Premature rear brake pad wear?

[AkWinter]

My wife and I are new to Spyder ownership, she has had her's for about a year, mine for only a couple of weeks.
My question concerns her RT. She has just over 4600mi (7500km) and her rear brakes are almost worn out. I am wondering if this is the norm?
She took it into the Dealer for squeaky noise, which they say is normal and BRP knows about it and there is no fix. (however the first summer she drove it without any such noise). Anyway, back to the post, it was noted that the brakes were pretty worn down in the rear and need to be replaced. The Dealer says it's caused by dirt on the speed sensor causing the premature wear, which I find hard to accept. I'm wondering if others have had such early wear out of their rear brake pads? (The front brake pads are still in good condition and not needing replacement)

Thanks in advance to all who have time to respond with experiences and advice.

 

[Rayelljay]

Check to see if you have a dragging brake.....take it out for a quick local trip and after a few minutes, very gingerly touch the rotor....if it is hot, you have a dragging brake.

 

[Chupaca]

Well..!!

dirt in the sensor will not wear out the brakes. Dirt between the pads and the disk can but not likely. The dragging brake mentioned above will for sure. The other is the driving style. Most folks used to automatic (cars)use the brakes more even on these roadsters. Downshifting and using engine compression to slow you down saves on the brakes. First check the drag, possibly a mal adjusted park brake....jmo :dontknow:

 

[AkWinter]

Check to see if you have a dragging brake.....take it out for a quick local trip and after a few minutes, very gingerly touch the rotor....if it is hot, you have a dragging brake.

Rayelljay - Thanks for the recommendation. I'll take the Spyder out in the morning for a quick trip to check on the possibility of a dragging brake.

 

[AkWinter]

dirt in the sensor will not wear out the brakes. Dirt between the pads and the disk can but not likely. The dragging brake mentioned above will for sure. The other is the driving style. Most folks used to automatic (cars)use the brakes more even on these roadsters. Downshifting and using engine compression to slow you down saves on the brakes. First check the drag, possibly a mal adjusted park brake....jmo :dontknow:

Chupaca - My thoughts also. I don't understand how dirt on the speed sensor would cause such an issue, even dirt between the pads and disk is a far stretch imo.. I asked my wife about where she keeps her foot, and she says nowhere near the brake pedal, she drives a manual truck so doesn't have the bad habit of having a foot on the brake.. I just wonder if the Dealer doesn't want to admit that something was not adjusted correctly or brake drag so they are not responsible for fixing the problem.

 

[Highwayman2013]

The new pads aren't very thick to begin with. I changed my wife's at 2500 miles(the bike was a demo for the first 1000)and I put EBC pads on from Bajaron. I had a squeak too, the park brake was too tight and also added Disc Brake Quiet to the backs of the new pads. No problems at 5000 miles.

 

[Bob Denman]

The rear pads seem to wear out a whole lot quicker than the fronts. You might end up doing two changes out back, for each one at the "wide end" of the bike...
I wouldn't necessarily discount extra "crud" on the road accelerating the wear a bit... That alone; could be sticking your pads. :shocked:

 

[BajaRon]

The dealer is full of it. Too bad he can't come up with as good of information as you will get here on Spyderlovers (and too bad this is typical).

BRP pads have been through several generations trying to remedy the squeal issue. The current pads tend to be pretty quiet and there are solutions if you have noise. I highly recommend putting CRC Disk Brake Quiet on at install. With the BRP pads as well as the EBC pads I sell it is about 80-90% chance you will not have a problem. But you won't know until you have them installed. It's so much easier to just put the CRC on at install and forget about it.

Please be sure to put the CRC on the BACKING and NOT on the PAD! (Don't ask...:banghead Thicker is better.

The advantage of the EBC Simi-Sintered pads is they stop better, last longer and cost less than the BRP organic pads. The disadvantage is that they do not come with the spring clips, which usually isn't a problem unless you lose one.

The rear brakes will wear about twice as fast as the fronts (pre-2013). But they should last longer than 5,000 miles. It may be that you have plenty of pad left. If it is dirt causing high pad wear (I doubt it but who knows), then you should see some pretty good scratching in the rotors (like deep grooves in a record). You get this effect anyway but it will be much more severe if dirt is involved. You will get the same thing in the pad with dirt as well. But you'll have to take the calipers off to check this.

New pads start out pretty thin so you can't judge the wear (or amount of pad life left) based on most other braking systems. If you have a dimes worth of pad left you still have plenty of pad left. Order a new set and have them ready when you get below a dimes width of pad remaining.

Resting your foot on the brake peddle or having your P-Brake adjusted up too tight and a sticking caliper will all contribute to fast brake pad wear.

 

[NancysToy]

Are you sure they are worn out? The Spyder pads are very thin to begin with, and can't be eyeballed to determine if they need replacement. They need to be measured. The service limit is 1 mm. Just for reference, a brand new dime is 1.35 mm.

The rear brakes do seem to wear much faster, but 4,500 miles is pretty low. Mine were at the 1 mm limit at 14K miles.

 

[Bob Denman]

Mine are at 10K, and getting ready for some serious attention... :shocked:

 

[BajaRon]

Mine are at 10K, and getting ready for some serious attention... :shocked:

I hate to say this Bob... But everything about you seems to need some serious attention....

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: The Missus keeps saying the very same thing! :gaah:

 

[BajaRon]

:shocked: The Missus keeps saying the very same thing! :gaah:

Your misses sounds like a wise person....

