Was going to go down the Honda OEM front brake pad route as they are considered the best by many on this forum, then noticed that RO has Nissin GG and HH pads at prices considerably lower than Honda OEM.

Question is, for street use which are better. Price is not the criteria, stopping is, happy to pay higher Honda OEM price if it is the best product.

Currently running Ferodo Platinum which came with the bike. Although no serious complaints, I find them lacking in initial bite when cold and therefore a non-linear in stopping power.

I've always run EBC HH pads on the front and found them to be very good. That said, when I was running the Honda and later EBC discs, I'm sure I never really noticed much if any lack of initial bite when cold. My current discs which are fairly cheap Chinese jobbies have done about nine months and a winter, and I have noticed recently that in really cold weather they do need a bit of a good tug the first time they are used, or if you've done a lot of miles without needing to use them.

Changed to Honda HH pads from either Armstrong or Kyoto in the NC and braking is brillian. Previously the front wheel never got dirty with brake dust. The old pads which were in it when I got it had done 2-3k and were thicker still than the Honda HH new ones.
I replaced the [again age affects memory] the armstrong/kyoto pads in the KR1-S with EBC HH.
Both bikes have stock discs in good condition, both well maintained 4 pots. NC braking is much nicer, more feel/power.
For road use the HH Honda's are great

Are the standard Honda pads HH? Roughly £25 a pair from DSS, which I think is less than the RRP for the EBC ones. Although, I don't think I've paid more than about £14 a pair as I usually get them on eBay when people are flogging unwanted ones....

I got this from Rick Oliver when buying in August last year, cost of a pair of Honda HH ones was £51 inc postage

"Hi, Phil -

The GG pads were the original equipment on NC30s - they are an `old style` organic pad made from an asbestos-like material with metal filings included - however pad material technology has moved on a giant leap in the last 20 years and nearly all performance pads, including the Honda/Nissin HH ones, are now made from sintered metal compounds which have better bite and fade resistance, last longer and work better in the wet so it`s `no contest` really...

Price is as per attached list + £3.00 P&P.

Cheers,
Rick"

Just looked at the list, you mean both pairs...

philfingers wrote:I got this from Rick Oliver when buying in August last year, cost of a pair of Honda HH ones was £51 inc postage

"Hi, Phil -

The GG pads were the original equipment on NC30s - they are an `old style` organic pad made from an asbestos-like material with metal filings included - however pad material technology has moved on a giant leap in the last 20 years and nearly all performance pads, including the Honda/Nissin HH ones, are now made from sintered metal compounds which have better bite and fade resistance, last longer and work better in the wet so it`s `no contest` really...

Price is as per attached list + £3.00 P&P.

Cheers,
Rick"

Except that OEM GG pads were not "organic"

FWIW, I use HH on the fronts and usually GG on the rear. I found HH pads on the rear lasted almost four sets of front pads but were a little sharp. GGs tend to last me two sets of HH and the bite isn't as sharp.

thunderace wrote:
Except that OEM GG pads were not "organic"

Out of interest, what are they made of then, as I'd always understood that they were organic too.

How far do you guys go on a set of fronts? I've had my NC35 10 years, and apart from changing the fronts a few months after I got it as they were worn, I've only replaced them twice in about 80000kms, and both times were when I stuck new discs on. I don't know what the bike was wearing when I got it, but I've always used EBC HH. The rears aren't HH, but I hardly ever use the rear brake save for severe hill starts and the MOT. The last pair were changed because they were so old the friction material was coming away from the backing. I think I changed them once besides that because they got contaminated with crap due to lack of use. Am I just a light braker?

Phil Norton wrote:

thunderace wrote:
Except that OEM GG pads were not "organic"

Out of interest, what are they made of then, as I'd always understood that they were organic too.

When I say non-organic, I mean in the modern sense of the word. The pads sold these days as organic are completely different to those from the 80s and early 90s. The OEM pads would have contained asbestos whereas those sold today contain Kevlar as a substitute. The difference in the true sense is that the OEM pads pollute as they wear down (making them non-organic) whereas the modern alternative does not.

Put simply, OEM pads pollute during use and are therefore non-organic. Modern Kevlar based pads don't pollute so are organic