When to replace brakes on a 2002 Fatboy?
 

My bike has 17000 miles on it and the brake pads look more than half gone. I have a set of new and am thinking about replacing them but am not sure if it is too soon. What do you guys think? Thanks

Never to soon.
I did mine at 13k when I heard a little noise and decided to check.
They are so thin to begin with I just bought new pads and did them in my garage, was very easy and cheap and gave me piece of mind.
Lump

If you have them and know what to do go for it. Keep the old ones in case you ever need them if they are only half gone. People's mileage on pads varies greatly as does the mileage with varying brands as everyone does not ride the same.

Unless I'm leaving for a long trip I'll run my pads until they're nearly gone. Just keep an eye on them and replace before your metal-to-metal.

I'd say .030 or less remaining is a good time to replace.

I did mine at about 75000km (45000 mi). I should have done them about 10km sooner, because I had to replace the rotor due to them scraping metal on metal. That was bad.

I would not go less than .040" if the brakes still work good.Keep in mind that the pads may not wear even.

If you replace them be sure to check the rotosrs as well for wear, and if necessary have the rotors turned so that you have an even braking surface once again.

Never heard of bike rotors being turned. Who does this. Yea I'm cheep and dont want to buy new one's.

Just about any shop that does brake work should be able to do it for you.

I'll have to ask next time I need some pads. Thanks.