I must admit that the brakes on my 2017 ZForce 800 Trail EPS from the factory were "soft" with the stock 26" tires, not scary... but less than ideal if you had to stop suddenly for some reason. Now that I upgraded to the Bear Claw 28" tires the brakes are "scary soft"...Like.... I could unwittingly slam into stuff if I suddenly had to stop! I think stopping quickly is kinda "a big deal" if something surprises you, so I did some research on brake pads. I ended up looking at EBC MXS pads because they claimed to have the most aggressive "Bite", but was unable to find anyone who could get me the the MXS pads in the 165(R-side) and 135(L-side) sizes for the front and could only find the 651(Rear) pads in the X carbon version. I called EBC and found out that they have been working on developing brake pads specifically designed for the SxS market and are working on CFMoto specific stuff as well (like over-sized rotors!) They have NEW aggressive compounded pads(accounting for increased weight and larger tire mass) for the front of the Zforce 800 SXSR165HH(R-side)& SXSR135HH(L-side) FYI- these are SO NEW that Google pulls up nothing with a search) AND they now have the 651 pads in a sintered "R" formulation which is an upgrade in "Bite" from the X carbon version. The R formulation is less aggressive than the SXSR HH Fronts which is ideal with keeping the front delivering a larger percentage of stopping power. I will be ordering a full set to upgrade the brakes on my machine and will report back with my findings once I have them installed and can test them out. www.perfectbrakes.com is the place to order from and you will have to reach out to them to get these new compounded brake pads(they are NOT listed on their website yet) BTW- The total cost for front and rear pads was $145.19 w/free shipping and they shipped same day!

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Yeah these do suck. When I first had mine it was beyond dangerous.. but after finding and replacing: the peddle rod mis-adjusted, all the sliders seized, air in the system, replaces all pads with EBC-Xs and added chamfered  edges and replaced the fluid with DOT4 synthetic, I can say at least they will stop it now...and lock-up all four..and with using only one foot...lol. Still..no where near as good as others like my friend's RzR. I still think the pressure ratios are incorrect.

Holy crap! That much stuff was out of whack? I should probably try to check that stuff on mine as well...Only problem is I am not a mechanic so I don't really know what I am looking for..lol
Do I need to take it to brake shop? How can you tell if a slider is seized(when I replace the pads will I be able to tell) or if the pedal rod is set wrong? If I bleed the brakes and flush the system with synthetic DOT4 will that make a substantial difference? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Holy crap! That much stuff was out of whack? I should probably try to check that stuff on mine as well...Only problem is I am not a mechanic so I don't really know what I am looking for..lol
Do I need to take it to brake shop? How can you tell if a slider is seized(when I replace the pads will I be able to tell) or if the pedal rod is set wrong? If I bleed the brakes and flush the system with synthetic DOT4 will that make a substantial difference? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

If there is air in the system..like most have, then removing it makes a substantial difference. The fluid change..not much. The rest...well either you become mechanically inclined or you will have to take it to a shop. The shop manual is a help...and nothing like hands-on as a teacher. Just get the basic understanding of a system then add to that with the "hands-on".

Thanks NMK!

UPDATE- I forgot to post after installing the new EBC pads and flushing air out the system! HUGE improvement with these pads...HOLY CRAP! The brakes went from soft and borderline scary to visibly dropping the front end and making me glad I'm wearing a 4 point harness so that I don't head-butt the steering wheel ...I highly recommend these pads as a cost effective upgrade to the questionable OEM brakes on these machines!