Rear Disc - '06 1200 GSA

[London Mole]

Hi all,

Just got my bike MOT'd this morning.

-Mechanic: "You're rear disc is near the limit, shall we change it for you?"

-Me: "How much?"

-Mechanic: "£321.53. Including VAT."

-Me: "HOW MUCH???"

-Mechanic: "Here's the breakdown:

Remove/Replace rear pads: £24.50 (Note: they were changed 4.000 miles ago!)
Remove/Replace rear disc: £57.17
Rear Disc: £136.89 + VAT
Rear Pads: £48.24 + VAT
Bolt (?): £3.65
Plastilube: £0.59
Brake Cleaner: £2.60"





Right.
Now, how hard is it to replace a rear disc, and I'm asking this as a genuine question.

I have just renewed my BMW extended warranty and this morning they have replaced the whole left-hand-side switch cluster free of charge as I'd lost the LHS indicator despite a very thorough taking apart and a decent squirting of contact cleaner.

So that's something I haven't paid and they were really professional.

HOWEVER, I'm no mechanic but it seems that it's just the case of wheel-off, unscrew, fit new one, screw back on, job done... or is it???

I have a half-decent toolkit including a torque-wrench and the Haynes manual, what else would I need?

In advance, many thanks for any advice!

 

[Edventure]

It's a piece of pi55, standard garage tools/torx and your Haynes manual and you'll get the job done easily.

 

[Steptoe]

Right.


HOWEVER, I'm no mechanic but it seems that it's just the case of wheel-off, unscrew, fit new one, screw back on, job done... or is it???

Not on a 1200 i'm afraid...........

Wheel off part is correct, and then limited access to the rear disc one bolt at a time through a small aperture. Requiring a long reach tork bit. And if you're lucky you won't have one seized in place..

i can supply a rear 1200 disc for £70, and the pads if you need them.

 

[Kremmen]

And i thought Dick Turpin was dead ..... obviously alive and living in London!!

 

[London Mole]

Not on a 1200 i'm afraid...........

Wheel off part is correct, and then limited access to the rear disc one bolt at a time through a small aperture. Requiring a long reach tork bit. And if you're lucky you won't have one seized in place..

i can supply a rear 1200 disc for £70, and the pads if you need them.

Cheers Steptoe!

Thanks again for the front pads.

Oh, and by the way, I even got "told off" by the MOT guy for not having "genuine" BMW brake pads...

I told him very politely where to go.


ALSO: another question to all:

What's the average life expectancy of a rear disc / rear pads, I don't stand on the rear brake pedal with both feet, I know it's got linked brakes but it seems a little excessive...

 

[VAL. H.]

Not on a 1200 i'm afraid...........

Wheel off part is correct, and then limited access to the rear disc one bolt at a time through a small aperture. Requiring a long reach tork bit. And if you're lucky you won't have one seized in place..

i can supply a rear 1200 disc for £70, and the pads if you need them.

As this man says

It ain't the easiest job and you will need to get hold of a long (about 4" iirc).

My personal preference for pads are 'Carbon Loraine'.

Cheers Steptoe!

Thanks again for the front pads.

Oh, and by the way, I even got "told off" by the MOT guy for not having "genuine" BMW brake pads...

I told him very politely where to go.


ALSO: another question to all:

What's the average life expectancy of a rear disc / rear pads, I don't stand on the rear brake pedal with both feet, I know it's got linked brakes but it seems a little excessive...

I have an 05 1200 with servo ABS. I'm on my 5th set of rear pads with 54000 miles on the clock. The linked brakes do seen to promote excessive ware on the rear. The link is variable and almost negates the use of the rear brake peddle.
At slow speeds and with gentle braking, the front leaver provides 20% front to 80% rear. As speed and leaver action increase the balance reverts ultimately to 80% front to 20% rear.
When compared to conventional braking systems the rear pad ware is excessive. But bear in mind that in conventional systems you only use the rear brake when you want to. in the 1200 BM system, the rear brake is in use every time the leaver or peddle is applied. Not a good thing for pad ware, but thought to be good thing overall.

Rear Disc ware:
At 18000mls the dealer told me my rear disc was below its minimum limit in places. I carried on using it up to 31000, when I had to MOT the bike. At the time the only reasonably priced rear disc for the 1200 was a hi carbon disc from EBC.
As usual EBC lived up to their reputation, it's Shite. It's not wareing quite as quick as the OE BM item, but there is so much rust on it that the rear brake might as well not be there.

