When in business we impressed on all our people that it is quite usual and normal for businesses to make mistakes from time to time and that is no judge of the quality of the business.

What makes good businesses stand out from the others is how they handle the inevitable mistakes. And that comes down to the people.

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Vitim Bridge Clubwww.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=533442
www.sibirskyextreme.com

Totally agree, I hope nothing in my comment looked like a justification of Wemoto's attitude. I used to work in (olive oil) export, so had to be especially aware of that because big cultural differences and business approaches are involved in a distant commercial relation, so very tricky.

I would more than probably have reacted as Lindsey, but truth to be said, the EBC was not a counterfeit, but a defective original one. If the guy felt offended for the question, he should have hidden the feeling, since that's often life in customer service, dealing with people who are pissed due to a problem, otherwise, change job. Take it easy and try to solve it the best way you can. As Lindsay said, they should remove the guy who smiled (not laughed) from customer service if they do not want to damage more their image. He should have handled it much much better.

EBC aknowledged their fault (thumbs up for that) and took the right measures: they just followed TonyP's guidelines, way to go. Even if they made it wrong, any of us will still buy their products (I still plan to do it). By contrast, at least Linzi and maybe others as well, won't be very happy to deal with Wemoto, even if it was not their fault that the disc was defective.

Nonetheless, I'm still sure that Wemoto's general attitude towards customer cannot be like that, otherwise they wouldn't have grown that much.

EDIT: EBC could also track the defective discs and replace them... but that's another story.

Hi, with relation to Wemoto, this is just the one member of staff. He is simply a straight faced, serious and stubborn sod. Over the phone or by e-mail there are no problems. That's why I said it was a personality clash. Feel free to deal with them, it's simply that you won't get a cheery, chatty reception.
Not to mention that he didn't notice that there might have been a problem with some stock. He was content to have won a competition. I'd expect EBC to check the disc from me and if it is dodgy to hunt out down the delivery system.
Lindsay.

Well EBC just replied that they got the disc and tests showed it to be a low carbon steel disc which missed out on being plated. A stainless steel one is being sent. Top company. Lindsay.

I don't get it. Your OP stated that the mounting holes didn't line up, and that you had to re-drill to fit the disk. In addition, it rusted.

Now you're saying you're satisfied by the manufacturer saying it wasn't properly plated. Plating is a surface treatment, and a brake disk is a wear item, i.e., the surface wears away, exposing the substrate. In this case, the disk would rust immediately after you began scraping the plating off by using it. What's the use of that?

And what about the holes not lining up? Am I missing something? I don't know about "counterfeit," but it sure sounds like they sold you a piece of junk and the manufacturer is making bogus excuses. Does that seem ok?

Mark

I have an overly cynical mind but to me that seems a bit like, we got these made by a factory that could make them cheaper, but they turned out to be POS and we want to recall them if we can.
I would not be happy about having to redrill disc holes. That woud indicate to me that they were substandard products in more than one way.

Hi, my right hand is badly injured so I took the bike to a local small, trustworthy garage. I was told it was a pig of a job with most of the bolts being seized, not surprising given the corrosion present. He also said he'd found some of the holes about 1 thou out and needed to be moved with a drill. I didn't witness this though.
The supplied disc was, as said, low carbon missing its plating which should have left only the braking surface free, and this would have rusted lightly. The disc is of course very simple and could easily be made in even a shed. This replacement will be stainless. Could still be made in a shed. As regards the holes, I have long ago lost interest is precision in products, I have a Guzzi after all. I was surprised to find lack of precision outside the Guzzi world but accepted it with resignation.
I shall get back to you about fitting the new disc. Maybe the rusted disc was outsourced to save money, maybe the stainless one will be too but I wouldn't boast about "Made in Britain" showing quality. The quality is all that matters.
It is incredibly difficult for all manufacturers with the world situation as it is....currencies, labour costs, Chinese competition. EBC are honest though and that counts for everything.
Finally I have to buy at retail outlets while I know that stainless steel is a very cheap material with the public made to think it is expensive, that discs are incredibly simple to make but I am not in possession of the tools to make one. It was a simple mistake or perhaps two by EBC but they have been totally open about it so I am content with that. Heck, I make masses of mistakes myself these days so I can't criticize but covering up anything is unforgiveable. Eh BMW? Eh Ducati? ( F650GS forks collapsing, R1200GS corrossion, '80's BMW wiring. Ducati 916 rear axle snaps in Germany, rider killed, bikes recalled.......but not in UK!) No, thanks for honesty EBC. Lindsay.

