When I got to see the inner workings of the Brembo OEM and Racing factories earlier in 2025 (please note that they're separate facilities, since they make different but related things), I found it incredibly interesting. A bit like my own personal candy factory, if you will. As the kind of person who's loved seeing behind-the-scenes videos on how things are made since I was a kid, it was exactly the kind of experience I couldn't get enough of.
And hey, it doesn't hurt that I've been riding street motorcycles with Brembo calipers, rotors, and master cylinders (not to mention J. Juan and ByBre, on some occasions) for years. Those experiences add an almost personal touch to getting to tour the factory, you know?
But one thing I didn't get to see while I was there is something Brembo's quite proud of having developed, and it sounds like it probably should be. We've all been told that recycling is important for increased sustainability, probably for more years than we can count. Reduce, reuse, recycle; except, of course, for things where you can't. And now, at the end of September 2025, Brembo officially announced that it's cracked a process whereby it can make OEM brake calipers from 100 percent recycled aluminum alloy.
Even better, the company has found a way to do it so that this recycled aluminum alloy is available in all the places where it currently has production lines around the world. I mean, it makes sense; materials availability is half the battle (maybe more), right?
That all sounds great, but sadly, there's a catch.
I hit you with the good news first, but now I'm about to hit you with the bad news. Naturally, when I heard about the 100% recycled aluminum alloy brake caliper development, I immediately reached out to Brembo to ask if and when we might see it in use on OEM and/or racing motorcycles.
If you were getting your hopes up in the land of two wheels, I unfortunately have bad news for you.
A Brembo representative informed me that, "At this time, Brembo plans to use the material only for OEM automotive applications, not for racing, motorcycle, or aftermarket." While that doesn't mean that it couldn't happen sometime in the future, it does unfortunately mean that no such plans are in place at the moment.
So, if you're one of the many riders who also drives, you can still look forward to this development for your cars and trucks. Just not for any motorcycles you might be towing with them; at least, for now.
