It's a good thing that I checked my brakes out the other day because this is what I found.
(http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/19/l_3deb6801c95f4c20b7381387faa56267.jpg)
(http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/61/l_2b2bdeafb6d64c74a3ca277badc55c96.jpg)
(http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/62/l_d4bc98af56d44bb4b43974685bec8419.jpg)
That can't be normal wear. You can see one pad is bent and worn much more than the other pad. I'm hoping once I put the brake back together I won't have this problem again. I haven't had to replace pads yet so I'm not sure of where to get them. I'd like to find them locally but I'd like to not have to drive down to Motoprimo (assuming they have 'em) to get 'em. Is there an alternative place? I'd like to stay with Brembo pads but if EBC makes the model I need what do you think of that brand?
You're only showing one set of pads, from one caliper, and you don't say whether this is from the front or rear brakes. Does your monster have dual front brakes or just on one side of the wheel?
From the photo, it looks like the brakes have been overheating. This could be due to your riding style (brake late and hard) or it could be a sticking caliper. If the caliper is sticking, you'll want to rebuild or replace that before you put in new pads. Did you start to replace the pads because you were having some kind of braking issue, because they looked worn in the wear window or for some other reason?
As for where to get new pads:
Midwest Cycle on Nicollet and 44th
Bob's Cycle Supply
Yeah I guess I could have left more details. They are from the back brakes. I wasn't really having issues with my back brakes. I was wheeling my bike out of the garage and I could hear the rotor rubbing against what sounded like the brakes. Some how one of the pads got bent. So when I applied the brakes one pad wasn't flush against the rotor. I'm going to see if new pads solves the problem first.
A new pad will not solve the problem. From the sound of what you described, you probably have a piston that is sticking. Try cleaning it with brake cleaner.
Remove the caliper, put a piece of metal or something hard between the pads. Squirt brake cleaner into the caliper and onto the pistons. Pump up your brake and make the pads squeeze the metal that you put in there. Squirt more brake cleaner in there and keep doing this until the pistons move freely. Hopefully you just had a bunch of brake dust in there causing it to stick.
This is a good place to start and doesn't hurt anything to try. After you get your new pads in and everything working....stop using the rear brake!
[beer]
Brakes... Brakes ..... Who needs brakes, especially the rear.
Don't you need your rear brake to wheelie?
I thought that's how daftduc said he got his bike out of the garage.
Of course, then I re-read it and found out he was only wheeling.
As for the caliper, if the piston's really stuck (according to an issue of cycle world a couple months back) you can get the piston loose by hooking up a grease gun to the bleed screw (after removing the caliper) and pumping it full of grease to lube and push out the stuck piston. You probably won't need to do that, and I've never personally tried it, but I'm mentioning it in case it's helpful.
Well nothing is as easy as it's supposed to be. The outside piston moved while the inside piston didn't. If I prevented the working piston from moving then the stuck one did begin to move a bit. I re-seated the pistons and tried again and now I've managed to get both pistons to not move much. I do have fluid in the line but I'm wondering if I have air in the line now too.
I don't know about that grease idea. How would I ever clean out all the grease? I wouldn't want grease inside my brakes would I?
With the grease idea you'll have to completely strip and rebuild your calipers. It's usually cheaper than buying new ones, but it's a pain in the ass and you'll have to buy a rebuild kit (where from, I don't really know). I mentioned it as a last resort kind of thing. I wouldn't try it until you've exhausted every other possibility.
Back to your pistons. Can you push them back into the caliper? You'll want to make sure they move both in and out. If they do that, you should be back in business. If both caliper pistons came way out, you have run the master cylinder out of fluid and let some air in the line that way. Check to make sure you have fluid left in the master. Don't add fluid, though, until you've put in the new brake pads. You'll want to add new fluid and bleed the system after the new pads are put in (pushing the pistons in pushes fluid back to the master cylinder and you'll get a mess if you add fluid before putting in the pads). Also, brake fluid is very corrosive, so keep it off your bike if at all possible.
Bleeding the brakes is a hassle, but it's pretty straightforward. There are quite a few decent how-to videos about bleeding motorcycle brakes on you-tube.
And then seriously....stop using the rear brake [beer]
Well I successfully got my back brakes working again, without even having to spend any more money [thumbsup]. It was much easier than I was expecting. After only about two pumps during the bleeding process I had pressure back in the line and maybe 3 more pumps after that I no longer saw any air coming out. Not too shabby.
About the "no-using-back-brake" philosophy. Why? To me every time you use your back brake your making the life of your front brakes last a little longer. I know a rider shouldn't be dependent on the back brakes for stopping. As long as a rider knows how to stop and stop hard with the front brakes I don't see a problem with using back brakes to assist in gradual slow downs.
Quote from: Captain Slow on August 03, 2009, 11:20:37 AM
Brakes... Brakes ..... Who needs brakes, especially the rear.
I think the woman who rear ended you last month could have used a set of brakes!
Quote from: R+B on August 04, 2009, 11:39:16 AM
I think the woman who rear ended you last month could have used a set of brakes!
It wasn't the brakes, it was the brain that was lacking.
Quote from: fasterblkduc on August 03, 2009, 04:31:26 PM
And then seriously....stop using the rear brake [beer]
Wait im sorry ... What about the rear brakes again ? I didnt get that .... [roll]
The rear brake is almost never necessary and it's a bad habit to use it daily. If you're in a habit of using it, then you will continue to use it in all situations and some situations are bad to use the rear brake. If you are cornering and come across sand, gravel, an object in your lane, car, etc. this is a very bad time to use your rear brake. You will probably end up locking the rear or losing traction on it and going into a slide, or as the the cruiser crowd likes to say post crash, "I had to lay 'er down". When you hear someone say this, you know that they have no riding skills whatsoever.
When you brake, you transfer the weight of the bike to the front and the back end is unweighted so much that sometimes it leaves the pavement. You are far more likely to lock up the rear when braking hard because you load the front end and leave nothing for the rear tire to grab onto. When that happens, you either put the back wheel into a slide, or lift it off the pavement so it's completely useless. Look at your motorcycle. Doesn't it have giant disks and calipers on the front and one tiny one on the rear? Why do you think that is?
Using the rear brake is rarely ever needed and to use it effectively while on pavement is a skill that only top level racers have. It's used as a steering technique. The guy in the picture below is one of the fastest guys in the country. He uses the rear brake on the track and is the most enjoyable person to watch race when he comes to BIR. This is him from the last race weekend right after he used the rear brake to back into turn 9 leaving a big fat rubber trail, then points and shoots out of the turn wheeling like this every time he goes through this turn. He is using it as a steering technique. Another racer technique is to just lightly tap the rear mid turn to change the geometry of the bike and change steering that way. Unless you're this guy or Gary McCoy, or some one else on this level, you will not need your rear brake.
As I said, it's a bad habit that will eventually get you in trouble. If you're going up to 40 mph., and coming to a stop in a straight line, then sure you can use it to effectively scrub off some speed but why do you need to? You're just training yourself to always use it. The only time that you need it is when you are off road or in a really loose situation like gravel. Then and only then do I use my rear brake.
This is a quick and simple explanation because I don't have much time. I encourage you to take an advanced riding course. It will teach you things that you can never learn on the street and make you a much better rider...I guarantee! You should sign up for a ZARS class at DCTC. You spend a day there not using your rear brake, and this will make a lot more sense. If you end up in my class, I would be happy to spend more time on this subject with you and do real world training on the course.
Now here's Robby. If you want to see this guy ride, come up to a CRA weekend. There's a reason that Michellin had Rob test tires for MotoGP. He's a dude that knows how to use the rear brake [cheeky]
(http://i32.tinypic.com/28jvd03.jpg)
Here's another. See the rubber on the pavement that he left? That's from him backing it in with the rear brake.
(http://i25.tinypic.com/24dlwsg.jpg)
Quote from: cyclops on August 04, 2009, 12:09:19 PM
Wait im sorry ... What about the rear brakes again ? I didnt get that .... [roll]
>:( Shouldn't you be fixing your hair? :P
class dis-miss-d I bet I can eat more hotdogs than jensen. [bacon]
MSF makes a big deal about "both brakes, all the time." The only points I lost on the driving test was the hard stop w/ both brakes and a downshift, because I failed to use both brakes. That might be some of the anxiety on braking w/ both brakes.
The rear brake is a pretty small percentage of your stopping power and it's very easy to lock it up in use. BUT it does help slow the bike, locked or not. I use mine. If it take 160 feet to stop from 70 MPH, I'll happily take the measly 5 extra feet I get from using the back brake too.