My area of expertise is the electronics and testing side of brake systems (and on trucks at that), but I'll have a go at answering.

The near perfect brake material is cast iron. The cast surface is rough so gives higher friction. The porosity and structure gives contaminants somewhere to go and it wears to leave a similar surface. It has few issues with heat. It is also cheap and easy to produce. The downside is that if not used it is cosmetically poor, it's heavy and as a structural material likes simple shapes.

Motorcycle fashion makes the last three serious. If manufacturer A offers a shiney, foil thin, flower shaped, collander style design and manufacturer B bolts on a rusty man hole cover guess who sells most. Everyone except racers would be better off with B but want A for the bling value of looking like the racers.

The manufacturers therefore had to find a middle ground. Surface coatings varied from annoying oil sprays which the dealer hopefully remembered to clean off through to lethal attempts to chrome and zinc plate. The former lubricant burns off by the time the bike is run in, the latter remains lethal. The coatings ruin the micro-structure the brake material wants to work against. Plan B was sticking with a homogenous material but adding anti-corrosion agents. The lower the grade of stainless the more like steel/iron it is, the more chrome/zinc/copper/iridium/unobtanium etc. you add the more it acts like it's chrome lubed.

The balance on cars and bikes is to use a low to mid grade disc specific stainless and make the disc bigger on the diameter. This ticks all the fashion boxes and the performance is still close enough not to attract attention. You get basic cast iron or machined steel disks disappearing in the 1980's and the current materials fully established by about 2000. There are 20-plus years worth of vehicles out there from the changeover period with odd sizes and varying materials, so for some the manufacturers simply can't afford to keep the semi-experimental OE materials going. If you are lucky they switched to plain steel and you live with the rust, if you are unlucky someone finds a failed experiment in adding chromed teflon or old scrap as we had in this case and flogs you a set.

Trucks BTW went to discs in 1995-2010 but are still cast iron, they get enough use to clear the rubbing surface the the rest is painted.

Andy

Thanks for that Andy. Yep, my old Guzzi has cast discs. They rust within 15 minutes of getting wet but are really effective. I value them so much that I have made sure I have two complete spare sets rather than having to replace with stainless steel discs. I wipe them off if wet and even search out the water from the calper after washing the bike. I keep the spares coated in oil. It is getting difficult to find matching soft pads too as harder pads match the newer stainless steel discs. So I have a large box of suitable pads. I'd hoped the Yamaha, being Japanese, would mean I didn't have to collect a mass of spares. Running an old bike is a love affair. It's interesting to learn a bit about the developement over time of the materials. Finally, the front brake of the Yamaha is very effective with the correct disc and pads so they got a good balance there apart from the thin, 4mm, delicacy of it. My fault in the first place with this affair. Lindsay.

Well the new stainless steel disc arrived here on the evening of EBC's receiving the old disc in the morning. I've just bolted it on and it went on exactly. I suspect the mechanic had had to drill the hole in the Italian made wheel hub then and not the disc. Sorry fort the confusion. He had needed to drill out four of the old bolts. Good reason to keep a bike in a garage out of the weather. Lindsay.

There is or was one member of staff in there sometimes behind counter that's a complete and utter tosser that almost makes an extra effort to be difficult..
I've never had a problem with any of the others,all pretty helpful.
I'm pretty sure he has a negative effect the company,which otherwise are pretty good.

Yep, that'll be the guy. I was restraining my description as it is possible others would have no problems with him. He is one of the owners! Lindsay.

tbh,i would have taken it back as soon as i discovered the mounting bolt-holes didn't line up!
as soon as you touched it with the drill you lost all rights to claim an exchange
re-drilling the holes yourself is just asking for trouble.how do you know the holes are in the right place?

Andy,
Thanks for the reminders of the properties of cast, and wrought, iron
Oh for asbestos in the brake pads and all would be well with the worlds' brakes, again.

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Dave