I wouldnt mess with that unless you get an intake.
Best free mod is to debadge it...IMHO.
As for the brake issue.....I got R1 dimpled/slotted with Bendix Ceramic on the front and Akebono Ceramic pads on teh back. Coming up on 50k on them and they still work like day one. I dont remember what I spent on them. You can do an internet search for them though.
You can see them a little bit in this pix I took when I was playing around with center cap ideas...