Brake Pads

[Rich1960]

My GS was in for some warranty work in January, the nice dealer gives my bike a 'health check' and amongst other things they report rear brake pad ware at 30%, 2 months and exactly 1670 miles later it's in for some more warranty work and another 'health check' and this time the rear pads are 90% worn. Strangely, according to the nice dealer the front pads have gone from 60% to 70% worn in exactly the same time. For what it's worth I hardly use the back brake

Anyway, I'll be changing the rear pads my self in a few days and will report back on how much is left on them when I take them out.

Richard

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

The brakes are linked. If you use the fronts then the rear will also be applied

 

[JJH]

Can I have your old pads please? I'll pay postage. JJH

 

[ymfb]

Mine have done 10,000 and have masses left front and rear

 

[Hairyweasel]

They make it up as they go along.
I was told mine needed changing so I bought new ones but said I would fit them, 6k later I fit them.

 

[dave hendy]

Mine have done 10,000 and have masses left front and rear

Mine has 11K and mine are the same

 

[JJH]

In fairness to dealers they are trying to make sure there is enough meat to get you to your next visit in 6000 miles. There must be a lot of half worn pads in dealers skips. JJH

 

[vRSG60]

The brakes are linked but I found looking at the last trip data on the Nav V it applies the rears more than the front.
It must be under light braking.

 

[duckspeed]

Bloody hell who'd have a garage? If they tell you your brakes are worn out you think they are trying to rip you off, if they don't tell you you accuse them of shoddy workmanship.

 

[Andy B]

Err! Where does personal responsibility come into this?!

1. Move bike into open daylight or good artificial light.
2. Walk round to rear of bike.
3. Use your own eyesight to view state and condition of rear brake pads
4. Use personal judgement to assess whether change is needed.

Carry out this routine once a month and:

1. Your brakes will remain effective and safe
2. You will have the opportunity to perform one of the easiest maintenance tasks on a motorcycle thereby saving yourself a fortune.

 

[Neil W]

Litigation culture gone mad, I took a Vauxhall van from work with 120 miles on the clock from new to replace a faulty check strap on the rear door ( a 10 minute job) , the van was in for over an hour because policy is that any vehicle that goes through the main dealers workshops must have a full health check.

This included checking tyres ,brake pads and disc wear, putting it up onto the ramps and checking the suspension components , and all the fluids plus the lights , reason given was that within the network they did a repair on a vehicles headlight (simple bulb change) , the car turned out to have a couple of baldy tyres which were not checked or pointed out to the owner who was subsequently stopped and prosecuted for the tyres and tried to use the fact that the vehicle had just come from a main dealers as their defence in court and caused adverse publicity.

They will always point out in writing if they believe any consumable items will not reach the next manufacturers scheduled service interval

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

On the VHC (Visual Health Check) forms we used (which were supplied by Land Rover) there was a section the owner/driver could sign to decline the free VHC

It was never compulsory that every vehicle that went through the workshop had a VHC. It was purely optional. However, we did on occasion find some right horrors. Some of which were MOT failures. But all we could do was point it out to the customer !

One way around the VHC was to perform the task (for example changing a headamp bulb) in the car park. If the car didn't go in to the workshop, then there was no need for a VHC

 

[JJH]

Err! Where does personal responsibility come into this?!

1. Move bike into open daylight or good artificial light.
2. Walk round to rear of bike.
3. Use your own eyesight to view state and condition of rear brake pads
4. Use personal judgement to assess whether change is needed.

Carry out this routine once a month and:

1. Your brakes will remain effective and safe
2. You will have the opportunity to perform one of the easiest maintenance tasks on a motorcycle thereby saving yourself a fortune.

Err when you give £100 an hour about for a service. JJH

 

[stephen.stallebrass]

Save your money on BMW parts and labour by fitting after market pads yourself, I use EBC HH sintered pads, but it's really is a piece of piss to change your own brake pads. I also service my calipers yearly with liberal amounts of soapy water and a toothbrush, BMW won't do that unless you pay extra for the brake service as far as I know. I actually find working on my bike therapeutic.

 

[JJH]

Same here. Except for the soapy water. I use break cleaner. JJH