Think I'll PM Steptoe and get one of his on there.


Val.

 

[London Mole]

Cheers Val,

And another thing: when you fitted a non-BMW disc, did it void your warranty?

I've just renewed my yearly warranty and don't want to void it altogether by doing it myself... (that would be £300 down the drain...)

Thank you!

 

[Steptoe]

Cheers Val,

And another thing: when you fitted a non-BMW disc, did it void your warranty?

I've just renewed my yearly warranty and don't want to void it altogether by doing it myself... (that would be £300 down the drain...)

Thank you!

With the "add on" warranty i think discs are classed as consumable items so aren't covered, but i'd check the warranty small print to make sure.

 

[gipsymagpie]

Snap

Same situation here but I went ahead and did it. With decent tool kit it was peasy. However....big warning!!! I found after I took the old disc off that the rear wheel carrier was cracked. Obivous warranty repair but thought they would not honour it due to thinking I'd broke it by changing the disk! So I changed the carrier myself. Probably should have put the old disk back on and gone into the dealer all innocent. Oh well.

So if you do decide to do the disk yourself, for goodness sake, check for cracks in the rear wheel carrier (search this forum for help) before you order up a new set of disc/pads. Hope that helps....the bolt is actually 5 bolts to secure the disk. Old bolts seem to turn into soft chocolate when you try to take them out!

 

[Sgt Bilco]

London Mole

I changed my rear disc and despite having all the right tools, I still managed to strip the last Torx on the carrier. It had been on for 25k though so was nicely seized and is a real pain in the arse to get at properly. I put Steptoe's disc and pads on and they are really good.

My advice is to let Steptoe do it for you, Money well spent

 

[Bem]

Changed my rear (Ooh er, missus!) at 28k, as with all things 1200, care required. Suggest you put new bolts in.
Rear pad life c.6K

 

[darkhorse]

what is near the limit?

is there a minimum thickness?

 

[Number 6]

what is near the limit?

is there a minimum thickness?

Should be stamped into the disc. 4.5mm?

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Take your pick

"It's a piece of pi55, standard garage tools/torx and your Haynes manual and you'll get the job done easily." If you are working from the Haynes manual as you say just note that this operation is marked with three spanners which means 'Fairly difficult, suitable for competent DIY mechanic;

 

[darkhorse]

Should be stamped into the disc. 4.5mm?

Cheers, must take a proper look

 

[darkhorse]

Should be stamped into the disc. 4.5mm?

Spot on 4.5mm it is.

Steptoe will the shop be open first thing Friday as passing your way?

 

[London Mole]

Thanks to all...

... as usual, a real mine of information!

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Haynes Manual

I have no shares in Haynes Publishing (more's the pity) but many of the questions asked are answered in the 'Haynes Service and Repair manual' and it only costs £15 ( or at least that was the price, a year or two ago, of my copy from a certain Nippy Normans.) For example the service limit for the rear disc is stated (as said) at 4.5mm. "If your disc is worn down evenly and shows no sigh of scoring and works satisfactorily, why change it?" was a question I asked to someone involved in design. He pointed out that it is the mass of the disc which absorbs a great deal of the heat under braking and if the disc becomes too thin there is not enough mass and thus a chance of overheating & even boiling the fluid under heavy braking.etc;

 

[London Mole]

I have no shares in Haynes Publishing (more's the pity) but many of the questions asked are answered in the 'Haynes Service and Repair manual' and it only costs £15 ( or at least that was the price, a year or two ago, of my copy from a certain Nippy Normans.) For example the service limit for the rear disc is stated (as said) at 4.5mm. "If your disc is worn down evenly and shows no sigh of scoring and works satisfactorily, why change it?" was a question I asked to someone involved in design. He pointed out that it is the mass of the disc which absorbs a great deal of the heat under braking and if the disc becomes too thin there is not enough mass and thus a chance of overheating & even boiling the fluid under heavy braking.etc;

"Un grand MERCI Brian!"

Don't get me wrong, I know that everything is engineered with limits, and I will make sure it is replaced in a timely fashion, my only questions were:
-why is it so expensive for what appears to be a flat circular piece of steel
-will it cancel my BMW warranty if I do it myself

 

[Number 6]

The only bit of the warranty it could affect would be confined to the rear brake.