Disc Brake Squeal Fix .... Good, and Not So Good

There is a product that is meat to be applied directly to the brake pad friction material, BG makes it. Works? I say Hell No!
We had an area rep, from Napa, come and make a class on brake issues, we put on all of the companies top of the line products, Rotors/ Pads/ caliper piston shims, all checked for run out with a dial indicator while torquing to spec. Those things squealed like a stuck Pig! Then when we called the rep to come for a look see, he wasn't even returning calls. So the cause was the Pad material, comes from "China" and sucks. Look at the friction material real close and many you will see inconsistency in the "Mix", hard spots etc.
No magic cure for brake squeal, brake pad material is the most likely cause, when the rotor is good/ no run-out or un-parallelism making pads walk.

Good Fortune!

When having the embarrassing screech and squeal problem despite pristine calipers and new pads, tried a couple of different anti-squeal products from AutoZone, a thin orange colored pad spray and a thin liquid red Permatex anti-squeal product, both of which proved useless and seemed like a watery form of silicon that never really dried.

After getting it removed, liberally applied some of the high temp copper color Permatex (also from AutoZone) to the backsides of the pads and reinstalled them (don't get any of this stuff or anything else on the business side of the pads).

Allowed to set up and dry well before operating the bike, and have enjoyed quiet serenity ever since while coming to a halt. Were the same pads that screeched like crazy before and then performed eerily quiet after using the high temp copper color Permatex.

Performed same procedure on Z1 (single front disc) and KZ900 LTD (dual front discs), with same mouse quiet results and cannot make them squeal, rain or shine. All done in conjunction with complete caliper disassembly, cleaning and all new caliper rubber parts (kits from Z1E).

Worked for me. Hope it works for you.

I try getting the softest pads available, and don't mind replacing them more often.
Never tried replacement with genuine OEM Kawasaki pads which perhaps wouldn't need any backing adhesive to stay quiet, and don't recall any such backing adhesive being suggested or even mentioned in the factory shop manuals.

Good Fortune!

OK, so I've been feeling a little dumb, but after a little research, not so much

Note the red arrow pointing at the brake rotor that says: "Easy to use!"

Just below that, it says: "Spray directly on disc or drum!"

On the back, the instructions say: "Spray a light coat (2 seconds) directly on the rotor or drum surface."

Nowhere does it say this is paint that will get all over the wheels and tires. Ha ha ha.

Actually, I kinda like the shiny rotor and hub.

Also, I was thinking of powdercoating the wheels black, but after seeing so much silver on that front wheel, I might just go that way, instead.

I wonder if the silver spray is some kind of suspension that carries graphite or something similar to get it into the rotor face. Way back in the 70's, mercedes dealers fixed squealing disc brakes by taking the pads off and drilling a few holes in them and inserting graphite rods. Reduced the coefficient of friction enough that they didn't squeal.

"WHEW"

I was already associating this thread with "THE Best Motorcycle Thread Of All Time" .

That spray is still a 'band-aid', you should look into solving the squealing by isolating the pad from the piston using silicone or another compound. Then you'll be worry free.

I use Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube to lubricate the moving parts & on the back of the pads. The package says it helps to prevent brake squeal. I believe it's a molybdenum disulfide lubricant.
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So ... 100 mile. or so later and it's starting to squal a bit again