Chinese Knock Off Rotors

[slybonesjesse]

http://tinyurl.com/8elc3u 320mm front rotors for $160. Must be cheap knock off rotors. But at 1/3 the price of Braking rotors I wonder how they would do. 2003 Concours, 46K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[mtc1966]

Chinese by way of Hong Kong maybe maybe not

 

[davemuir]

Hong Kong went back to the People's Republic of China in 1997... So, ya Chinese ;p Dave Muir 1980 LTD1000 - Rocket 1999 Concours - Rocket II 1997 Dyna - wife's CT-COG #3649 Merchandise Czar

 

[EddieM]

Annnnd...$45 shipping so now we're at $205. Not sure if they'd fit the Connie, though. Still...Wouldn't hurt to email the seller and ask. Eddie 2005 Concours 1969 Triumph Bonneville AMA# 686667 COG# 7073 CDA# 0136 http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie753

 

[slybonesjesse]

I believe stock ZZR1200 rotors have been used on Connies as a way to upgrade to 320mm rotors. So I would think there is no reason these will not fit. In the brief looking around I did, they definitely look like a knock off of Braking rotors, VS EBC or Galfers I saw. Braking not only uses a high quality high carbon stainless steel rotor, they specially heat treat it and use a alloy hub so they are lighter weight than other MFG wave rotors. Of course they are also $265ea best price I can find. Where EBC's for example can be found for $150 range. So its easly to see how they can save $$$ by using aluminum hubs and not doing the special heat treating like other MFGs save. -- Question is whether the rotor part is high enough quality not to warp on us the first time we use them hard. Will they be of quality to last. At that price I have doubts. But at that price you can afford 3x sets versus buying Brakings rotors. To be honest I would be plenty happy with the EBC's that Murph sells if they have black centers. I am not overly thrilled about gold centers. But at $250 more money for Brakings, which are black, I might have to suffer with gold. Anyways I was really out there looking for a ZZR alternator. And spotted these. I am curious about the quality level. If they lasted as good as stock rotors for that price it might be worth it. 2003 Concours, 46K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[EddieM]

Hey, Sly. Didn't know about the ZZR rotor use on the Concours. My bad! I do have the gold hub EBC rotors from Murph on my '05. I actually wanted the plain rotors w/black hubs, but he was out of them and I needed rotors. They actually look pretty good on the bike. With your red one, the y would probably be good also. I don't like spending more than I need to, but to me brakes aren't the place to cheap out Eddie 2005 Concours 1969 Triumph Bonneville AMA# 686667 COG# 7073 CDA# 0136 http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie753

 

[2linby]

What price safety? Would you buy a helmet made from the same people? AKA "2linby" That's 2-lin-by folks! Northwest Area Director COG #5539 AMA #927779 IBA #15034 TEAM OREGON MC Instructor http://community.webshots.com/user/2linby http://tinyurl.com/njas8 (IBA BunBurner Gold Trip) http://tinyurl.com/lwelx (Alaska trip)

 

[charlie gary]

Material isn't any cheaper in China than it is here, so the only way they can cut costs is in the labor area. I would be very wary. Later, Charlie COG# 8048 AMA# 603377

 

[slybonesjesse]

Be wary? I'll probably never try them. I do find it intereting though. Most likely I will end up with the EBC's from Murph and pray Eddie is right, the Gold looks good. There was a guy selling some brand new 320mm Braking rotors around here about a year or so ago. $450 shipped, only $100 more than EBC's and about $150 less than buying at current prices I see. I wish I would have had the money at that time ( or now for that matter ). Material... Are there different grades of Stainless Steel. Can they use a cheaper grade of materials OR are they even stainless steel. They dont tell you at all what they are made in the Ebay add. 2linby, I agree on the price of safety. But a playing devils advocate, do you realize how many rotors for the automotive industry used all the time in this country are made in China. There are some aftermarket companies selling rotors that specifically advertise made in the USA, because most of them all come from China. -- The ones on my Dodge RAM 2500 Cummins Diesel 4x4 are made in china. Been on there 70K miles and are doing fine. No loss in braking performance. Stock ones only went 100K. But then who knows, Dodge probably uses made in china rotors as a way to save money. It would not surprise me to find out the majority of us are all driving our cages on made in china rotors right from the factory. -- So I guess myself I am not writing them off as less safe because they are cheaper. Given they are 320mm rotors,they should offer some small measure of increased performace. How can that be less safe? Myself, my hesitation is in that I think cheaper grade of materials means they will warp in 10K miles. And in 4-5 months from now I would be ordering new rotors from Murph, like I should have in the first place, and I would have wasted $200. I dont think there is much assembly process to these. If the materials were the same high quality materials that US made rotors use, and the only difference was labor costs, they why be wary? 2003 Concours, 46K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://mysite.verizon.net/slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[dougpod]

I have seen first hand the difference between China rotors and rotors from other countries. (Been in the auto parts business forty years.) The China rotors have the same outside dimentions, but have less metal in the cooling fin area (the space between the friction surfaces) I've been told China motorcycle rotors are thinner (by as much as 1.5mm)than stockers or replacements like EBC. JMHO Doug 2002 Concours 1983 Suzuki GS650MD Katana AMA # 593738 COG # 8588

 

[charlie gary]

Slybones asked- "Material... Are there different grades of Stainless Steel. Can they use a cheaper grade of materials OR are they even stainless steel. They dont tell you at all what they are made in the Ebay add. " "I dont think there is much assembly process to these. If the materials were the same high quality materials that US made rotors use, and the only difference was labor costs, they why be wary? " Yeah, there are many grades of stainless. The phrase "stainless steel" is almost as generic as "steel", "plastic" or "aluminum". It could be cast, forged, rolled, injection molded- unless they actually list a grade like 18-8 or 304 or 17-4 or some kind of number, it's just marketing. Kind of like saying "CNC machined". Trust me when I say that's no guarantee of quality. I don't have personal experience with bad Chinese material, but one of my customers does a lot of stuff overseas and he's got lots of material stories. He tells of specifying certain grades of material for molds as well as finished products and when he gets his stuff it may be what he contracted for, or it might just be made of whatever dude had laying around. Dude's already got the money, so what does he care about some unhappy one time mold customer half way around the world? The guy I know won't buy any more metal overseas. New material made in China has been known to be substandard with such things as extremely uneven hardness, delamination and inner voids. If he can't recut an obsolete tool already located over there, he'll just buy it local and have it delivered to us. We cut a mold, it gets palletized, containerized and shipped. Having material milled by a known reputable vendor means a lot more than many people know. I've been trying to figure out how to mention Chinese milk without sounding callous, and I think the best way to draw a non-inflammatory parallel to dead kids is to ask what can happen to a simple lump of metal in a society that will do that to its own food supply? Did I manage the non-inflammatory part? I tried. Later, Charlie COG# 8048 AMA# 603377

 

[Tinsailor]

Being a fairly cheap person myself, there are a couple of things I don't care to skimp on and those are tires and brakes. Other things you can get by on but things that directly effect safety I don't mind spending a little more to get the parts that are tried and true.

 

[scates]

+1 on cheap.

I saw another thread on inexpensive rotors then found these on eBizzle today.

$159.99 With free shipping from China:
GTR  1000  86-93 
Material: Stainless steel 420 (2Cr13) . All are heat treatment and approved great performance.
Quantity :2 PCS (show as picture)
Outside diameter: 270 mm
Inside diameter: 130 mm
Thickness: 5 mm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Front-Brake-Disc-Rotor-Kawasaki-GPZ-600-750-GTR1000-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZalgoQ3dSICQ2eOPJSQ26ituQ3dIQ252BUAQ26otnQ3d12Q26pmodQ3d260763553436Q252B230656516410Q252B320739356502Q26poQ3dLVIQ26psQ3d63Q26clkidQ3d1881703308979713757QQ_trksidZp5197Q2em185QQitemZ260775566995

Item #260775566995

I agree that it would suck if they warped but would probably take my chances at these prices. I don't see how unsafe they can be. If they warp or rust, I'd just curse the commies, switch em out, and still be about even in cost. 

 

[2linby]

"There is nothing more expensive than buying cheap."Me

Stockers and EBC's are known elements, Chinese knockoffs are not.  Murph will vouch for that! 

 

[sas mayhem]

From the Connies riders that I have met and seen using these ebay made in China rotors... None of them have had any issues or problem at all.... period.  None of them have had, warping, emergency stopping issues or wear issues.  One of them have had them om for 3 yrs, now and he rides 15K per yr.

My .02 cents

Cheers
Ron

 

[willyp]

+1 on cheap.

I saw another thread on inexpensive rotors then found these on eBizzle today.

$159.99 With free shipping from China:
GTR  1000  86-93 
Material: Stainless steel 420 (2Cr13) . All are heat treatment and approved great performance.
Quantity :2 PCS (show as picture)
Outside diameter: 270 mm
Inside diameter: 130 mm
Thickness: 5 mm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Front-Brake-Disc-Rotor-Kawasaki-GPZ-600-750-GTR1000-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZalgoQ3dSICQ2eOPJSQ26ituQ3dIQ252BUAQ26otnQ3d12Q26pmodQ3d260763553436Q252B230656516410Q252B320739356502Q26poQ3dLVIQ26psQ3d63Q26clkidQ3d1881703308979713757QQ_trksidZp5197Q2em185QQitemZ260775566995

Item #260775566995

I agree that it would suck if they warped but would probably take my chances at these prices. I don't see how unsafe they can be. If they warp or rust, I'd just curse the commies, switch em out, and still be about even in cost.

If they are crappy material or improperly heat treated, they might wear out faster than a quality made product. It the aluminum center is soft, or the rivets poorly made or not installed correctly, they could fail catastrophically. Though, I think that is unlikely, most likely they just won't last as long, and you end up buying two or three sets, compared to one set of the high quality stuff. Or they don't fit correctly, due to poor manufacturing tolerances.


My '01 came with 320's on the front, they look like these: Front Brake Disc Rotor For Kawasaki ZX9R NINJA 94-97 | eBay I don't think they have a lot of mileage on them yet, so it remains to be seen how long they last.

 

[slybonesjesse]

I got some 320mm Rotors from a ZZR1200 that are brand new, no miles. Link was in the ZG fanatics forum for a group who posta bought 5 ZZR's in the crate for the motors and parted the remaining items on ebay. $200 shipped for new factory rotors. Seemed like a good deal to me.  They look new.

Plan is to install them this next week with some new pads. Will take pics.

 

[greg.m784]

Does Murph sell the caliper bracket kits to run the 320mm rotors? 

Do the 320mm rotors make a noticeably better brake?  i like the look of larger rotors, so i'll be going to them, plus i'm hoping performance will be better too.

:motonoises:

 

[willyp]

Does Murph sell the caliper bracket kits to run the 320mm rotors?

There is a note on the page with the rotors to contact him if you need the caliper adapters.

 

[greg.m784]

Thanks.