Visiting Galfer Performance Brakes in Barcelona
MXMag received an invitation from the company in Spain to immerse us for two days in the world of brake discs and brake pads. We didn't let ourselves be told that twice and so at the beginning of November we went to Granollers near Barcelona to visit Galfer.
Galfer Performance Brake Systems is a manufacturer of brake pads and brake discs with Italian roots. Halfway through the last century they manufactured brake drums for car manufacturer Seat, which led the company to move to Spain. Nowadays, the brand mainly produces braking systems for the off-road market. About 85% of production is intended for off-road motorcycles. Galfer supplies their braking systems to KTM, HRC, TM, Husqvarna, Rieju, Sherco and many other brands.
The location of the company reveals a lot. A stone's throw from the production hall is Rocco's Ranch, one of the most beautiful motor sports locations in the country. It is also there where we were able to test many of their products during day two. And the Circuit de Catalunya is right next to the company. Galfer makes quality products for motorcycle sports and you will certainly see that in the MXGP next year because there will be an intense collaboration with Infront Moto Racing, the promoter of the Motocross World Championship. They also work together with very well-known names from the motorsport world.
Toni Bou (trial), Steve Holcombe and Jonny Walker (enduro), Kiara Fontanesi (motocross) are just a few names using Galfer brakes. They also make products for road racing, SBK, Enduro, Trial and mountain bikes. A tour of the company's production hall gave us an insight into how Galfer's high-quality brake pads and brake discs are produced. The emphasis is on the extremely high quality of their products. They achieve this through the use of high-quality basic materials and thorough quality control during and after production.
Due to the corona crisis, this company is also having difficulty obtaining the right raw materials. For example, the stainless steel sheet for the production of brake discs was supplied from Japan, but there has been a major delay in deliveries, which means that Galfer now has to search for suitable basic material in Europe.
The department where the brake pads are manufactured was also extremely interesting. It's a bit like baking cookies, but the end result is a high-quality product with excellent braking properties and service life. We were told by an expert (outside Galfer) that if all the resources to solve your brake pad problems have been used up, you should definitely use Galfer pads again.
We were also able to chat with Kiara Fontanesi and asked her a question that had been on our lips for some time.
MXMag: Kiara, how did you get involved with motocross back then? Kiara Fontanesi: "Well, that's very simple. There were always motorcycles available at home and my brother also did motocross. That's how it happened that as a child I rode my first meters on a dirt bike. By the way, that was, as usual, a Yamaha PW50. Afterwards I started going to training and competitions and I really got hooked on the sport. I am glad that I took this step at the time because it brought me a lot of pleasure. The same thing is now happening to my two-year-old daughter (laughs)."
The company also took us to the famous Rocco's Ranch. On day one we were able to spin laps on a Kawasaki KLX110 on a dirt track track. During day two there was the opportunity to try out their brakes on the motocross track. For example, enduro motorcycles were made available to Sherco and Beta. You can go racing with a fleet of Yamahas, KTMs, Kawasakis and GasGas machines.
We learned a lot during this fun two days at Galfer. Developing and producing powerful and durable brakes is not an easy job. That is our conclusion. Certainly not in competitions where the bar is raised every year.
Galfer Performance Brake Systems is looking for a distributor for the Benelux. All information about this is available via info@galfer.es
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