Great discussion guys... you have forced me to do some googling on the topic.

Does anyone know the weight of those eBay rotors?

Thanks!

 

What advantaged do you think more leverage will result in? Either way, even the crappiest stock brakes have more than enough force to LOCK the front wheel, which means that, again, the limiting factor is the tire, not the brakes.

 

More leverage means less pad force is needed to lock that front tire up. Less pad force means less heat. As most people know brake power is not about total clamping effort all by itself. One of the biggest aspects of brakes is heat as some have already mentioned in this thread. The hotter the fluid gets, the less effective it is. Eventually it boils and your bar comes all the way to the grip with no braking going on.

There are many factors when considering brake systems. Fluids, pad compounds, rotor designs. Total braking force is not normally one of those considerations when it comes to motorcycles.

 

The amount of force required to a stop the same bike going the same speed will be the same regardless of leverage or braking force. That force is directly converted to heat. More leverage will not translate to less heat.

 

You are correct. I should have said less heat in the system. Larger rotor means more material to absord the heat before it transfer to the fluid. Larger rotor also means more surface area to act as a heat sink and transfer the heat to the surrounding air. The end result is the same, less heat in the brake system as a whole.

 

Oh ya, definitely if heat in the brakes is an issue and you are overworking the pads and fluid, larger rotors are needed (and by larger I mean more mass not just larger diameter but lighter weight). But an easier solution for SOME cases is going to higher-temp pads.