S4RS brakes inconsistent

[EvilSteve]

So I've been having some issues with my brakes and have read a similar theme around TOB. What's happening is that the brakes kind of feel as though they're warped but not quite. It's a slow pulsating feeling more accentuated at low speeds. Kind of like (as a friend of mind described it) very slow ABS. It's not a nice feeling to say the least and would be an easy way to get a lowside. I emptied most of a can of brake cleaner onto the rotors and into the calipers and that seemed to clear up the problem for about an hour. Unfortunately it came back. I've ridden warped rotors before and this doesn't quite feel like that. I (with the help of a friend) changed the brake (and clutch while we were at it) fluid, filed the edges of the pads and generally cleaned everything up and subsequently the brakes were good. I haven't had a chance to ride it much since then but I'm concerned given the symptoms and recurrence of the problem that it'll just happen again after a short while. I'm looking for some solutions that people might have had work or just some suggestions would be great too.

I've tried:
Brake cleaner: worked for a little while (therefore couldn't be warped)
Bleeding the brakes & master (seems to have fixed the issue but for how long)

I've had suggested:
Master cylinder is faulty: similar symptoms seen on another bike MC replacement fixed the issue (possible)
Buttons are full of crap: could explain the slow ABS like symptoms and the reason the brake cleaner made any difference
Calipers are faulty: perhaps some problem with the cylinders?
Rotors are warped: not likely otherwise why would brake cleaner or a bleed have made any difference?
Pads are crap: Brembo pads (as the theory goes) build up a lot of dust which gets caught in the system & causes issues (any other pads to try?)

Anyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[ducpainter]

I believe you need to properly 'bed' in your brakes.

This may help...the whole site is full of great info...and of course sales mumbo jumbo...

http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/faqs.shtml#25

[EvilSteve]

Thanks guys. That's a really good article, don't really know how I can start from where I am to resolve it though. I didn't touch the rotors the last time either so I'm not sure how that would relate back to this article. I guess I could replace the pads with something slightly more metallic and see what happens there.

[ducpainter]

The imbedded linky no worky, here's the correct one:
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml

hmmmm....

works for me...

must be cached...

here's the main url  http://www.stoptech.com/

I used to have a link to some specific bedding articles, but my computer died.

It's in tech on TOB.

If some one finds it I'd like it back.   

[EvilSteve]

Works for me too actually.

[c_rex]

Check your axle to make sure it's straight, fork lengths are dead nuts even, check that the wheel is mounted properly with all spacers in place and in good condition, bleed the brakes again (and again). 

The brakes on mine were woody when I first got the bike but since bedding have been fantastic.

fwiw- the link worked for me.

[Ash]

i had this problem recently and switched back from semi-metallic pads back to the stock organics and the problem has completely gone away.

outside of "proper" bedding, experimenting with different pad materials may help...

[EvilSteve]

Thanks Ash, that seems like a good place to go from here if the problem recurs.

[Ash]

cool, good luck man

[hypurone]

i had this problem recently and switched back from semi-metallic pads back to the stock organics and the problem has completely gone away.
outside of "proper" bedding, experimenting with different pad materials may help...

Yeah, i'm thinking of switching to some Carbon/Ceramic pads. They work well on SS rotors and seem to give a more "even/reliable" initial bite. Just need to nail down which brand I wanna use. LA is using the ones from Braketech and loves them.

http://braketech.com/products/Ferodo/CP2.11-Carbon-Ceramic.php