Rear Brake Pads

[Nudels2u75]

I currently have 15,500 miles on my new 2012 limited spyder, Something has to be wrong with the rear brakes as Today will be my second time to replace them...

Anybody have any clue as to what may be causing this....I am also having another tire installed and the shop noticed the dealership that installed the last tire did not align the rear wheel and belt up correctly, I do not think this would cause the rear brakes to wear out this quickly.....

It is currently in the shop as we speak

 

[Hawk]

Replaced my rear brakes at 10k and they were almost down to metal. I am heavier and we ride 2 up and tow from time to time. The rear brakes to tend to wear alot faster than the fronts. That does seem a little fast, but depending on your riding/braking style, its not unheard of.

 

[Bob Denman]

Since it's already in the shop; it may be too late to suggest contacting BajaRon about some EBC pads...
6,000 to 10,000 miles on a set of rear OEM pads seems to be about what most folks are getting.
Alignment troubles could affect brake pad life; if that rear disc isn't squared-up to the caliper... :shocked:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

REAR PADS

I guess I'm lucky or a real lightweight ......or just don't stop :roflblack:......But on my 08 GS got 20,895 K + on rear pads and they arn't worn out ( close )....and on the 2011 RSS at 17 K + they are still good. Both have OEM pads.........As far as the alignment goes , for that to be a factor I think it would have to be so mis-aligned that the DRIVE BELT would be an issue long before the PADS...........JMHO.......Mike :thumbup:

 

[Dizneyman]

I guess I'm lucky or a real lightweight ......or just don't stop :roflblack:......But on my 08 GS got 19 K + or rear pads and they weren't worn out ( close )....and on the 2011 RSS at 17 K + they are still good. Both have OEM pads.........As far as the alignment goes , for that to be a factor I think it would have to be so mis-aligned that the DRIVE BELT would be an issue long before the PADS...........JMHO.......Mike :thumbup:

Have to agree here. Ride two up 95% of the time, 16k on my rears and fine. OEM pads also.

 

[BajaRon]

It is amazing the different mileage that people get out of their brake pads (tires too).

I've got 35,000 miles on my 08 GS and I'm on my 2nd set of rear pads with good life left in them. I ride hard, stop hard but I ride 1 up and don't pull a trailer.

 

[bluestratos]

My first set of rear pads lasted 15K, my EBK brake pads lasted under 4K! I am back to factory pads now.

 

[jerpinoy]

A lot of conditions are considered, kind of driver, weight, one up, trailer, road and stop and go. What is normal?

 

[Chupaca]

too many variables..!!

finding a min and max on pads is vertually impossible. We have seen as low as 4,000 and up to 20,000 miles. So much affects pads today and we also don't know where the oem pads come from. One supplier or several. If one supplier do they have more than one manufacturing location..so many wear parts on these machines last longer for some and not for others..jmo...:thumbup:

 

[NancysToy]

As Ron said, there is a lot of difference in the mileage different owners get. Lots of variables, too...riding solo or 2-up, towing a trailer, they way you use the brakes, SE or SM, mountain topography, RT or RS, etc. Spyders are different, too, the rear pad wears more quickly than the fronts, unlike automobiles. One thing I should point out is to be sure you actually need brake pads. They cannot be "eyeballed". They are thin to begin with. The minimum thickness (time for replacement) spec is 1.0 mm, which is thinner than a new dime. Measure to be sure (or use a dime as a gauge).

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

BRAKE PADS

My first set of rear pads lasted 15K, my EBK brake pads lasted under 4K! I am back to factory pads now.

Yo Blue, I hope this post wasn't a TYPO, ......you didn't mean " EBC " .....right , I am / was ? ? ? planning to get some from Ron........Mike :thumbup:

 

[flybuddy]

I just installed a set of EBC rears that i got from Ron. Had 13500 on old ones and could have gotten another 2 or 3K out of them. Mileage is just one factor. It's really more about how often you have to brake (and speed). I'll bet with Houston traffic you're hitting the brakes ten times more often than a rural rider.

 

[BajaRon]

As Ron said, there is a lot of difference in the mileage different owners get. Lots of variables, too...riding solo or 2-up, towing a trailer, they way you use the brakes, SE or SM, mountain topography, RT or RS, etc. Spyders are different, too, the rear pad wears more quickly than the fronts, unlike automobiles. One thing I should point out is to be sure you actually need brake pads. They cannot be "eyeballed". They are thin to begin with. The minimum thickness (time for replacement) spec is 1.0 mm, which is thinner than a new dime. Measure to be sure (or use a dime as a gauge).

You have a point Scotty. I do think a lot of people are replacing their rear brake pads early. I've had customers call me when they receive my pad sets saying that they don't appear to have much brake material on them. Some have told me they aren't much thicker than the ones being replaced. You can't go by the 'Eyeball' method with these pads.

The EBC pads actually have a bit more meat than the OEM pads. You can't get any more material on them and still get them mounted.

These pads are pretty much paper thin when they are actually due for replacement. Made me a bit nervous the 1st time but it's just like revving the motor. It's a different machine engineered to work a little out of the ordinary in several ways. Replacing the rear pads early is really a waste of money. Unless you plan to take a long trip, let them get down to the replacement width of 1mm.

