Brake improvements?

Hi all. I've had the SV for about a month now and am slowly making the required "improvements". One thing that is very obvious is that the brakes are nowhere near as good as the ones on my Hornet were, despite the setup being very similar. On the hornet I added HEL braided hoses and sintered pads all round which made it stop much better - not sportsbike good but a big improvement over standard. I suspect that the SV (K4, registered late 2004) is still on the original hoses and I know that Suzuki recommend changing them after four years. Can anyone confirm whether or not I could expect much improvement if I go the same route? I never needed to use any more than 2 finger pressure on the Hornet which is certainly not the case for the SV.
Cheers.

[bat-kam]

When i upgraded lines to Wezmoto ones from ebay and EBC HH pads it made significant improvement in stopping distance. And it also improved the feel of the brakes
Well worth changing.

[Bibio]

biggest problem with the SV brakes is they start to stick due to the piston seal recesses furring up behind the seal, this causes the piston to become tight in the seals. add to that the pistons pitting and going rusty and other accumulated dirt and you end up with 'crap' brakes as it requires more effort from the master cylinder to move the pistons.

there are only 2 remedies, one is to get new callipers and the other is to do a full strip clean (taking special care on the seal recesses) and re assembly using RRG and new seals. if the pistons are pitted then its new piston time as well.

[garynortheast]

Not a lot wrong with the SV brakes provided you service them thoroughly. Clean the calipers (particularly the recesses in which the seals sit) and pistons, apply rrg to the appropriate parts, make sure the calipers slide properly on the pins. Braided lines, fresh fluid, and decent pads all help. Check the condition of the discs, make sure they are free to float on the bobbins.

Mine pull me up as effectively and reliably as I am ever likely to want or need.

Thanks guys. I'll get on it through the winter.

[timwilky]

My personal experience with sintered pads is they need a bit of heat. For normal road use they feel vague, push the bike and they are superior.

But, start to work the brakes, and the poor SV suspension starts to scream hello.

You can get just as much pressure into the brake system with brake lines that aren't covered in braided steel, they just feel different.
Pads with a higher coefficient of friction will provide more initial bite and more ultimate stopping power. I like HH compounds for street and track.
Putting on some 4 pot calipers, like off a CBR600f4i, will work better with less maintenance.

Originally Posted by wideguy

You can get just as much pressure into the brake system with brake lines that aren't covered in braided steel, they just feel different.
Pads with a higher coefficient of friction will provide more initial bite and more ultimate stopping power. I like HH compounds for street and track.
Putting on some 4 pot calipers, like off a CBR600f4i, will work better with less maintenance.

Will they bolt straight on or do you need adapter plates?

[Bibio]

adaptor plates. don't know why people moan about the sv brakes so much as there are other bikes out there with the same brakes but not as much moaning.

if they are well serviced they are more than up to the job. minitwin racers use the standard brakes so they cant be that bad.

[MJC-DEV]

Braided brake lines and HH pads on the front made a very good improvement. Worth doing, assuming the callipers are working properly of course. GG on the rear is recommended.