Front rotors on my 02 Busa

[Mr Brown]

Well , there is a few things put out there in regards to wave rotors , one is the heat dissipation . Largely because motorcycle rotors are straight out in front of the bike , in the air stream , unlike cars , heating up to extraordinarily high temps is uncommon . Excluding high temperature day and / or possibly any day on closed circuit racing motorcycle .
The positives mainly imho , are the weight loss , the striking looks , the choice of patterns out there , and broad price range among various manufacturers .
Just the fact , that racing motorcycle don't use them , despite the weight promise , tells me they are not the very finest for race , but are very well suited to street bikes in general .
Of note , Kawasaki were offering models such as the ZX10R with petal front rotors at one time , maybe other models as well , but I bet they were commonly swapped out by even the club racers when able .

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[sixpack577]

Doesn't the wave pattern allow them to dissipate heat better?

I think that would be nearly impossible to measure, or prove.
And if it was, too little an amount to make any difference.

 

[Mr Brown]

I think that would be nearly impossible to measure, or prove.
And if it was, too little an amount to make any difference.

When they were introduced it was my understanding that like slotted and cross drilled they were able to dissipate heat more effectively. Something about larger surface area for a given diameter iirc. Toad schooled me though.

 

[sixpack577]

When they were introduced it was my understanding that like slotted and cross drilled they were able to dissipate heat more effectively. Something about larger surface area for a given diameter iirc. Toad schooled me though.

The grooves and holes allow gas generated by heating pads to escape easier. Without the holes and slots that gas forms a barrier between the pads and rotor, making braking less effective.
So, without a larger diameter rotor, the wave shape could help with escaping gasses, and technically has less surface area to heat up, which a lower temp rotor could help prevent some brake fade, but it still would be hard to accurately measure, in terms of overall heat or shorter stops. Both may also be true, but would likely not cause a noticeable positive change.
Higher quality("should" take more abuse/resist warping as fast), lighter weight...and the shape sells them based on looks

 

[ali123]

The grooves and holes allow gas generated by heating pads to escape easier. Without the holes and slots that gas forms a barrier between the pads and rotor, making braking less effective.
So, without a larger diameter rotor, the wave shape could help with escaping gasses, and technically has less surface area to heat up, which a lower temp rotor could help prevent some brake fade, but it still would be hard to accurately measure, in terms of overall heat or shorter stops. Both may also be true, but would likely not cause a noticeable positive change.
Higher quality("should" take more abuse/resist warping as fast), lighter weight...and the shape sells them based on looks

less surface area to heat up could also mean less surface area for the pads to grab onto? maybe that's why in racing they don't use them... in extreme conditions, maybe u want a lot of surface area AND areas for gasses to escape??? I dunno… thinking and typing out loud.

 

[sixpack577]

less surface area to heat up could also mean less surface area for the pads to grab onto? maybe that's why in racing they don't use them... in extreme conditions, maybe u want a lot of surface area AND areas for gasses to escape??? I dunno… thinking and typing out loud.

I think any rotor surface not contacting the pad(based on the wave shape itself) would be minimal, as in no more than what is safely allowed(including holes and grooves), but, it's kind of a gray area, because of the difficulties in measuring temp and fade, as well as stopping distance. And trying to do that in a scientific way to get repeatable results.
We'll just go with lighter weight, and hopefully higher quality material that takes more abuse before warping...the shape is for looks...and maybe stops the bike an 1/8" sooner.
At least until a brake engineer proves otherwise