Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Motorcycle 101: Types of Disc Brakes

Without different disc brakes, several good motorcycles wouldhave never made it to the showrooms

Imagine you are riding a motorcycle at 150 or 250 kilometres per hour. Suddenly, a kid comes into your way and you hit the brakes but your motorcycle fails to stop. What a nightmare, right? Well, these episodes were common when powerful motorcycles were a new thing in the automobile world. Those were the days when higher displacement motorcycles were manufactured and sold without adequate braking systems. However, the research and development teams of the automobile industry quickly realised that they need to invent different braking systems to bring powerful motorcycles to a standstill efficiently.

In this motorcycle 101 article, we discuss the various disc brakes that are usually found on motorcycles these days.

Petal disc brakes- Petal disc brakes are usually spotted on motorcycles with 400cc or above engines. Petal disc brakes are round in shape but the outer ring has a wavy design because of which, the petal disc brakes provide a larger and new surface area to the brake pads. Since they offer a large surface area, the braking bite efficiency is way better than other types of disc brakes. Not to forget, petal disc brakes do not overheat. However, there is one disadvantage of petal disc brakes. Petal disc brakes force brake pads to wear out at a faster pace. Therefore, the longevity of the brake pads is reduced.

Opposed Piston and Floating disc brakes- In an opposed-piston type disc brake, there are pistons on both sides of the disc brake. The pistons on both sides improve the braking bite and controllability of the motorcycle. To make the opposed-piston type disc brakes work, the surface of the brake pads is increased.

Moving on to the floating disc brake, this brake comes with a piston only on one side of the disc brake. Usually found in lower displacement motorcycles, a floating disc brake is not meant for motorcycles with huge power delivery. Not to forget, the manufacturing cost of a floating disc brake is significantly low when compared to other types of disc brakes.

Cross Drilled and Cross Slotted disc brakes- Both the types of brakes are round and are less in weight. Both are very effective in heat dissipation as well. However, cross slotted disc brakes have a better lifespan than cross drilled disc brakes.