Brake pads?
 

Tell me about them. Which ones to buy, how to install...

I ride on the street, not quite aggressively, but not quite casually.

I can do brakes on auto's, but don't know how different they are on bikes.

They're the same as standard automotive disk brakes, just smaller, and you don't have to machine the rotors or have a second party pump the brakes, lol. For the rear brake, you have to remove the wheel.
EBC Brake Pads are popular, and you can use stock rotors with them.

Much easier than cars to do. On the front, pop the caliper bolts, pull the caliper back and remove the bolts holding the pads in. Slide out the old, slide in the new. Use some anti-seize on the pad pin bolts. Before assembling, clean everything with brake cleaner.

Make sure the anti-rattle spring goes back in the same orientation as removed. Otherwise, it will...rattle. Reinstall the calipers, torque to 22 ft lbs.

Whole operation takes an hour, maybe, for the front.

Recommend EBC HH pads. Very good stuff.

--Paul

+1 on the EBC HH brake pads...

I've been reading about the EBC HH pads and they sound a bit extreme.

Do they really take a noticeable time to heat up?

Im yet to replace my brake pads, but do they squeek, like on cars, when they are getting close to being replaced? I know this question depends on how you ride, but how long are pads good for on average?

You can take a look at your pads and see how worn they are. There is actually a groove in the pad that can be used as a wear indicator. When you can't see the groove anymore it's a good time to look into replacing them.

Anyone else care to tell me what they are running and how you like them?

The pads have a wear indicator groove in them. When the groove is about gone its time to change them. Just pull the calipers (only 2 bolts) and take a look. You can see the end of the groove without removing the calipers but the pads can wear uneven so IMO its best to take a look at the whole pad. When you replace pads it also a good time to change the brake fluid and sand the crud off your rotors.

I do track days and a set of race pads last about a year. Vesrah RJL are my fav, mega stopping power and progressive feel. Got Carbone Lorraine C44 on now, about the same stopping power with a big initial bite.

I wouldn't call the HHs extreme. They're a good street/track combination. Noticeably more tooth than the stock pads have. No fading issues under hard braking and they don't require heat up time.

Good pads.

I run the EBC HH sintered pads on mine and i love em great stopping power whether you are chillen or hittin it hard. Highly recomended for anyone....