Guys

Just had my bike in for its 5000 mile (8000km) oil change. Notwithstanding the 140 dollar cost for a friggin basic oil change (syn3), the report also came back stating I had only 60% left on the brake pads. No need to change yet, just thinking that the wear is pretty fast.

For the record, i do not drive very hard, rarely 2 up and for the most part use the front brakes and downshift to use compression when slowing down or stopping. When i do go to replace the pads (brembo brakes on my 2008 Ultra), I will go with aftermarket -lots of great info on the forum for that

Wondering what others are experiencing - what is a typical mileage before needing pads (and/or rotors)

Thanks

 

Front pads replaced at 15K, rear still good after 20K miles. 5K sounds excessive.

 

I have 18,000 miles on mine and both front and rear are at 50%......

 

I wouldn't worry about it. First off, how can they tell if you have 60 or 40% left unless they take them out and measure. Second, you used 40% which means you have about 7-8 thousand miles left. My math might be a little off here, but what I think is your wear is normal for fronts. Backs you will get more out of them...ymmv

 

A buddy of mine had premature rear pad failure on his 99 . It was discovered with in the first week or so of his taking delivery. The stealer said it was a bad rear caliper and he would warranty replace it if he brought the bike in. But after my friend had another stealer do his oil change service and change the rear pads the original stealer wont replace the caliper. And the other stealer wont get involved Nice huh. Maybe there is a known defect with these calipers?

 

leeburn - bringing mine is also for 8Km inspection in 2 weeks. changing to SYN3 for all 3 holes.. visually my brakes still look good..I ride my SG hard so ill keep u posted if my results. i do think 8K ( about 5kmiles) is premature for brake wear.

 

My friend with a 09 FLST replaced his rear pads at about 10K. There was some left, but they were getting down there and he was getting ready for 2K miles to Sturgis and back. On my bike, I replaced my rear pads at about 50K. At 75K, I still had half left. I think I replaced the front pads at around 70K. I'd have to check my log.

 

Leeburn - I have an 08 with 53,000 km and would think my riding style is similar to yours. I am still on the original front pads although they are getting down and I will be replacing soon. Back brakes were replaced quite awhile ago to deal with the squeel (they were hardly worn) and the Lyndalls that are on there have very little wear.

I would be surprised if you have to change them that soon. I would suspect your dealer is setting you up for a premature brake service. They are easy to do yourself.

 

I must be the odd man out. I have 23,000 on mine and am on my 3rd set of back pads. Just put them on last weekend. My front pads however still look good. I do ride 2 up most of the time but I downshift and always thought I was easy on my brakes. I put Lyndals on this time I guess we will see. EBC organics were on the metal at 12,000 miles. They also made one hell of a mess on my wheels. I would not recommend using them.

 

I was going to ask the same question. I alternate between my Ultra and ratted out Sporty but have been paying more attention to my braking habits of late. I noticed that my Ultra's rear white-wall has a lot more brake dust than my fronts. With the heavyweight, I use the rear brakes much more than I do on the Sporty (all that Ride-Like-A-Pro stuff), plus not wanting the plow the front when stopping.