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are touching the rotors...I would say no they should not....they will be close...but rubbing of any type on a brake system while in motion without the pedal pressed is a bad thing...it will lead to premature wear of the pads..but worse than that...overheated rotors that can lead to warping.
I would take your calipers off and give them a good cleaning.....check the rotors for warp....etc.
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When you depress the pistons in the calipers the buildup of the brake bad dust gets into the seal a bit. When you apply the brakes it forces the piston out of the caliper, when you release the brake lever the caliper is supposed to retract just a bit. Not much but just enough to pull the pad off the disc.
The seal in the caliper is supposed to retract the piston very slightly. There's even a spec for it: 0.01 - 0.2 mm, depending on pressure.
The OE factory caliper/piston seals depict vili-like fingers on the rubber. Newer seals are a square-cut gasket. The brake fluid pushes the piston that deforms the gasket out-of-square. Remove the pressure and the rubber pushes itself back into square, ever-so-slightly retracting the piston. In practice it probably looks like the pad is still on the rotor since the tolerances are so small.
However, if you're not careful about cleaning and lubing the sides of the pad carriers with a good brake grease, then this may not work correctly. It's also possible that that seal in the piston is nearing it's limit.
MY rule is that if you can't stick a business card between pad and rotor, your brakes may be dragging.
Last edited by Huggerbugger; Mar 31, 2018 at 11:05 AM.
No one is saying that your pads are not dragging... They may be. The point is that the manual does not indicate an .040 gap between friction surfaces, and there is not a mechanism in the caliper for pad retraction. Furthermore, you aren't two quarts down on oil because of dragging brake pads. Your pads may be dragging, and it may be a good idea to take them apart, clean the bores, etc. But doing so will not result in an .040 gap, it will not make them start retracting on their own, and it won't change your oil consumption issue.
All of that said, I hope you resolve whatever issues are present.
Shocked to find the oil 2 qts low at the same time I discovered that the brake rotors were red hot. Theorized that the engine was working too hard to overcome brake drag. I also had an oscillating hum from the front wheel that kicked in at 40 mph, which disappeared after I clean the brake bodies.
Were they LITERALLY red hot? I doubt it. The vast majority of street friction materials will fade before the rotors get that hot. That's like 1500 degrees.
The middle piece you quoted is the most rational up until the business card part(IMO). .01mm is about .0004"...thinner than a human hair. A business card is about .010". A piece of printer paper is about .004".
A little drag is a good thing. It keeps the rotors clean and warm so they work better on initial application.
My favorite street pads are EBC Reds. Here is a brief quote about them. These are serious street pads. I've never pushed them to fade on the street.
EBC Redstuff Brake Pads are designed for heavier sports cars, coupes and sedans used for fast high-performance road driving and track days as well as some race applications for light and medium-weight vehicles. EBC's semi-metallic Redstuff formulation is a true asphalt race pad with a medium lifetime.
EBC Redstuff Brake Pads (friction level of 0.3) used on the street will feel more like standard original equipment brakes (typical friction level of 0.25 to 0.35). EBC Redstuff pads offer high resistance to brake fade and a friction level that steadily rises with temperature to reach 0.33 at 1380 F. This makes them appropriate for extreme high speed driving and repetitive heavy braking use, as well as, for race cars.
I could feel the heat from the rear rotor from an inch away (checking tire pressure). This is after I parked the bike and went to get my tire gauge. I don't think that under normal braking conditions the rotor should get that hot.
Were they LITERALLY red hot? I doubt it. The vast majority of street friction materials will fade before the rotors get that hot. That's like 1500 degrees.
The middle piece you quoted is the most rational up until the business card part(IMO). .01mm is about .0004"...thinner than a human hair. A business card is about .010". A piece of printer paper is about .004".
A little drag is a good thing. It keeps the rotors clean and warm so they work better on initial application.
My favorite street pads are EBC Reds. Here is a brief quote about them. These are serious street pads. I've never pushed them to fade on the street.
Many moons ago when I had street/track day/time trial cars, I found the combination of Castrol SRF fluid (wetboiling point over 500 degrees), and Porterfield R4S pads to be completely fade resistant in a 2700 lb car, with a very consistent pedal and decent initial bite when cold. I really wish I could do that stuff still... Throughout life there have been times when I had the time for racing, and times when I had the money for racing (at a low level). But I've never really managed to have the time and the money at the same time!
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If the
is just sitting there not running and in park and the
are touching the rotors...I would say no they should not....they will be close...but rubbing of any type on a brake system while in motion without the pedal pressed is a bad thing...it will lead to premature wear of the pads..but worse than that...overheated rotors that can lead to warping. 