Disk brake pads actually wear more quickly when they are thick and less quickly when they get thinner. So you may be throwing away the biggest part of your mileage.

If anyone feels they did not get their monies worth out of a set of my EBC Semi-Sintered pads please let me know. We can work something out.

 

[ulflyer]

Nudel: if you get OEM's you'll get two new "Pins" that the rear pads float on. In some cases these pins rust slightly over time and then impede the movement of the pads, thus they wear quicker, or unevenly. I expect your environment has a lot to do with this.

If you use aftermarket pads you'll have to reuse these pins so make sure they're buffed on a wire wheel and lightly lubed. A competent mechanic would do this as a matter of course. My mechanic put a little moly on them.

Edited: Just to clarify, the tiny bit of moly or other lube is smeared on the pins where the pads slide....not on back of the pads. Also, much of this is swiped off in the course of installing the pads so its mainly to keep the pins from rusting.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

USE OF LUBE

Nudel: if you get OEM's you'll get two new "Pins" that the rear pads float on. In some cases these pins rust slightly over time and then impede the movement of the pads, thus they wear quicker, or unevenly. I expect your environment has a lot to do with this.

If you use aftermarket pads you'll have to reuse these pins so make sure they're buffed on a wire wheel and lightly lubed. A competent mechanic would do this as a matter of course. My mechanic put a little moly on them.

Be very very careful what you put on the back of the pads......I think they can get quite hot with normal use and very hot with hard use....So what ever you use it better be able to handle the HEAT.............JMHO......Mike :thumbup:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

WEAR INDICATOR

You have a point Scotty. I do think a lot of people are replacing their rear brake pads early. I've had customers call me when they receive my pad sets saying that they don't appear to have much brake material on them. Some have told me they aren't much thicker than the ones being replaced. You can't go by the 'Eyeball' method with these pads.

The EBC pads actually have a bit more meat than the OEM pads. You can't get any more material on them and still get them mounted.

These pads are pretty much paper thin when they are actually due for replacement. Made me a bit nervous the 1st time but it's just like revving the motor. It's a different machine engineered to work a little out of the ordinary in several ways. Replacing the rear pads early is really a waste of money. Unless you plan to take a long trip, let them get down to the replacement width of 1mm.

Disk brake pads actually wear more quickly when they are thick and less quickly when they get thinner. So you may be throwing away the biggest part of your mileage.

If anyone feels they did not get their monies worth out of a set of my EBC Semi-Sintered pads please let me know. We can work something out.

Ron correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a cut in the center of the pad material that pretty much lets you know the PAD is nearly worn out ? ? ?.....Mike :thumbup:

 

[BajaRon]

Ron correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a cut in the center of the pad material that pretty much lets you know the PAD is nearly worn out ? ? ?.....Mike :thumbup:

That is a good question. There is a cut in the OEM pads. I don't have a set of them to measure the cut depth or what would remain of the pad below the cut. It may be that the cut is a good wear indicator.

If someone has a set of the OEM pads it would be interesting to get a measurement and see if this is true.

The EBC pads I sell do not have any cut in them. But I have customers that have put their own cut in them claiming that it helps with squeal. Can't confirm or deny this.

 

[BikerDoc]

A lot of conditions are considered, kind of driver, weight, one up, trailer, road and stop and go. What is normal?

Normal is a hypothetical average of all the real experiences.

 

[bobnaquin]

I was going to stay out of this but could not resist. With brake pads and tires it is very objective to determine if they are worn out. I see this often on here where someone says my brakes or my tires are worn out after XXX miles. While there are a lot of variables that would cause these things to wear out earlier than what others have experienced it can be easily measure, objectively, whether they are actually worn out. Measure the brake pad. If it is within the wear tolerance, it isn't worn out. Tires are even easier as the wear bars are part of tire.

I think a lot of people are causing themselves grief where there isn't any. Having the dealer do it is not a viable alternative. Their motivation is suspect at best.

Now there are a lot of things reported here that are subjective because they are not easily measured. Handling would be the obvious example. After putting X dollars into a new suspension I would want it to handle better also but I have no objective way of measuring that. A race result would be a start but that has a lot of variables also. But if it makes someone happy, who cares. My favorite is the exhaust modification and then the claim of extra horsepower and crisper throttle response. While the claimed increase in horsepower could be measured, it rarely is. What a crisp throttle is, I have no idea but I suspect it is louder than a normal throttle.

So what 'better' means is subjective. What 'worn out' means is usually measureable.

Do the maintenance and ride the bike.

 

[bluestratos]

Yes, typo, I had the EBC pads for my second set, they were down to metal in 4,000 miles. Now.. it may be an issue with my bike or my install but I have done brakes as a living in the past. In any case, I simply did what I did the first time, removed the pads, lubed the pins, pushed the piston back in all the way and installed the new pads. Time will tell but so far my rear breaks are doing fine now.

Yo Blue, I hope this post wasn't a TYPO, ......you didn't mean " EBC " .....right , I am / was ? ? ? planning to get some from Ron........Mike :thumbup: