Just When You Think You've Seen It All...

[Jetfixer]

If the pads and caliper pistons are that bad, I can only imagine what the fluid looks like. As for the tires; they were one good puddle away from disaster.

 

[JayBros]

What astounds me is the fact that, and I don't care how many rolling sneakers and stoppers one has under oneself, when one leaves the domicile one hangs an invisible but nevertheless valid sign around one's neck that that says, "I am a potential death statistic." When one lays out the coin of the realm we must for our owned or leased transportation and recreation and then neglects to spend the bucks to keep it maintained so it is not a hazard to oneself or others on the road, one is nothing more than a time bomb awaiting detonation.

 

[BajaRon]

It must be the year for '1st's'. I've got another set of pictures I'll be loading up soon falling into the 'Just when you think you've seen it all...' category.

 

[Lctriple]

How long do the pads usually last on a Spyder? My 15 F3S has almost 11,000 miles on it, probably the original pads.

 

[BajaRon]

How long do the pads usually last on a Spyder? My 15 F3S has almost 11,000 miles on it, probably the original pads.

That depends a great deal on a number of factors, including pad quality, riding style, and vehicle weight. But I would say a swag might be 20k. Some manage to go through a set in less than 10k, others, on rare occasions, get close to 40k.

Using engine braking to slow you down makes a great deal of difference in longevity. This can also reduce brake fade in more severe conditions.

Something that a lot of people don't realize is that their brake pad wear rate is greatest when the pads are new. As the pads wear, the rate of wear slows, so that when you are at 1/2 the pad thickness, you have more than 1/2 of the pad life remaining.

 

[mecsw500]

That depends a great deal on a number of factors, including pad quality and vehicle weight. But I would say a swag might be 20k. Some manage to go through a set in less than 10k, others, on rare occasions, get close to 40k.

Using engine braking to slow you down makes a great deal of difference in longevity. This can also reduce brake fade in more severe conditions.

Something that a lot of people don't realize is that their brake pad wear rate is greatest when the pads are new. As the pads wear, the rate of wear slows, so that when you are at 1/2 the pad thickness, you have more than 1/2 of the pad life remaining.

I did not know that about brake pad wear rates, I must admit. Do you have any idea why that is, or is it just something you’ve observed? Is it because as the pad gets thinner, heat is transferred from the pad surface to the backing plate quicker as it has less pad material to transfer heat through?

 

[BajaRon]

I did not know that about brake pad wear rates, I must admit. Do you have any idea why that is, or is it just something you’ve observed? Is it because as the pad gets thinner, heat is transferred from the pad surface to the backing plate quicker as it has less pad material to transfer heat through?

Very good! You are exactly right. With less distance to travel, the pad dissipates heat more efficiently to the backing plate. The caliper piston also moves some of the heat to the brake fluid. The last factor, to a lesser degree, is that over heat cycles, the remaining pad material continues to cure, making it less susceptible to further wear.

 

[Bfromla]

Oh ya imagine the Flying cars maintenance

 

[Peter Aawen]

Very good! You are exactly right. With less distance to travel, the pad dissipates heat more efficiently to the backing plate. The caliper piston also moves some of the heat to the brake fluid. The last factor, to a lesser degree, is that over heat cycles, the remaining pad material continues to cure, making it less susceptible to further wear.

There's also a little bit more to this 'increased wear rate initially' thing, and it applies to new tires too!!

When they're new, both brake pads and tires, they haven't been placed under repeated/constant load, so when they get installed and that starts to happen, the material on both tends to pack down a little, at least for a while. For brake pads, it can take a couple of hundred miles before they 'bed in' properly; for tires, it can take a couple of thousand miles; but for both, it depends a little on the initial construction and material density! some performance pads & tires show a significant level of this 'increased initial wear rate', while others, generally harder/more durable pads and tires, tend to show it much less - but they ALL do it to some degree!!

So don't be too upset if your brake pads seem to wear rapidly in the first 1000 miles or so; or if your tires seem to wear really rapidly in the first 5000 miles or so - it's the wear rate AFTER that which is more important to watch in order to get some idea of how long those particular pads &/or tires are likely to last!

 

[Lctriple]

That depends a great deal on a number of factors, including pad quality and vehicle weight. But I would say a swag might be 20k. Some manage to go through a set in less than 10k, others, on rare occasions, get close to 40k.

Using engine braking to slow you down makes a great deal of difference in longevity. This can also reduce brake fade in more severe conditions.

Something that a lot of people don't realize is that their brake pad wear rate is greatest when the pads are new. As the pads wear, the rate of wear slows, so that when you are at 1/2 the pad thickness, you have more than 1/2 of the pad life remaining.

Thanks for the info. I have noticed the Spyder seems to slow more just on engine braking than any of the motorcycles I have owned. I don't know if it's a weight thing, more rubber on the road, or wind resistance?

 

[BCNewell]

^^^^ Answer is probably “Yes” to all three!!

 

[AbNormy]

I'm not trying to make anyone look bad here. I don't want this post to become a referendum on any person. We all let things in life go from time to time. My intention is not ridicule, but to educate.

This customer is a great guy and I respect him. So please, be kind if you choose to post. I'm only trying to encourage everyone to take care of your ride so that it can take care of you.

For example, Tires...
View attachment 255623

Or Brake Calipers... What the Red Arrow is pointing towards is what is left of the Wheel Side Inner Pad. The Outer Pad was completely worn away and the Piston was running directly on the rotor.
View attachment 255627

Or Brake Rotors... The original Rotor is the same thickness across the entire face
View attachment 255629

Or Brake Pads...
View attachment 255633

This is an original, brand new EBC rear pad compared to what is left of the Inner pad we removed from the caliper (stood on edge). The Outer pad was completely gone except for the small piece shown above.
View attachment 255630

What about the nut loose behind the handle bars?

 

[Cobranut]

What about the nut loose behind the handle bars?

HEY!!! Who you calling a "Nut"???

 

[Dmetcalf]

It’s been my experience that because the rear brake comes on first (just a second or so) before the front brakes come on, my rear pads always wore out before my front pads did. For me, it was usually at around 14K miles that I needed to replace the rear pads. But then again, we all have different riding styles!!
But keeping an eye on them is still paramount!

 

[BajaRon]

Thanks for the info. I have noticed the Spyder seems to slow more just on engine braking than any of the motorcycles I have owned. I don't know if it's a weight thing, more rubber on the road, or wind resistance?

True, the VSS system applies the rear brake first and releases it last, which helps stabilize the Spyder when stopping. This was more pronounced in the early, Chinese braking system days. 2008-2012 models. With these, you can pretty much count on replacing the rear pad set twice for every front pad set.

When BRP went to the Brembo system in 2013, they retained the rear brake first and last application process, but reduced the amount of braking at the rear and now bring the fronts in sooner. So, pad wear tends to be more even in the 2013+ models. But there is more to it. Because as brake pressure increases, more and more of the stopping power in both the old and new systems is transferred to the front pads, where the lion’s share of stopping power resides.

This makes sense because it doesn't take much to lock up the rear tire.

So, stop and go with relative light braking will tend to wear the rear pads more quickly because the fronts are doing very little work. While consistent heavy braking will tend to wear all 3 pads close to the same rate in the 2013+ models. There doesn't seem to be any way to get more even wear in the 2008-2012 models. Just figure on the rear pads going away long before the fronts.