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[lolachampcar]

Nissen calipers....  A nice addition to the 2013 brakes.  I still find them lacking.

My front brake did not seem to have much bite so I tried metallic pads.  Now I have good bite and stopping power and the brakes are quite down to about five miles an hour.  From five to zero they make enough noise to wake the dead.  It is embarrassing, especially when you are on a nice quite electric bike.

The rear brake has lacked grip as well and has squealed from day one.  Cleaning and re-bedding the pads/rotor does nothing.

So, my question for all you zero guys out there is-
Have you found pads that stop but do not squeal (unlike my EBC metallic on the front)?
Have you found a rotor for the front that uses a different material more conducive to acting like a real motorcycle brake? 
Have you found a big three front end that will bolt onto Zero's triple clamps to solve this problem?

To be clear here, I love the bike and the brake issue is just a nit, albeit a noisy embarrassing one.

[trikester]

The stock brakes on my 2013 FX will stop me on a dime. I have no complaints about my brakes, so maybe there is a difference from bike to bike.

Trikester

[spelunker]

I have a '13 S and my brakes work just fine and are quiet.  Maybe you should have the dealer look at them. Something is not right.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Brake squeal also came up for me a bit while breaking the bike in. Some progressive squeezing to ensure good pad seating took care of it for me, although I think the rear disc makes a little noise while walking the bike in and out of a parking slot. I'm okay with the stopping power on the 2013 DS, just needed them to be quiet so I wouldn't hesitate.

[lolachampcar]

That would be great if it was an issue with the bike.  I'll look into it.

[BSDThw]

Hi Lolachampcar,

Have you tried something like this!
http://www.amazon.de/Liqui-Moly-3077-Bremsen-Anti-Quietsch-Paste-100/dp/B00295ERQ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368251164&sr=8-1&keywords=bremsenfett
I don't know the English term its "brake grease" it is applied at the back of the pads and the brake cylinder. 

[lolachampcar]

Yes, when the metalic pads were installed

[motoxo]

2103 xu rider here. both the front and back brakes squeal 100% of the time. i've taken off the pads and sanded them down a bit and while it helps for a few stops, it goes back to squealing below 5 mph.

so if anyone else has ideas... i'm have the same issue as lolachampcar.

currently i'm using the pads that was bought with the bike. mostly because i have no money to get nice metal pads. but it looks like it might be something else that is needed to stop the squealing.

[Richard230]

I have heard of anti-squeak coatings that can be applied to the back of brake pads.  You might try your local auto parts and accessory shop and see if they have anything like this to prevent squeaking brakes.  Or you could ask you motorcycle shop technicians for their opinion.  Or you could contact the brake manufacturer via email for their suggestions to resolve this problem.

[lolachampcar]

Well I put the stock pads back on the front and it is as quite as a mouse and back to not really wanting to stop.  To put this in perspective, my S1000RR stops on the front wheel (one wheel).  The DS with metallic pads does ok while the stock ones are an exercise in patience (not really what you want when you are in a hurry).

I'll keep looking and post if I find something that works.

[nicktulloh]

Are the '13s that much different from the '12s? My front brake (don't think I've ever used the rear) is quiet and will do stoppies all day long.

[Richard230]

The 2012 bikes used Hayes brake components (with pads that seemed to be made of wood), while the 2013 bikes use Nissan brakes.  The good thing about the Nissan brakes is that many different Nissan and after-market accessory brake pads should be available for these brakes than for the Hayes brakes.  This gives you the opportunity to experiment with different types of pads to address squeaking, friction and pad life.  I have Nissan brakes on a couple of my motorcycles and they perform well - just not as well as the top-of-the-line brakes made by some other manufacturers, such as Brembo.

[nicktulloh]

The 2012 bikes used Hayes brake components (with pads that seemed to be made of wood), while the 2013 bikes use Nissan brakes.  The good thing about the Nissan brakes is that many different Nissan and after-market accessory brake pads should be available for these brakes than for the Hayes brakes.  This gives you the opportunity to experiment with different types of pads to address squeaking, friction and pad life.  I have Nissan brakes on a couple of my motorcycles and they perform well - just not as well as the top-of-the-line brakes made by some other manufacturers, such as Brembo.

You mean Nissin, right?

I stand by my rave for my '12 DS brakes. They're as good or better than my '12 Triumph Tiger brakes. Two fingers.

[Richard230]

Sorry, Nissin.  The worse brakes that I have seen on a motorcycle that I have owned within the last 20 years are the brakes on my 2005 Triumph Bonneville, which are Nissin components.  But that is likely due to the Triumph's single front disc brake and relatively heavy weight.

I think Zero switched to Nissin brakes this year due to complaints about the Hayes brakes performance.  However, I suspect that their poor performance was due to the pad material choice.  I have an early bike (made in February 2012), perhaps later bikes used softer pads. 

[nicktulloh]

Sorry, Nissin.  The worse brakes that I have seen on a motorcycle that I have owned within the last 20 years are the brakes on my 2005 Triumph Bonneville, which are Nissin components.  But that is likely due to the Triumph's single front disc brake and relatively heavy weight.

I think Zero switched to Nissin brakes this year due to complaints about the Hayes brakes performance.  However, I suspect that their poor performance was due to the pad material choice.  I have an early bike (made in February 2012), perhaps later bikes used softer pads.

I raced an '05 Triumph Thruxton for three years in the AHRMA Thruxton Cup series, including Daytona. I then retired it to the street and hung a Motorvation sidecar with leading link front end on it. We experimented with various aftermarket brake setups and always came back to stock. Funny how experience varies.

When I compared my Zero brakes to the Tiger brakes I wasn't implying that the Tiger brakes were anything less than stellar.