TRACK TESTED
EBC Pad and Rotor Upgrades for Track Bikes
Author: K3 Chris Onwiler
Our Racebike Rescue FZR gets a lucky brake
 EBC Brakes has a motto: “If your bike came with rotors, we make replacement rotors for it.” The company’s goal is not only to have the parts you need but to make sure that those replacement parts are of better quality and higher performance than the ones installed on your bike as original equipment. This is good news for sportbike pilots who’d like to upgrade their bike’s brake system, especially if the machine in question isn’t the newest, latest model. Still, performance rotors for any bike? That simply sounded too good to be true.
We decided to put EBC’s claim of widespread coverage coupled with superior performance to the test. Lurking in the TrackdayMag.com garage was the perfect machine for such a challenge. Our Racebike Rescue  1988 FZR 400/600 is one very strange little hodgepodge of a motorcycle. In the grand tradition of Lightweight racing bikes the world over, the Fizzer has been modified with a witch’s brew of parts sourced from other models and brands, spanning a decade and a half of motorcycle technology. The front brake system consists of 2003 Yamaha R6 calipers and rotors, activated by a rare, production spec Brembo radial master cylinder sourced from a Limited Edition R1. Out back, the stock 1988 FZR 400 master cylinder and caliper work together to squeeze an ancient Honda CB900 disc bolted to a Honda CBR600F2 rear wheel. Custom Spiegler brake lines tie everything together. Could EBC supply a matched, high performance set of rotors and pads for such a unique combination?  A quick perusal of the comprehensive EBC catalog showed us that not only were we covered but that we even had options! For front rotors, we selected the British company’s top-spec X-Discs, featuring their unique square drive carrier button technology that was just made for racetrack abuse. (See http://www.trackdaymag.com/Article.aspx?id=2140for our full report on these awesome discs.) As admitted hardware geeks, we also naturally opted for the weight savings, additional grip and pure bling factor of wave-style rotors. Out back, we were stunned to discover that not only did EBC offer a replacement disc but there was even a wave rotor available to match the ones we’d chosen for the front! Since the FZR will spend the vast majority of its time puttering around on  the street with only occasional forays to the track, we selected an HH compound for all three sets of brake pads. More aggressive pads would work better at the track but these will provide good all-around performance without being so grabby that they get iffy in the huge range of circumstances and conditions we’re likely to encounter on the road.
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