Brake Pad life Expectancy
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 170
Likes: 9
From: Pittsburgh, PA
I do use the engine to slow down before coming to stops. Probaly more then most, i always downshift going down steep grades instead of riding the brakes. I know my foot isnt accidently riding the rear pedal as well becuase i ride 95% of the time with my toes angled out on my highway pegs. My dad had baught an 08 wing just after i baught my glide and hes now got around 7500 miles on it and his pads still look brand spankin new. We both have similar riding style and most of the miles on our bikes were put on with us riding together. I do a bit of 2 up riding, my dad never does. Weight difference isnt that much. Im about 200, the girlfriend isnt heavy, 115?? So i dont know what gives? Ive never had brake pads go this fast on any other bike ive owned.
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 170
Likes: 9
From: Pittsburgh, PA
I just thought of this though. When i first baught the bike not even a week later i took the MSF experienced rider course on it. That was an all day hard work out for brand new brake pads. Wonder if that had an ill effect on the life of the pads?
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 466
Likes: 0
i use my REAR brakes alot to balance the bike i just changed mine out at 10,000 miles, there was still some life in them but i did not want to change them mid season my front im guessing i can get close to 20,000 on them. i think you can buy a guage it's plastic to stick up to your pads while they are on the bike. when i had my car serviced the service guy had one and it had different thickness's, each stick on the guage was different measurements 3mm, 6mm, 8mm etc. i just removed my front tire and brakes yesterday and stuck the new pads up to the old ones and was very suprised at how much life was left in them ( i removed the front bumper too) check an auto parts store for a guage that's what im gonna do they cant be much there just plastic sticks. it is very hard to tell the thickness by eyeballing them. i originally thought my front would need to be changed too but i was wrong once the caliper was off and i could stick the new pad directly against it then i knew there was alot of life left in them. i think the lowest you wanna go is 3mm but check the service manual to be sure.
Novice
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
i have an 08 roadking classic-my rear pads were worn right down to the metal after only 2700 miles-they had also been constantly squealing and i continually called the dealer and complained and they kept telling me that it was normal for those brembo brakes?-anyway after i brought it in to show them the worn out pads at only 2700 miles(i was hoping they would replace them at no charge) the stealership owner said it was not considered a warranty item and is a maintenance responsibility (which is what i was expecting to hear from him)- i spent $20,000 for that bike off him and he was too cheap to replace those pads-c'mon i can see if they were worn at 5,000 miles but 2700?-haven't been back there since that was 7 months ago-if you want to save money on replacement pads for brembo brakes and can do without lyndalls try this website-www.atvbrakesnmore.com-they sell repacement aftermarket pads for brembos for $21.00-thats with shipping too-mike
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,730
Likes: 9,237
From: Snow Hill, NC
I saw considerable wear on my stock pads after 10K... Bike now has 27K with EBC sintered pads...brakes better lasts better but the fronts squeal a Bit...Ride up to the twisties at least once a Quarter from Eastern NC and the stopping power of the sintered is a plus...I heard that the Lyndall( i think the spelling is OK) are very good pads....
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 832
Likes: 0
From: NC foothills
14,000 miles on the clock still over haft of the shoes left on both the front and back , ride 2-up most of the time.
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Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 207
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From:
Replaced rears at 10k, same reason as russl129, easier when doing the tire. As far as using engine braking, I go with the advice my long-time mechanic dad always told me; "brake pads are cheaper than engine parts". Not that I don't downshift and use engine braking, just careful to not over-do it. Fronts have 25k, will do them when I do front tire.