I have to admit that I chose my Braking wave rotors solely for their, erm... aesthetic value (i.e. I thought they looked cool). Imagine my surprise when I flipped through the pages of the latest issue of Performance Bikes, and found their test, aptly named, "Do wavy discs work?". It turns out they do. They (PB) swapped the standard discs on an R1 for the exact same disc type that I'm using, and the wavy beauts actually made the big Yamaha stop quicker. Significantly quicker in fact. They suffered less fade too. What was it they used to say at the Bauhaus school? Function follows form? or was it the other way around?Monday 26 October 2009
Wavy discs. No longer only for poseurs.
I have to admit that I chose my Braking wave rotors solely for their, erm... aesthetic value (i.e. I thought they looked cool). Imagine my surprise when I flipped through the pages of the latest issue of Performance Bikes, and found their test, aptly named, "Do wavy discs work?". It turns out they do. They (PB) swapped the standard discs on an R1 for the exact same disc type that I'm using, and the wavy beauts actually made the big Yamaha stop quicker. Significantly quicker in fact. They suffered less fade too. What was it they used to say at the Bauhaus school? Function follows form? or was it the other way around?
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Haven't read the PB article, but I'm still doubtful that less contact area = more braking - most likeley the new discs' are made from a superior material?
ReplyDeleteIf I remember the test correctly, it had to do with the fact that the shape of the wavy discs kept the disc surface flatter against the pads. I.e: the discs warped less during braking leading to an INCREASED contact area. A bit counterintuitive but still.
ReplyDeleteThis will all come in very handy as I potter my way slowly down to my local caf at 50 km/h.
True enough - every second counts!!
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