[JessHerbst]

Today was a beautiful day in North Texas and I got some seat time with the GT. I picked a ‘back road’ i.e. asphalt 2 lane county road, almost always empty, to get a better feel for the brakes. I tried several hard stops from up to 60mph.
 Never felt the ABS, but I was not trying to push either tire to slide.
What I found was the front has a lot of stopping power, you have to commit, but its there.
 The rear however is lacking. It just does not seem to pull the bike down from speed.
 In real life situations, a finessed combination of front & rear are always what is needed, I know.
 Still I want more confidence inspiration from the back brake.
 
So, do y’all think better pads on the rear will make a noticeable difference?
 I have read repeatedly about sintered pads and know they are relatively cheap & easy to install. But my bike is still very new and the current pads have little wear (under 1000 miles)
 Should I wait for the factory pads to properly wear in, or go for better pads?

[NJ Mike]

It doesn't matter how much wear you have on something. If you don't like it, change it. I did that with the stock Pirelli's and the brake pads. Get yourself a set of EBC HH pads for front and rear, you'll be amazed at how much better it feels, and the rear will actually slow the bike down. Everyone complains about the brakes, but for the size and weight of it and with the better pads, they work just fine.

[JessHerbst]

It doesn't matter how much wear you have on something. If you don't like it, change it. I did that with the stock Pirelli's and the brake pads. Get yourself a set of EBC HH pads for front and rear, you'll be amazed at how much better it feels, and the rear will actually slow the bike down. Everyone complains about the brakes, but for the size and weight of it and with the better pads, they work just fine.

Thanks,  know I’ve seen some links to specific brake pads, I’ll see if I can find the right post.

[MartinThailand]

EBC FA 209/2 HH Front, FA 213 HH Rear.

[gizzo]

That seems so weird to me. I replaced my oem pads with a set of $15 ebay rubbish ones in an effort to reduce the braking force. No ABS on my CGT and the rear locks up very easily. The ebay shitters have had the desired effect but they squawk a bit.

Same caliper as your 6fiddys but the pads must be some different compound.

[Blazes Boylan]

I do most of my riding in the city and I find the stock pads just fine.  The rear brake doesn't actually stop the bike but that's true on my bicycle too.  Sintered pads are a cheap upgrade so I'll eventually get around to installing them but I don't feel compelled to in the same way I felt compelled to upgrade the front and rear suspension, a far more expensive project.

[JessHerbst]

I do most of my riding in the city and I find the stock pads just fine.  The rear brake doesn't actually stop the bike but that's true on my bicycle too.  Sintered pads are a cheap upgrade so I'll eventually get around to installing them but I don't feel compelled to in the same way I felt compelled to upgrade the front and rear suspension, a far more expensive project.

I’m actually quite happy with the suspension.

[Starpeve]

I can get my rear chattering easily so the stock pads are working for me. In fact, having never ridden an ABS bike I’m surprised at how much rear slippage I’ve unknowingly had during my years of riding. As posted previously in other threads, I use my rear extensively. Hardly touch my front in domestic riding unless needed, mainly to conserve my front tyre profile. Obviously if riding hard things change. If I’m riding hard I’ve always got 2 fingers on the front lever, but I’ll still enter a bend under rear brake. I’ve ridden hard and I’m 62, so somethings working for me!😄

[Tukemeister]

I always use EBC, and have for more years than I care to remember.
I change my pads over to EBC at the first opportunity, always have.

[agagliardi]

I have always had a problem with rear lockup in emergency situations. There is such a high degree of weight shift to the front wheel, and lightening of the rear, that the slightest pressure on the rear usually results in a rear slide, no bueno. Throw in sand, fluid, rain, or any adverse road conditions(pretty common here) and you gonna slide.

Yea, I know, practice rear restraint, but at the moment of truth, most of us will stomp the rear and slide, and underbrake the front. For me,(riding for 45 years, albeit not an expert racer, and lazy when it comes to parking lot reinforcing practice)  strong front and less rear braking power is safer.  I may get roasted on that.

Jess, you should be able to lock up the rear, or with this bike, engage the ABS with pressure on the rear. You may need to bleed the rear, which on mine did not firm up the pedal until I went out and engaged the rear ABS a few times

Also, pardon me, but that photo of you is so distractingly good, I'm having a hard time focusing on the forum posts! I'm sure this is one area where there is general agreement. You go girl!

[Yinzer]

Thanks,  know I’ve seen some links to specific brake pads, I’ll see if I can find the right post.

These are the ones I got.
The rear ones are tempting me to try them.
I don't think my right hand is up to modulating quick grabbing brakes at this time.
Perhaps after more practice.

[Seatex]

These are the ones I got.
The rear ones are tempting me to try them.
I don't think my right hand is up to modulating quick grabbing brakes at this time.
Perhaps after more practice.

Get the rear pads. They are a vast improvement over stock.

[Yinzer]

Get the rear pads. They are a vast improvement over stock.

Yea...The rear brake doesn't seem to grip all that well.
It doesn't give me the feeling that I have to be careful with my application of pressure.

Hard use of the front brake makes me look like a pigeon.

https://dribbble.com/shots/9934845-Pigeon-Weekly-Warm-up

[gregrb41]

I found the rear brake lacks feel, but did work satisfactorily with a lot of pressure - too much pressure. So I replaced the lever with a TEC replacement, which is longer than standard. This worked, the extra leverage gives that missing feel.

TEC part below, and I'm sure there will be others out there too. Didn't feel the need to change pads, but when the time comes it'll be EBC.

https://www.tecbikeparts.com/product/interceptor-brake-lever/

[whippers]

Interesting how everyone’s experience differs.  I locked the rear on purpose on my first ride to see what the ABS felt like.  It seemed just like a slightly milder version of what it feels like to lock a rear wheel.  In general you don’t want too much braking at the rear as weight transfer to the front in hard braking means it only does about 5-10% of the work anyway. In the era of ABS especially for less experienced riders you probably do want as aggressive a pad as possible as anything that encourages more rapid deceleration is desirable for when you really need to stop.

I agree with the OP that the front actually has plenty of power you just need a big squeeze. Recently I rode my RE and then my Ducati over the same roads 2 days apart. There is a bumpy downhill braking area into a right hander. Just before the turn in point the road has a slight hump in it.

On the RE I think the front bottomed out as it hit the hump while I was already braking and I felt the chatter through the front lever as the ABS momentarily activated. That is the only time that the front ABS has activated apart from me doing it on purpose.

Finally never get used to just using the rear brake, that is a very poor habit to develop. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing unnecessary crashes from riders who just fail to adequately brake before they run off the road when they misjudge the speed of a turn (that usually an accomplished rider would actually still make).