JohnC
Registered user
And?....
What bike, year, linked brakes or not, annual milleage, all year round use, every day use, sunny days only, summer only, type of roads, motorway only, B roads etc etc
New rear pads - down to canvas after 2000 miles!
- Thread starter JohnC
- Start date
And?....
What bike, year, linked brakes or not, annual milleage, all year round use, every day use, sunny days only, summer only, type of roads, motorway only, B roads etc etc
Yoda
Registered user
Nasty scraping noise at the weekend. Original rear pads worn through and some nice scoring on the piston side. Hopefully the replacement pads will soon smooth things over.
Only 3,400 miles on the bike. With the servo-ABS-linky system I'd adjusted my riding style to just use the front brake with the rear only used in slow manouvering etc.
As pointed out above, the holes in the disc rotor were chokka. (8mm bit in the rechargeable drill soon clears things out).
Much of the mileage over the winter has been commuting down wet, yucky, bendy lanes so the brakes do get used quite a bit, but the OEM pads must be made out of vanilla fudge reinforced nougat.
Make note to self:- Inspect rear pads for wear every time the bike is washed.
Only 3,400 miles on the bike. With the servo-ABS-linky system I'd adjusted my riding style to just use the front brake with the rear only used in slow manouvering etc.
As pointed out above, the holes in the disc rotor were chokka. (8mm bit in the rechargeable drill soon clears things out).
Much of the mileage over the winter has been commuting down wet, yucky, bendy lanes so the brakes do get used quite a bit, but the OEM pads must be made out of vanilla fudge reinforced nougat.
Make note to self:- Inspect rear pads for wear every time the bike is washed.
Commuting through London every day, the BMW pads would be gone every 4k. After 18k of this, the rear disc was down to its minimum service thickness and had to be replaced. BMW paid for this as "good will" - cheeky fekkers.
PeterF
Guest
Some common experiences here. I did a 400mile trundle through Wales this weekend. The rear pads were low when I set off and over the course of the trip I observed most of the remaining braking material disappear. I got back with the piston side pad almost down to the metal, but with the other one still OK according to the indicator. So mine (OE) lasted just over 5000 miles. Quite a lot of rain on the Friday so maybe they are soluble. It's a real mystery why they wear fast on some bikes but not on others. I am pretty sure it is down to the rear brake bias on the linked system that seems to vary between bikes.
I've ordered EBC replacements and will be interested to see if they last any longer.
I've ordered EBC replacements and will be interested to see if they last any longer.
I have done almost 16,000 miles on my 05 1200GS; my original brake pads (front and rear) are less than half worn and they have performed faultlessly from new. I have non-servos, non-abs, non-linked brakes.
The 1200GS is a brilliant bike - definitely the best all rounder ever made.
Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, and finally ditto!
Will change the pads before April though, just in case.
Mark
April 05 1200GS, non-ABS, original pads front and rear getting close to half worn after 16,500 miles of a mix of commuting, motorways, A roads, B roads and a trip to the South of France including lots of up and down twisty gorge roads.
Why are my brake pads are lasting so well?
Should I complain and get the problem fixed before my warranty expires on the 4th April?
Why are my brake pads are lasting so well?
Should I complain and get the problem fixed before my warranty expires on the 4th April?
Big Lee
Registered user
Mine must be dodgy too, 10 k miles and still loads of pad left 
Fisrt rear set replaced at 7000 miles, now at 24000 miles and the replacement pads are still OK. I suspect the original high wear rate was connected with a MC hugger (since replaced) that might have restricted the caliper release. MC did a fix, but I tweaked the brake hose junction to give a bit of clearance.
MATKAT
Registered user
3rd set
'04 1200.
First set replaced at 8k miles. 2nd set replaced at 19k miles. ABS bike , never use the rear brake on road, use it all the time off road. Mileage now 22,800. Front pads are original.not that i use the brakes much
'04 1200.
First set replaced at 8k miles. 2nd set replaced at 19k miles. ABS bike , never use the rear brake on road, use it all the time off road. Mileage now 22,800. Front pads are original.not that i use the brakes much
Ste
Guest
06 1200 ABS linked.
Use bike for road riding mainly.
From new - front pads fine, rear pads will need replacing at around 3k.
Is there a trend here?
Use bike for road riding mainly.
From new - front pads fine, rear pads will need replacing at around 3k.
Is there a trend here?
I took my new 1200GS into Battersea for it's 600 mile service today...no problems here, but met a guy who just had his rear pads replaced on a GSA after 1800 miles!
The guys at the desk were completely non-comittal...sending it off to BMW for warranty evaluation supposedly.....acknowldged that there have been others, but seemed to act like they thought it was due to braking technique.... without directly blaming the customer...if you follow.
Just one more indicator that this is a real problem.
The guys at the desk were completely non-comittal...sending it off to BMW for warranty evaluation supposedly.....acknowldged that there have been others, but seemed to act like they thought it was due to braking technique.... without directly blaming the customer...if you follow.
