Generic Brake Rotors?

So, Im on the hunt for a set of rotors for my front end conversion, and originally I was going to go with EBC as they're a well known and established manufacturer of quality brake components, but surfing Ebay for a deal there are tons of these generics from China/Taiwan at about 65% of the cost of EBC's.
Being in the manufacturing industry, I know that a lot of factories will product the exact same item and market it under different brand names or as a generic, when it really is just the same part as the big name brand or OEM. I also realize that brake rotors aren't super complicated in design, or production method for that matter, so the most crucial aspect of their construction is most likely the materials quality..but I digress.

Does anyone have any experience with these generic brand rotors? Good or bad experiences? Brakes are one of those items that you typically dont want to cheap out on, obviously, but if they're identical to the name brands then I'd like to save a little money 8)

Galfer:


Chinese Generic:

i have a set of oem 2008-07 gsxr1000 rotors in very good shape i will make you a great deal on

all i can say is you get what you pay for dont skimp on brakes

I found a great rotor resource: http://metalgear.com.au/


This site will let you search by measurement as well as fitment.


So do a search on what the stock rotor was for your wheel, and copy down (or take a screen cap) of those rotor specs, bolt diameter, inner diam, outter diam, thickness, offset, etc.


Then do a search with inner diam and/or bolt diam and see what will bolt up to the wheel.


Once you know what will fit, you can then look up what stock bikes used that rotor and ebay some decent used rotors.

Personally,
I'd run em.
95% chance from the same factory.
And if not its pretty tough to fuck up a rotor unless it's just not flat.
It may wear a bit faster if there is an inferior alloy being used but I bet it's the same rotor.

xb33bsa said:

i have a set of oem 2008-07 gsxr1000 rotors in very good shape i will make you a great deal on

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Thanks for the offer, but Im looking for 320's 8)

SONIC. said:

Personally,
I'd run em.
95% chance from the same factory.
And if not its pretty tough to fuck up a rotor unless it's just not flat.
It may wear a bit faster if there is an inferior alloy being used but I bet it's the same rotor.

Click to expand...

Thats what Im thinking, they're not intricate parts by any means. Was hoping someone would chime in with first hand experience.

Bozz said:

I found a great rotor resource: http://metalgear.com.au/


This site will let you search by measurement as well as fitment.


So do a search on what the stock rotor was for your wheel, and copy down (or take a screen cap) of those rotor specs, bolt diameter, inner diam, outter diam, thickness, offset, etc.


Then do a search with inner diam and/or bolt diam and see what will bolt up to the wheel.


Once you know what will fit, you can then look up what stock bikes used that rotor and ebay some decent used rotors.

Click to expand...

Bozz, what do you know about this MGear brand? Coincidentally, this China seller/manufacturer is selling a Pair of rotors for less than $200 (USD) with their name stamped on them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Brake-Disc-Rotor-fit-for-Suzuki-GSX-R-600-1997-2003-97-98-99-01-02-03-2000-/201121074033?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ed3c00b71&vxp=mtr

I ran a pair of Chinese wavy discs on my old fighter and they were fine. Only complaint I had was the black anodizing on the carriers faded in the sun to brown (only on one side, as that was the side facing the sun were I used to park the bike at work ).

I know a lot of guys in the streetfighter arena who have used them and there have been few complaints that I've heard of.

Metalgear stuff is made in Spain from memory....

I've heard mixed reviews about Chinese rotors. Some are fine and live a healthy life, some warp after a month.

For a street bike, sudden warpage isn't THAT big of a deal. Most likely just a nuisance until you get home.

hillsy said:

I ran a pair of Chinese wavy discs on my old fighter and they were fine. Only complaint I had was the black anodizing on the carriers faded in the sun to brown (only on one side, as that was the side facing the sun were I used to park the bike at work ).

I know a lot of guys in the streetfighter arena who have used them and there have been few complaints that I've heard of.

Metalgear stuff is made in Spain from memory....

Click to expand...

Big Rich said:

I've heard mixed reviews about Chinese rotors. Some are fine and live a healthy life, some warp after a month.

For a street bike, sudden warpage isn't THAT big of a deal. Most likely just a nuisance until you get home.

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Thank you guys for your input! Im still on the fence about it though..may search through the slough of Ebay listings and try to find a seller that has a ton of sales and good reviews. Its just the thought of spending ~$200 only to replace them shortly after is a painful thought

While similar in appearance those 2 rotors are completely different and probably not from the same manufacturer. The shape of the rotor is different where they button to the carrier and the carriers themselves are beefier on the Chinese model.