 

[Bob Denman]

Nahhh... just mean! :shocked:

 

[lyonsden]

Resting your foot on the brake peddle... BajaRon

Ron you can't ride with your foot on the brake on my RT. It will go into limp mode. My brakes had to be replaced at about 10K miles. I am trying to downshift to slow down now. Maybe it will extend my brake pad life. :dontknow:

 

[ARtraveler]

:welcome: to the site. I sent you a PM about brakes and dealer. Hope you can get the issues solved.

 

[AkWinter]

dirt in the sensor will not wear out the brakes. Dirt between the pads and the disk can but not likely. The dragging brake mentioned above will for sure. The other is the driving style. Most folks used to automatic (cars)use the brakes more even on these roadsters. Downshifting and using engine compression to slow you down saves on the brakes. First check the drag, possibly a mal adjusted park brake....jmo :dontknow:

Chupaca - Forgot to ask, whats the proper procedure to check for a maladjusted park brake? Also do you know that the thickness of new pads are? I see the minimum thickness is no less then 1mm.

 

[AkWinter]

The dealer is full of it. Too bad he can't come up with as good of information as you will get here on Spyderlovers (and too bad this is typical).

BRP pads have been through several generations trying to remedy the squeal issue. The current pads tend to be pretty quiet and there are solutions if you have noise. I highly recommend putting CRC Disk Brake Quiet on at install. With the BRP pads as well as the EBC pads I sell it is about 80-90% chance you will not have a problem. But you won't know until you have them installed. It's so much easier to just put the CRC on at install and forget about it.

Please be sure to put the CRC on the BACKING and NOT on the PAD! (Don't ask...:banghead Thicker is better.

[Pictures removed to save space]

The advantage of the EBC Simi-Sintered pads is they stop better, last longer and cost less than the BRP organic pads. The disadvantage is that they do not come with the spring clips, which usually isn't a problem unless you lose one.

The rear brakes will wear about twice as fast as the fronts (pre-2013). But they should last longer than 5,000 miles. It may be that you have plenty of pad left. If it is dirt causing high pad wear (I doubt it but who knows), then you should see some pretty good scratching in the rotors (like deep grooves in a record). You get this effect anyway but it will be much more severe if dirt is involved. You will get the same thing in the pad with dirt as well. But you'll have to take the calipers off to check this.

New pads start out pretty thin so you can't judge the wear (or amount of pad life left) based on most other braking systems. If you have a dimes worth of pad left you still have plenty of pad left. Order a new set and have them ready when you get below a dimes width of pad remaining.

Resting your foot on the brake peddle or having your P-Brake adjusted up too tight and a sticking caliper will all contribute to fast brake pad wear.

BajaRon - Thanks for the helpful information. I'm not expecting the pads to last as long as car disc brake pads, however I think 4600mi is a bit on the low side.. imo. I was hoping the Dealer would say, Yes there is this maladjusted or this has failed and the brakes will be replaces under warranty, but hasn't been the case. It seems they just want to side step any responsibility for the problem.. imo.

Where are you and others getting your EBC pads? I find no where here locally that sells much in motorcycle parts. (a problem with living where I do)

It's not my assessment that the brake pads needed replacement this early, that came directly from the Dealer Service Dept. I did check them this morning with the use of a dime (~1.35mm thickness), and the dime just fits between the rotor and the back of the brake pad. I'm not sure what the thickness of new pads are, only that the mimimum thickness of not less than 1mm. There is no excessive scratching on the rotors, so I don't see dirt/dust as a cause.

I'm not sure how to check to see if there is a maladjustment on the parking brake, is that something someone can explain?

 

[AkWinter]

Are you sure they are worn out? The Spyder pads are very thin to begin with, and can't be eyeballed to determine if they need replacement. They need to be measured. The service limit is 1 mm. Just for reference, a brand new dime is 1.35 mm.

The rear brakes do seem to wear much faster, but 4,500 miles is pretty low. Mine were at the 1 mm limit at 14K miles.

NancysToy - It wasn't my assessment that the brake pads needed replacement this early, that came directly from the Dealer Service Dept. I did check them this morning with the use of a dime (~1.35mm thickness), and the dime just fits between the rotor and the back of the brake pad. I would be happy with the 14k.

 

[NancysToy]

NancysToy - It wasn't my assessment that the brake pads needed replacement this early, that came directly from the Dealer Service Dept. I did check them this morning with the use of a dime (~1.35mm thickness), and the dime just fits between the rotor and the back of the brake pad. I would be happy with the 14k.

A number of dealers have eyeballed the pads and said they need replacing. I wanted you to be aware of that, so they don't cheat you. If the dime just fit but was not snug like a feeler gauge, you are close enough to have to think about it within the next 1,000 miles or so. that is pretty short service life, but brake life depends on many factors, so it is hard to say if it is premature. The topography of where you ride, how much engine braking you do, the types of roads (curves), rider, passenger, and cargo weights all make a difference. BRP would be unlikely to cover it unless they wore out in the first few thousand miles. I'm afraid I don't remember the exact thickness of new pads. Around 3-4 mm sticks in my mind, but I won't guarantee that they are not 3 or less. They are not very thick to begin with. For replacement I would use the EBC semi-sintered pads and the EBC rotors from BajaRon.

The rear brake life is disappointing to me. I'm guessing it may be a product of having two fronts but only one rear. Although the front should do more of the braking, it won't be twice as much, especially with the Spyder's distributed braking system. The Brembos on the 2013's look like a good improvement. One day I may investigate exactly what it would take to retrofit an earlier Spyder. At very least it would take new discs, calipers, wheels, and tires...