Best Motorcycle Brake Pads

Slow your roll.

First up are these organic brake pads from EBC. Nearly every major manufacturer of brake pads offers an organic option, and for good reason – they’re easy on your rotors. As the name suggests, organic brake pads are made from organic fibers (aka natural materials from the Earth) that are then bonded to the backing plate. This also makes organic pads like these EBCs more eco friendly. Organic pads don’t contain any metal within them, which is why they are easier on your brake rotors. As a result, they also give a softer initial bite in exchange for a more progressive feel the harder you squeeze the brake lever. Organics also tend to wear out faster, but in turn don’t leave nearly as much brake dust as some of the other options on this list.

Harley-specific brake pads are something you’ll see more of on this list, including these organic options from EBC. The benefits and drawbacks are the same as any other organic pad, including the pads at the top of this list, also from EBC.

One final set of organic pads for Harley-Davidsons, Twin Power has its own line of pads made from aramid fibers to give you nice stopping power at an affordable price. Each set meets or exceeds OEM standards.

Another option from organic pads are sintered options like these Double-H sintered pads from EBC. All sintered means is that the pad itself is metallic. The types of metal and their composition are a trade secret, but it’s what gives each type of sintered pad their characteristics. This metallic pad is then fused to the backing plate with heat and pressure for consistent performance throughout its lifespan. Most new motorcycles today come off the showroom floor with some kind of sintered pad in them.

Because sintered pads have metal compounds in them, they offer a much stronger initial bite compared to organic pads, which many riders prefer. Their metal construction also means they’ll last longer than organic pads, too. EBC Double-H pads don’t contain any iron powder, eliminating the chance of a pad welding itself to the disc under corrosion.

Lastly, sintered pads provide consistent braking regardless of temperature, making them a great choice for any type of bike or riding style.

You know when the title for something has “Road Race” in its name, it’s going to be an extreme version of something. That’s exactly what’s going on here. EBC’s Extreme Performance Brake Pads are a more aggressive version of their legendary Double-H Sintered Pads. The copper alloy used in EBC’s sintered pads is blended with a molybdenum metal and tungsten additives resulting in greater temperature stability and a higher coefficient of friction.

Temperature stability means your pads will not degrade after a few weekends at the track and the higher friction coefficient provides the super strong initial bite necessary for braking as late as you possibly can to make the pass for the lead.

EPFA pads are perfect for aggressive street riding, track days or amateur racing.

Taking a slight step back from the full race pads are these EBC semi-sintered pads. EBC’s Semi-Sintered brake pads are composed of 30% copper in an organic matrix and fall into the sweet spot between organic pads and their fully sintered counterparts. This design provides the modular feel and soft initial bite of an organic pad with the longevity of sintered.

Semi-sintered pads are a great option for touring bikes and cruisers. They are also a good choice for sportbike riders looking for more progressive brake feel without sacrificing too much pad life. Semi-sintered brake pads perform very well on the street but are not recommended for track use.

Now that you know about sintered brake pads, it’s time to introduce you to Galfer’s version. Galfer HH Sintered Brake Pads feature advanced ceramic composites that can withstand higher temperatures than semi-metallic brake pads. They offer a great bite and stopping power while delivering excellent feel and modulation.

Galfer Semi-Metallic Brake Pads are the workhorse of the Galfer brake pad family. They offer progressive feel and feedback and are GG rated (instead of HH, which you’ll find with most of the more aggressive sintered pads) with a coefficient of friction of .45 to .55 which makes it a great overall brake pad for touring and commuting. As you can guess, these are a good option for street riders or tourers and still provide longevity with little brake dust.

Lyndall's Gold Plus brake pads represent their latest advancement in high-performance friction materials. The racing formula offers extreme stopping power in both wet and dry conditions and dust and rotor wear are eliminated. The proprietary blend of organics and trace iron requires no break-in period. They’re made in the USA and replace the standard OEM pads on most Harley-Davidsons.

If you’re confused about where the Z-Plus pads fit on the Lyndall hierarchy, don’t be. The Z-Plus offers a matrix of Carbon & Kevlar and non-ferrous metal similar to Lyndall Gold Plus Pads in stopping performance, but are softened slightly to provide longer service life in the lower temperature ranges found in common street use. They are dust-free, quiet and the best protection for polished rotors sometimes found on custom Harley applications.

With a name like X-treme, you probably know where these fall on the Lyndall performance spectrum. The X-treme Performance brake pads deliver predictable, repeatable performance in the most-demanding riding environments from the mountains to the city and even track days. Utilizing the latest technology in high-performance aramids by DuPont, the X-treme is special because these are the first organic pads to achieve an H/H friction level. Ideal for everything from high-performance motorcycles to heavy-duty touring bikes, the X-treme can handle it all.

Twin Power X-Stop brake pads offer a great blend of performance and value. Born from years of research and brake dyno testing, these brake pads benefit from the latest in design and manufacturing technologies. They have been crafted from a select blend of metallic and compound materials fused together resulting in greater heat resistance, longer pad life and increased performance. Simply put, they’re engineered for heavy-duty use.

DP’s blend of sintered brake pads have a quick break-in period so you get peak braking performance fast. Pads give long pad life with sintered metal compounds that outlast conventional organic or Kevlar pads. Gray-colored aluminum oxide-based ceramic material on the backplate of the pad keeps heat away from the caliper piston, so the fluid stays cooler in extreme conditions for fade-free performance. These are GG friction rated, are standard replacements for the OEM pads, offer excellent initial bite in both wet and dry conditions, and not to mention – they’re quiet and leave very little brake dust.

Finally, we have these Ferodo Platinum Organic Brake Pads that feature a proprietary carbon grip compound utilizing the same technology pioneered in Ferodo's extensive world racing program. When developing the Platinum compound, great care was taken to minimize rotor wear and to ensure performance remains consistent through the life of the pad. As you should know by now, organic pads offer excellent modulation characteristics and will often run quieter than their sintered counterparts. Plus, these are very gentle on your rotor, offer consistent performance throughout its lifespan, and are also perfectly suited for bikes with ABS.