Stock Brake Pads

[dukedomain]

Just change your BREAK pads already, I suggest the MAXI version.

[RoadStarRaider]

[Zxdave]

Just change your BREAK pads already, I suggest the MAXI version.

LOL good catch Ted , I didn't even see that till you said something

[Clayton]

I always thought they were brake pads not break pads!!!

[CHROMINATOR]

I always thought they were brake pads not break pads!!!

Me too, I always thought break pads were for dancing on... 

[Ares X]

I always thought they were brake pads not break pads!!!

They are, but you have to go easy on spelling when reading on a forum. Sometimes it drives me a little crazy.

[GaGator]

Damn forum Nazi's - can't we all get along? Not all members want to search thru all the useless post about which color is faster, who rode, who didn't ride, etc.. Sometimes it's just easier to start a new thread on an old question. Not sticking up for the OP, just sayin'.

BTW, 1st brake change 2 1/2 years ago @35,000 mi.

[Luke]

Replaced my Rear Brake Pads at 20,000 miles.  I use the rear brakes slightly every time I need to apply the front brakes.  FYI who might need to know when they may need to check on replacement.

[wfm113]

Hey Professor, if you can do drum brakes you sure can do disc brakes. Just switch them out and you should be good to go.
Ride safe

[fingertight]

I think I replaced my rear at 7000ish then again at 15000ish or so , I use my rear all the time... For controlled and fast riding its the best practice , you can keep the frame of the bike under more control using both brake systems or just using rear in some cases ..... But what do I know

But professor , like Clayton said.... simple swap out... takes no time at all !

I'm with ya Dave.  I wasn't trying to put down the Prof or knock his riding style.  We're all different in that respect.  Using both is best but I tend to use the front more or not use the rear at all if I'm just cruising to a stop.  I accelerate fast but I don't necessarily stop fast (I'm a coaster ) so front only probably 70% or more of the time. I have about 20K miles and haven't replaced either set of brake pads yet.

[Professor]

I don't know what to say, I don't use the rear a ton, I had never had to replace rear brakes on my last 2 bikes. Perhaps its a faulty pad or it doesn't actually need to be replaced. I thought I heard/felt something coming from the rear, thought it could be the BRAKE PADS. So I mentioned it here. Thanks for all the support!  Oh yeah that has been fixed; talk -text doesn't know the difference between break and brake I suppose, then again it is the English language!

[Deyv]

In regards to the changing of the brake pads, it is just a matter of a couple of minutes to swap them out.  The time consuming part of the process is cleaning the dust, dirt buildup from the pistons.

[fingertight]

I don't know what to say, I don't use the rear a ton, I had never had to replace rear brakes on my last 2 bikes. Perhaps its a faulty pad or it doesn't actually need to be replaced. I thought I heard/felt something coming from the rear, thought it could be the BRAKE PADS. So I mentioned it here. Thanks for all the support!  Oh yeah that has been fixed; talk -text doesn't know the difference between break and brake I suppose, then again it is the English language!

Not sure either.  Sometimes stuff just happens and it's nothing we did or could have done.  Just found out today my boat needs a new throttle cable.  Worked fine and then it didn't.  Nothing I did to make that happen. 

Anyway, It's easy to pull the pads and take a look and if they need to be replaced you're half way there.  I'm sure you'll get it sorted.

[Clayton]

I don't know what to say, I don't use the rear a ton, I had never had to replace rear brakes on my last 2 bikes. Perhaps its a faulty pad or it doesn't actually need to be replaced. I thought I heard/felt something coming from the rear, thought it could be the BRAKE PADS. So I mentioned it here. Thanks for all the support!  Oh yeah that has been fixed; talk -text doesn't know the difference between break and brake I suppose, then again it is the English language!

Just unscrew the two 12mm head bolts and remove the caliper and slide the pads out away from the disk and see how much material is left on them. That only takes 30 secs maybe

[StrykerBilly]

Lots of good responses here and many more in other dedicated threads but a few additions from me:
- Do a visual inspection.  I cannot for the life of me figure out why so many people skip this step.  The pads are made so that the backing material is obviously different from the friction material so just look.  As for how much is left vs. original you can guess or just look up a recommended minimal amount.  Pads aren't expensive and if you are doing the labor I'd do them long before really needed since you are probably saving 50-100 in labor...
- My original pads on my Stryker(same exact pad but 100lbs less heavy bike and single rotor upfront) got swapped out at about 10K BUT I was heavy on the rear and needed to adjust my braking.  I also put some nice ridges in the rotor
- Ended up going with EBC vpads and happy with them.  Their website, however, is a bear to navigate.  I got the actual pads from Amazon.  Those have 20K on them and will be replaced before SERR since I am heavy on the rear brake down there to navigate the tight turns...
- Dealer probably recommended pads when you changing wheel because similar stuff has to come off.  More on that below:
- You NEED to lubricate the slides and for me w/ a Cobra slip-on I have to remove it to pull the slides out.  If you skip this step, sooner or later the "floating" part of the brake system will not function and one side will drag most likely overheating and warping the rotor.  Plus the pads will wear uneven etc. etc.  Do the job correctly and it still is under an hour "full circle" moving at a cautious pace.  I can do it in half that time easily.  BTW, full circle to me is getting the bike on/off whatever and getting tools out/put back along with cleaning up anything that needs it and possibly moving other vehicles out of the way...

[AlabamaRaider]

You may have to bleed the brakes if the grips become soft or low. Changing the pads is  a breeze as I found out a month ago when I changed both tires. Putting on the 240 rear tire and setting the bead was the most challenging for me so far