Forum

Product Reviews

Product/Service: Carbone Lorraine SBK3 Brake Pads
Manufacturer/Provider: Carbone Lorraine / Rick Breuer - Learning Curves
Reviewed by: Jeff Kufalk

Too often people look at ways which they can make their bikes to faster. They spend thousands of dollars on high end exhaust systems, gearing, fuel management, and engine work. While this is all fine and well, many times, riders overlook a key point to going fast. Stopping.

While squeezing a few extra HP out of a bike can help you go faster, what really rounds off the package is having the ability to stop quickly, accurately, predictably and effortlessly. What folks fail to realize, is that the greatest available force offered by a modern sportbike is its stopping power from the front brakes.

That said, the "off-the-showroom" bike can be SIGNIFICANTLY improved by adding a few common and inexpensive items. One being Stainless Steel (or Kevlar) brake lines, and the other being high quality sintered brake pads.

In my years of riding (always on dual SS lines), I have always been a huge fan of EBC-HH KIT brake pads. I like the progressive bite of them, where the braking power gets stronger as the pad gets hotter. Recently, I had the opportunity to try a new set of Carbone Lorraine SBK-3 Supersport pads.

I picked the pads up from Rick Breuer of Learning Curves, who is now selling them. Pad replacement is about a 20 minute job and takes minimal tools and effort. Pull the calipers, pull the pad pins, clean everything, put the new pads in and the calipers back on!

Bedding in the new pads was the same as a set of EBC's. I put on the helmet, hopped on and did about 20 40mph-0mph stops. This wears the pads to the rotors, and prevents glazing which will reduce stopping power significantly.

Within about 5 stops, the pads really started coming in. They offer a firm, but not harsh initial bite, and the stopping power is absolutely linear from there (pull harder, stop faster). What surprised me was the amount of initial grip immediately available. The initial grip equaled that of the EBC-HH KIT pad when fully HOT.

Out in my first race with the new pads, I didn't even think about them until about 1/2 way through the race when I realized that I was overbraking every corner. I moved my braking markers in closer to each turn, and STILL was able to brake FAR lighter than I had been!

In talking to many other people running the same pads, they did say that the SBK-3 Supersport pads offer a very good lifespan, excellent grip in the rain and are surprisingly gentle on the rotors.

The retail on these pads are $32.95 and up per card (2 pads). Rick has them for $20-25 per card (depending on stock) plus shipping.

Talking to Rick, he mentions that there is another set (C-43's) which are "race only" and retails at $49.95/card which he will sell at $40/card. I will probably try these out later in the year, but for now I'm pretty pleased with the SBK-3's. The price of the SBK-3 pads is below that of the OEM pads and will last longer and provide better stopping power. Don't get me wrong, Honda makes a GREAT OEM pad, but for my racing, they wear far too quickly and they do not grip anywhere near as well as these pads do. If you're ready to change pads, drop Rick a line and order up a set. You won't be disappointed.

Did you find this review helpful? Think it sucked? Tell us about it in the forum!