Just one more indicator that this is a real problem.
my adv went through its first set in 6000miles and killed the disk. bluebell replaced under warranty and put harder off road pads in. they recon cos i do 100miles a day down crappy farm roads the shit has killed the pads. we'll just see how long these last.
Anyone checked to see how the ventilation holes have been finished? Are they sharp edged, I had a K1100 that ate its first set of pads after a disc replacement noticed the holes had not been deburred, just a thought.
Reading this thread, thought it may be connected to a problem I had the other day with the front brake. The bike had been laid up for a few weeks (long story), after a few miles and one long application of the brakes it felt like the bike was seizing up
Stopped and found that the front right disc brake had been fully applied on its own so much so that it has discoloured the disc
It released itself and gave no further trouble for the rest of the day.
Spoke to Vines who were aware of this stating that that it is not unknown for the pads to seize on if the bike has not been used for a while and there is the slightest bit of corrosion in the caliper as the fit is so close. Said to bring it in and they would check it, if any damage, cracking, etc. they will replace it. They have already notified BMW via dealer complaint system and view it as a Brembo design problem.
It may be that some are having a similar problem with the rear caliper. I know you say the pins were free etc but it may be worth checking the inner faces of the caliper itself as it may be holding the pads on fractionally. Worth putting copper slip on the inner faces of the caliper as well as the rear of the pads? It could also just be general road crap clogging up the inside caliper/pad contact area if the fit is that close.
Regards
Peter
PS will let you know what Vines say when I eventually get there
Stopped and found that the front right disc brake had been fully applied on its own so much so that it has discoloured the disc
It released itself and gave no further trouble for the rest of the day.
Spoke to Vines who were aware of this stating that that it is not unknown for the pads to seize on if the bike has not been used for a while and there is the slightest bit of corrosion in the caliper as the fit is so close. Said to bring it in and they would check it, if any damage, cracking, etc. they will replace it. They have already notified BMW via dealer complaint system and view it as a Brembo design problem.
It may be that some are having a similar problem with the rear caliper. I know you say the pins were free etc but it may be worth checking the inner faces of the caliper itself as it may be holding the pads on fractionally. Worth putting copper slip on the inner faces of the caliper as well as the rear of the pads? It could also just be general road crap clogging up the inside caliper/pad contact area if the fit is that close.
Regards
Peter
PS will let you know what Vines say when I eventually get there
gavin@iow
Registered user
Should they be de-burred?, mine aren't, yet i'm not experiencing heavy disc/pad wear.
my OEM rear pads were shagged to replacement condition in 1900 miles, with the inner pad particularly worn almost down to the metal (where did canvas come from BTW?).
the rear caliper on these bikes is not the more usual opposed piston design in orderto make the inside slimmer, so it fits in the limited space available next to the wheel.
i took the caliper off to make sure it was moving freely on the pins, which it was, but noticed that the caliper itself is sprung outwards on the carrier.
this may be just the effect of the protective rubber sleeves being compressed, i didn't strip the unit further, but it would explain why one pad wears more than the other as it is pressed, albeit fairly lightly, onto the disc at all times. there is also a noticeable drag on the wheel caused by this pressure.
on an opposed piston caliper, the pads retract very slightly when the brake is released.
the rear caliper on these bikes is not the more usual opposed piston design in orderto make the inside slimmer, so it fits in the limited space available next to the wheel.
i took the caliper off to make sure it was moving freely on the pins, which it was, but noticed that the caliper itself is sprung outwards on the carrier.
this may be just the effect of the protective rubber sleeves being compressed, i didn't strip the unit further, but it would explain why one pad wears more than the other as it is pressed, albeit fairly lightly, onto the disc at all times. there is also a noticeable drag on the wheel caused by this pressure.
on an opposed piston caliper, the pads retract very slightly when the brake is released.
I don't know if they should be deburred but us old timers used to break the edges of the pads by lightly chamfering prior to fitting and using a piece of round dowel with a piece of light wet and dry paper deburr the ventilation hole edges on new discs. Only an idea, a soft pad in contact with the disc and a sharp edge could act as a cheese grater removing a few microns of pad every few miles. Could explain the variation between pads if deburring is more complete on some discs than others.
nedflanders
Registered user
R1200GS '06 with ABS and servo. 1680 miles and the rear pads are down to the metal, dealer says it's my riding but I don't use the rear brake at all on the road and the levr is so far away I can't reach the thing anyway! Managed to save the disc and fit some new pads but theres got to be something wrong with the brake bias if it's screwed the pads so quick! Is there any adjustment on the load sensor or am I going to be using 2 sets of pads to 1 tyre for as long as I own the bike 
Previous 1150 Adventure without ABS, rear pads changed at 6K miles, but OK at 12K service. 2005 1150 Adventure with ABS and servo, no pads changed at 14K miles to date. IMHO there must be something drastically wrong to wear pads out in <2K miles.
Charles
Charles
