Brake Pad Technology

Some technical information can help you understand the differences between the kinds of brake pads available. Our Aftermarket Harley Davidson Brakes (pads) are required to be used with the Matrix aftermarket Harley Davidson Rotors, this also includes our Indian Motorcycle braking systems.

There are three types of friction material commonly used for motorcycle brakes:

• Sintered Metal
• Ceramic
• Carbon-Kevlar.

Sintered-metallic brake pads, which have a high metal content, are typically hard and abrasive to the rotor surface while offering moderate stopping power and mechanical strength. Service life tends to be significantly lower, and sintered-metallic pads tend to run more dirty and noisy than other types of friction material. They are also inexpensive to manufacture and are the cheapest pads on the market.

Ceramic brake pads usually have a high copper content and are sintered as well. While ceramic pads generally offer a slightly longer service life and run cleaner than sintered-metallic pads, they offer only moderate stopping power.

Carbon-Kevlar pads, often referred to as organic pads, usually have a small percentage of iron or nonferrous metal and are softer than other friction materials. Carbon-Kevlar pads typically run clean and quiet, and offer good stopping power. They have an extremely long service life and are not abrasive to the rotor because they generate less heat than other friction materials.

Matrix Brakes Pads are of the Carbon-Kevlar variety. What makes Matrix pads unique is that they contain a premium blend of Carbon-Kevlar and nonferrous metal and have a high transfer rate. Once the pad material has transferred a layer to the rotor, the rotor effectively becomes one big brake pad, stopping against the two smaller brake pads positioned in the caliper.