My new-to-me airhead shares the front brake set up with my K1100LT, but the performance of the former is way different.  The R100R brakes seem very grabby.  Should I go with OEM or are there after market pads that have a more progressive feel to them? I'd appreciate suggestions and the experience of others who have the four-pot Brembo set up on their machines.

brickrider2 wrote:. . . the two-pot Brembo set up on their machines.

The front brakes on your R100R should be 4-pot calipers, like your K1100. For a reasonable brake performance comparison of your new acquisition to your road warrior, the rotors on the R need to be clean, the pads in good shape and not glazed, the pads needed to have been bedded in with reasonable care by the previous owner and the pads on both motos need to be of the same composition—organic, semi-organic or sintered.

Four-piston, corrected.  My bad.

I am a fan of the UK brand EBC FA407HH (sintered, readily available) for the front of a K or later Airhead with four pot callipers. They don't 'dust' the wheel, seem to last well, are firm-feeling & progressive without being grabby, and, so far as my experience goes, do not tear up the disc surface. Out back I use EBC non-sintered because the two pot calliper & large disc is what I reckon to be too much brake area for the machine and there's no need for the additional 'power' of sintered. I have these HH pads in the front of both my R100 Mystic and any K bike with four pot Brembos. 

However, I fully recognise the brake pad pros & cons discussion can border on the frenzy of opinion of an oil thread.

"...so far as my experience goes...."
I'd not considered sintered pads due to their reputation for eating rotors.  Maybe that is a mistake on my part.  
How many miles have you put on those pads thus far?
What about carbon pads?  Are those suitable for street use?

I'm with TWB. EBC sintered on the front and non-sintered on the rear. Probably 25-30,000 miles per set, but if that sounds high it's because they would have traversed the same roads day in, day out and so the engine gets (got!) used as a brake quite a lot because I knew what was coming up.

Any new BM, Duke or Zero come with sintered pads these days. I pick the aforementioned moto brands because I haven't worked in an HD, Honda, S'zuki, Kwacka or Hyosung shop in a decade, but I see the tell-tale copper backing plates on those brand's current models. I see Bee Ems, Duc & Zero daily at work. We put OEM pads & EBC on customer BMW, & EBC exclusively on Ducati.

I have no experience with Carbon-Lorraine (sp?) Brand but carbon-kevlar is what EBC use in their non-sintered, base level 'organic' pads.

The back of the K1300GT currently has the red backing plate EBC pads, a step above non-sintered, a step below HH sintered, and they've got an honest 28,000 miles scraped off them with a still in-spec disc and no dusting. It was my first try with this type. I will use them again. The fronts are EBC sintered with 18,000+ and they've maybe 60% left. This bike gets hard touring and commuting use and has 83,000 miles on the clock.

EBC work for me.

Here's my experience:

I bought a K75RT in the Spring of 2014 with 54,000 miles. The brakes had sintered pads of unknown brand and the rotors were worn, but while still in spec, there was not much left.

I replaced the pads that came with it with organic Kevlar pads. Since then I have done 45,000 miles and the rotors show no additional wear, they are still in spec. I get about 30,000 miles from a set of pads that I get on eBay for $18 for all three calipers. Yes, they do make the wheels dusty, but the stopping power is acceptable to this old geezer, even in the mountains out west in wet weather. A shot of wheel cleaner every 3-4 weeks and a good rinse keeps the dust pretty much under control.

brickrider2 wrote:My new-to-me airhead shares the front brake set up with my K1100LT, but the performance of the former is way different.  The R100R brakes seem very grabby.  Should I go with OEM or are there after market pads that have a more progressive feel to them? I'd appreciate suggestions and the experience of others who have the four-pot Brembo set up on their machines.

There are variations other than the pads.

Earlier R100Rs have a single front disk(4 pot caliper), later R100R models have twin front disks(with 2 x 4 pot calipers). Each has their own different master cylinder (piston diameter) which gives a different hydraulic ratio, which gives a different feel to the brake lever.

The K1100 has a different master cyl piston diameter again, if memory serves me it's bigger again than either of the R100R master cyls. It moves more fluid but with less hydraulic "leverage", so it would not feel as sharp before you even consider pads.

Al

That is one of the things that bugs me about my twin-caliper brakes.  To my sensibilities, there is too much travel at the lever before any braking takes place.  I'd like a m/c with a slightly larger bore. I think that would be a superior set up.  But, truth to tell, I'm still becoming familiar with the new airhead.  Maybe this old dog can learn some better braking techniques. 
In any case, it's quite the dramatic change riding the K1100LT, then the R100R.  I love 'em both!  

Master cylinder bore diameter on a dual disc R100R is 15mm, single disc is 13mm, and K1100 is 20mm, with essentially the same callipers fitted between these models. My Airhead in OZ has four piston Brembos over 292mm Suzuki discs with a K11 M/C and the feeling is superb with good initial bite and a progressive feeling. Quality of material in the pads can have a lot to do with it.

*Later K1200RS/GT and K40 series K bikes use a 16mm M/C over dual, four piston callipers. My K100/K1200 Big Block uses a K11 20mm M/C with four piston Brembo R1200GS/GSA/RT-K1300GT/S/R callipers and 320mm x 5mm dual discs, and the bite is stoppie-like with a huge grab but with a controllable feel (EBC HH sintered) - definitely overkill for the bike's weight, but why not!? Stopping is as important as going.

The 2019 thru early '21 BMW R1250GS, GSA & RT were supplied with US made Hayes callipers. BMW had a weep issue with them and for a while last year they were replacing them, if fluid weepage between the calliper halves was evident, with the same brand. As of last Winter there's been a recall and the replacement is Brembo, as it should have been all along. Hayes, or Kelsey-Hayes, is a long-time and reputable manufacturer of brake components, but in this example - perhaps cost cutting or perhaps at a stretch, satisfying the previous administration with US content on imported vehicles - the quality was not there. After the swap and a proper bleed, nearly to a T, the rider will comment that the new brakes (both L & R callipers, new pads, & mounting hardware) seem to have a longer initial lever travel but better bite when braking hard. The cops on their R1250RT-P come back later with a smile after the swap.

As an aside to the recall story the Hayes calliper replacement on the sporty 2019 thru early '21 S1000RR is now Nissin callipers with a new master cylinder, from the previous Hayes combo, along with a software update.