I have everything needed but front rotors. Temporarily I can use my Kat rotors but want Galfer Wave Rotors. Me being a cheap sob not wanting to spend $600.00 right now , am looking at the Wave rotors from Hong Kong. I know someone on KR considered buying them but I can't find the post. Has any one bought these and was it worth it?

[Wild-Bill]

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=104784&highlight=ebay+rotor

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=80793

Apparently the rear rotor from an 07 Busa fits the back of a post kat and costs less. Might want to check metalgear for specs to see what options you can find there.

[ep87]

I wouldn't say cheaper but I'd like to find some less expensive front Rotors for the Hayabusa Fork swap I'm doing. I you end up with the Hong Kong Rotors, let us know how they look.
Thank Richard

[il_ragazzo]

good luck i wans't brave enough to trust the china rotors but feel free to take the leap of faith.

i'd like to know if they are good rotors.

[cricribitume]

Was not brave enough! bought ''galfer'' cause when it comes to stopping you need to be sure! They don't come cheep but if your not satisfied with the china ones you will have spent much more then expected.

[PAIN]

When it comes to brakes, I just don't "get it". Stock brakes on my 06 600 are good enough to do endos. I haven't done any but youtube says they are possible. Isn't that enough stopping power? I think these galfer brakes are ridiculous. You can buy car rotors for like 25 bucks each and they have a lot more metal and more machining. It's like they say "hey it's for a bike, let's jack the price up to make too much profit." I am boycotting anything that I think is overpriced just because it is for a bike.

[Jimmie]

I think the machining on bike brake discs are more complicated, compared to cars. And the fact that almost all front discs are two piece also jacks the price up a bit.
But also, the fact that the market for bike brakes are smaller probably makes the prices go up.

[Wild-Bill]

The smaller sales numbers have a lot to do with it as well as the two-piece construction. There's also tighter allowances and the fact that a lot of the less expensive car rotors are remanufactured, not new. You can't do that with bike rotors.

[scottynoface]

Galfer is so much higher quality that anything else is laughable.

[phil823]

i can input a little! last year i ate my rear rotor when i ran out of pad ;(.....

i ordered a "wave" rotor from ebay from some honk kong seller. i was AMAZED by the quality. it is all within spec. it lasted all season. if you look around, there is a site where SV650 people where actually using them as upgrades in the front and rear. its really up to u!

[PAIN]

It's a flat round disc, how hard can it be to make.....As far as the 2 piece thing, have you seen the way they are put together...washers and a sort of pressed on grommet, yeah real hi-tec. personally I think they are jacking you up because most people buy those because they are "trick" or "cool". I would like to see the stopping distances of both on a chart. I bet most people are paying 600$ for an extra few inches of stopping power at the most. If I can brake so hard my bike endos and flips then my brakes are sufficient, and I am pretty sure stock brakes can do that. 600$ of rotors aren't going to keep the *** end down. They aren't going to keep the back tire from locking up and sliding. Once you have enough clamping force to endo and slide the back tire, which stock can do, you have really gone as far as you can. Besides if these things do get you any better stopping power at all, which I bet they don't, staying a few extra feet back is much cheaper in the long run.

[scottynoface]

It's not about better power, it's about better heat distribution and better feel. Upgrade the master and lines and then you'll get better performance

[MadMax]

Upgraded rotors is about 2 areas of performance: Brake endurance and mass.

For the braking itself it is more about brake fade then it is about instantaneous stopping power. The example of being able to do an endo is fine if you only need to do it once. They key is about heat dissipation and it is to allow for better braking power over periods of continuous use. For example a day at the track. This is where the better disc rotors have their advantage. If the brake system cannot loose the heat it generates during use the power becomes exponentially less over time.

Second area of performance is mass. The better rotors tend to weigh less and hence reduces your rotating mass which leads to better performance. While for the every day rider this doesn't really matter much for some, again see day at the track, this is important.

Finally is this important on a Kat....no, not really. But if were were so practically driven we would all be riding Bergman scooters.

[steves]

It's a flat round disc, how hard can it be to make.....As far as the 2 piece thing, have you seen the way they are put together...washers and a sort of pressed on grommet, yeah real hi-tec. personally I think they are jacking you up because most people buy those because they are "trick" or "cool". I would like to see the stopping distances of both on a chart. I bet most people are paying 600$ for an extra few inches of stopping power at the most. If I can brake so hard my bike endos and flips then my brakes are sufficient, and I am pretty sure stock brakes can do that. 600$ of rotors aren't going to keep the *** end down. They aren't going to keep the back tire from locking up and sliding. Once you have enough clamping force to endo and slide the back tire, which stock can do, you have really gone as far as you can. Besides if these things do get you any better stopping power at all, which I bet they don't, staying a few extra feet back is much cheaper in the long run.

Metallurgy and chemistry for something like a brake rotor IS actually VERY complicated. You need a material that won't lose shape or become brittle during repeated heat cycling. The one thing the western world still does better than China is smelt metals.

[Kreylyn]

Metallurgy and chemistry for something like a brake rotor IS actually VERY complicated. You need a material that won't lose shape or become brittle during repeated heat cycling. The one thing the western world still does better than China is smelt metals.

I agree with most of this... But I think it's the manufacturing process that has much more to do with the quality of the end product than the source of the metal. China produces about 1/3 of the total steel use in the world. Most of the higher quality brands purchase steel stock from china.

The specific choice of which steel type to use for the product (as compared to just using the cheapest option), and the manufacturing process (with quality controls) is the bigger concern here I think. Cutting out a disk and doing a quick surface of it and selling it as a rotor is not going to give you the same product as items that have gone through significant other processes. Processes like proper heat treatment and annealing to give the correct properties for the application.

It's more about who's making it and what processes they use (or don't use) for the finished product, than it is about the source of the materials. I think you would find it very hard today to tell the difference between a block of 1018 steel between the various countries.

How the individual company uses that steel to make the product though... that's where the major differnces come into play.

Krey