2012 RT-S: ebc front brake pads

[spacetiger]

Does anyone know what the ebc part number is for the 2012 RT-S?

FA473V is not correct for 2012; this pad has twin mounting "eyes" and appear to be made for sliding calipers.

The 2012 RT-S uses fixed calipers with pads with small retaining wires on the back of the pads.

Jerry

 

[Chupaca]

Best bet..!!

get in touch with BajaRon (sponsor on this site). He carries all the pads and get you set up with all you need.. :thumbup:

 

[spacetiger]

get in touch with BajaRon (sponsor on this site). He carries all the pads and get you set up with all you need.. :thumbup:

Will do - good suggestion. I did find the ebc organic pd (FA474) and later the semimetalic pad (FA474V) for the RS-S bike. The pad looks like the RT-S pad, but will check with BajaRon to be sure and for price.

Jerry

 

[spacetiger]

I thought I'd post back the results of swapping out the pads. I couldn't get a refund, so I had to swap pads (sorry, BajaRon, no purchase this time - but all should buy from Ron, he has good prices).

The front swap out was not difficult. The only two things that were different were:
1. The pads are held in place with small clips that clip to the caliper pistons. (see pic)
2. You have to remove the front wheels to remove the calipers (2 wheel motorcycles front brakes are very easy to do)

The rear is a pain - big pain for 2 reasons:
1. The rear caliper incorporates a park brake function on the caliper. The park brake is actuated by a cable that is routed into the bodywork to a simple mechanical wheel actuator.
2. The rear pads are held in place with 2 pins. The front can be removed with the caliper on the bike. The rear pin is not easy to get to (with hex key wrench). So, I removed the rear caliper and found out what a pain in the a$$ the park brake function is to deal with.

Rear park brake. So I had the caliper off and somehow talked myself into releasing the park brake after I had taken that bracket off the caliper. Mistake. The brake was off and I hit the button to activate it... the mechanism in the body pulled the cable right up... I couldn't get it released to reattach it to the caliper. Not deterred, I reattached the caliper and wondered how to get the cable released as the sun was slowly setting on me (Sunday). I washed up and thought about it over dinner. I finally guessed the mechanism must release when you hit the switch as the caliper mechanism has a spring to retract the cable. So I went back out and deactivated the switch while keeping constant tension on the cable... It worked, the cable would release but only for a small amount. So, I kept recycling the park brake while pulling on the cable. Finally I got it all pulled out so there was enough slack to rewind the rear end of the cable around the wheel on the caliper... but there was about 2" of slack in it, the mechanism wouldn't pull the cable! My next brain thought was to push the cable forward to help it take up the slack... Mistake as I got the brake malfunction triggered on the display. I guessed I pushed the cable hard enough that it came off the front wheel brake actuator. So today (Wed) I pulled the bodywork off and found the cable off the wheel - see pic. I poped it back on and cycled the park brake several times verifying it worked, then popped the bodywork back on.

The brake pad swap is done.

Jerry

 

[ulflyer]

Did the front pads go in easily and/or did you have to squeeze the caliper back to get them in?

Also, did you put anything on the backs of pads to reduce squealing?

 

[spacetiger]

Ted,

The pads went in easy. I only have 3K on the bike, so the pads were mostly new; no squeezing of the pistons necessary. I don't know if you know the front calipers are fixed calipers. That is, they don't move side to side and have 1 or 2 pistons to push against one set of pads while pushing the caliper away from the disc thus pulling the other pad against the disc. On fixed calipers, there are even sets of pistons (4 in our case such that 2 sets of 2 pistons pinch the disc. On 2 wheel bikes, because you are moving less mass, you can get then set up with nice feel in the brake lever. For us, our brakes are linked and activated by a single brake lever. I think you loose some feel.

The pistons look odd in that there is a center post. This post clips into the back of the pads in two locations. You can see the hook in points on the back of the pads. I'm guessing this helps control squeaking. There is no place to put some kind of compound to reduce squeaking.

I will ride sedately for about 50 miles to let the pads break in. Then, I'll post back on how the pads are working out.

Jerry

 

[ulflyer]

Jerry, thanks for the feedback. A buddy needs pads all the way around and is not heavy with cash so I think I will tackle the front ones for him. I've done cars before but never fooled with bikes. I'll prob let the dealer do his rear one. He's getting the C0049 code...brakes or fluid... and has somewhere around 26-28K on the original OEM's. Pretty darn good I think, based on how fast my OEM's and now my EBC's wear out, so I'm gonna put OEM's put back on his. Found some good prices on EBAY.

 

[spacetiger]

Jerry, thanks for the feedback. A buddy needs pads all the way around and is not heavy with cash so I think I will tackle the front ones for him. I've done cars before but never fooled with bikes. I'll prob let the dealer do his rear one. He's getting the C0049 code...brakes or fluid... and has somewhere around 26-28K on the original OEM's. Pretty darn good I think, based on how fast my OEM's and now my EBC's wear out, so I'm gonna put OEM's put back on his. Found some good prices on EBAY.

If you are sure you want oem, you can have my complete set for $10 + shipping (would ship USPS in smallest flat rate boxes, so around $5 here) there were only 3K miles on the bike and 2K of the miles were done on 2 long interstate trips, so not much brake use. Let me know.

My first guess is a possible low fluid if the pads are worn as the pistons have to be moved out a bit to make up for the pad thinning out. You should have no problems with the front. The rear isn't so bad. Make sure the return spring is working right on the rear.

Jerry

 

[ulflyer]

If you are sure you want oem, you can have my complete set for $10 + shipping (would ship USPS in smallest flat rate boxes, so around $5 here) there were only 3K miles on the bike and 2K of the miles were done on 2 long interstate trips, so not much brake use. Let me know.

My first guess is a possible low fluid if the pads are worn as the pistons have to be moved out a bit to make up for the pad thinning out. You should have no problems with the front. The rear isn't so bad. Make sure the return spring is working right on the rear.

Jerry

Jerry, thanks a kind offer and I'd like to take you up on it.
Do you take Paypal or prefer check? Email ur particulars.
I'll save them for the next set I need or perhaps a friend in need.

Thanks, Ted [email protected]