Hi, I own a '97 Softail Custom, and am wondering how long the brake pads last.

Thanks

Dave

 

A visual inspection should tell... and for piece of mind, they're easy enough to change and you'll know they are good.

 

Front or rear? Depends on your driving habits, but Im on my third front set with 50,000 miles (about 20,000 a set), rear pads are original.

 

sincecrazy is about right on the money with average riders i think.

I have heard they last about as long as the tire. Depends on driving habits.


David

 

I only get about 6,000 on the rears on my bagger. Front's I get about 15,000.

 

Wow, that's weird. I've never heard of the rear pads wearing faster than the fronts... maybe you should have the caliper checked out to make sure the piston(s) retract(s) fully so as not to cause a ton of drag on the rear brakes.

Cheers!
[sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif][sm=icon_rock.gif]

 

Hey Joe ,if the pad's on the rear are sticking a little when you get it fixed just think hoe much faster she will run. Just a thought.[sm=alcoholic.gif]

 

Clammy, when I first got the bike the rear pads wore out so bad that my rear rotor was burnt and had to be replaced at 10,500 kilometers. I hadn't even looked at them when doing oil changes because I never thought they would go so fast. The dealer replaced everything under warrenty because I complained that the parts were defective. Since then I have replaced my pads every 10,000 kms. My bike is a ultra classic, so it's heavy, and I have two sets in the front, and I do alot of two up riding, but HD's brakes have been the worst of any bike I have ever had. Now I measure at every oil change.

Tn.heritage, if I could get extra speed out of the baby by removing the back brakes they would have been gone years ago.

 

that's the 1st time I've ever known of rears to go 1st too.

Joe, could have very well been defective pads to begin with, or like alot of us simply don't use the front as much as others?

 

Joe, if your rear pads are wearing first either you or the bike has a problem! <G> Clammy said it right to have the caliper checked. And Rick, y'all are worrying me, what with saying you use the rear brake more than the front. That back brake is the pits when it comes time to really, really needing to stop. And if y'all are in the habit of using it more than the front, when that time comes, yer going down.

Guess I'm gonna have to tell y'all another one of my "stoopit stories".

Bunch of us were riding the fire trails in the Frances Marion National Forest outside Charleston, SC. I had my '72 CH chop with no front brake and a disc rear operated off the handlebar master cylinder. We were running single file on a bright moonlit night, killin' time 'til our ship was being moved out of drydock at 0300 hours.

We hit a paved road and decided to see where it went and to start moseyin' our way back toward town. Only the lead bike had headlights on, the rest of us were running dark. Plenty of light, we thought. I was second in line, when suddenly I was passing the Honda in the number one slot.

I thought he just wanted me to take the lead, and reached down to hit my headlight. When the light came on I saw why the Honda had slowed; there was a 90 degree turn dead ahead. I grabbed the brake, but of course it locked up immediately 'cause all the weight transferred to the front. No way I was gonna make the turn!

I decided to try and use the bank to help make the curve, but when I released the brake lever, it stayed in. Wouldn't have made any difference. I was gonna crash.

I hit the bank, then bounced up and into a hogwire fence. The bike rebounded back from the fence, but I had a death grip on the bars, and didn't let go. I went over the bars, and took them with me 'til they were pointing forward like bull horns. The seat, velcroed to the frame, sailed over me into the cornfield. I ended up in the strand of barb wire at the top of the fence.

"Stoopit" things: No front brake, where about 65 -80% of your braking power resides, especially in an emergency stop. Running with no lights so I couldn't see the turn in time. Honda brake light was out so I didn't know he was slowing 'til I started moving past him.

I came through it with cuts on my back from the wire. The bike's Fury girder was bent back and to the side, and the wheel was crumpled up pretty good. Found the seat a good 50' out in the corn. Next time the on-base safety course came around I signed up for it. Payed attention this time, developed an introductory course to teach aboard ship to beginning riders, and started an on-board muttersickle safety and riding club.

Moral of the story, as applied to this particular thread: USE YER DANG FRONT BRAKES AS THE PRINCIPAL BRAKING SYSTEM!!!!