Rotors and Pads

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* 1 Disc Brake Service
* 2 Floating Rotors
* 3 Solid Rotors
* 4 Brake pads

## Disc Brake Service

Note that as the disc brake pad wears, more of the piston is exposed. This part of the piston will become contaminated with dirt, oxidation, etc. Therefore, you must perform a full caliper service when changing the pads. Cleaning the piston and using new seals ensures that the caliper will function properly with the pistons completely retracted due to the new, thicker pads.

The forces applied to the rotor during braking, with the rotor solidly bolted to the wheel, result in the rotor distorting. This warping will become evident when the rotor is unbolted from the wheel. A floating rotor keeps these strains from affecting the center of the rotor where it bolts to the wheel.

## Floating Rotors

EBC has made a full floating front brake rotor ( [1] & [2] ) for both the first and second generation EX500. According to the US motorcycle brake applications spread sheet found here: [3] , both generations can use both rotors. Make note also that the Pro-Lite line of EBC rotors is not specifically full floating!

EBC rotor model numbers:

* MD714LS
* MD714RS
* MD714X [4]
* MD714XC [5]

MD714 is the base part number for the EX500 front floating rotor. The -LS and -RS models have a swept hole pattern meant to go on a specific side. -LS is the left side to match the Gen1, while -RS is the right side to match the Gen2. Other than the direction of the hole pattern, the rotors are identical with silver hubs and nine buttons holding the rotor. The -X is the updated model with a universal hole pattern to fit both sides, so it will work on either Gen1 or Gen2. It has a gold hub with six buttons holding the rotor. The -XC is the same, but the outer edge of the rotor is contoured in a "petal" pattern.

Note that due to mismatches of part numbers and descriptions, use of stock photos, and just plain incorrect information, buying EBC rotors online can be difficult. For best results, find a seller where the part number, description, and picture all match what they should be, and the price is in the right range. If a deal seems too good to be true or some of the details don't match up, you may end up getting the wrong part.

## Solid Rotors

EBC also makes a solid steel rotor.

* Front MD4016
* Rear MD4051
* Rear MD4051C [6]

The MD4051C is the same as the MD4051, but with the outer edge of the rotor contoured in a "petal" pattern.

## Brake pads

**Do not skimp on brake pads, particulary when you consider the price between budget pads and good ones is not huge.** Good quality pads make a huge difference, particularly on the front wheel, in brake performance, more so than any other factor. In this author's opinion do not skimp on brake pads and **avoid organic or Kevlar pads**. For instance the EBC HH sintered pads I installed are less suddenly grippy/grabby with lever pressure and much easier to modulate (keep from accidentally locking at the limit in hard braking) than the stock pads. As per forum recommendations, the EBC HH sintered pads are an excellent choice although there may be other good pads in this price range. Both EBC's budget organic FA129 pads and premium sintered Double H FA129HH pads will fit on all years.

Representative Part Numbers (2nd Gen)

Front:

* EBC FA129HH [7]
* SBS 597 HS
* Vesrah VD-427JL
* Vesrah SD-427

Rear:

* EBC FA67/3 [8]
* SBS 586 LS
* Vesrah VD-425JL
* Vesrah SD-425