Rear brake wear

[DougM]

I noticed from another post that many of you with R1150RS's have gone through 1 or more sets of rear brake pads. Interesting. I have nearly 22k miles on my RS and am still on the original pads (front and rear). And I check them often. I actually bought a new set last year in anticipation of having to change them, and they are still sitting on the shelf.

Do others use their rear brakes heavily? I rarely touch the rear brake pedal, and use the front brake lever 95%+ of the time (which of course also activates the rear brake at some lesser proportion). I also don't use the brakes that much in general, preferring to ride more of The Pace (I can copy the original text from the Motorcyclist mag article on The Pace that came out many years ago if anyone is interested...) and use more engine braking and less of running into the corner really fast and scrubbing off speed with the brakes on hard--sometimes I do that, but rarely.

Just curious how others ride and use their brakes, especially those who have had to replace their rear pads several times.

[Rob O]

In the twisties, I like to use the rear brake for trail-braking which seems to help settle the rear-end and minimize the jacking effect of the shaft drive, but the cost of that is a life-span of maybe 8-9K on my rear pads.

Rob

[JimVonBaden]

I noticed from another post that many of you with R1150RS's have gone through 1 or more sets of rear brake pads. Interesting. I have nearly 22k miles on my RS and am still on the original pads (front and rear). And I check them often. I actually bought a new set last year in anticipation of having to change them, and they are still sitting on the shelf.

Do others use their rear brakes heavily? I rarely touch the rear brake pedal, and use the front brake lever 95%+ of the time (which of course also activates the rear brake at some lesser proportion). I also don't use the brakes that much in general, preferring to ride more of The Pace (I can copy the original text from the Motorcyclist mag article on The Pace that came out many years ago if anyone is interested...) and use more engine braking and less of running into the corner really fast and scrubbing off speed with the brakes on hard--sometimes I do that, but rarely.

Just curious how others ride and use their brakes, especially those who have had to replace their rear pads several times.
I also use the Pace method. It makes me feel safer while letting me have just as much fun. It has smoothed out my cornering as well. As a side benifit my tires and brakes last longer as well.

Jim:cool:

[BMW-K]

I use the rear brake as Rob does. It indeed will settle the back end down when going around corners, especially bumpy ones. Mind you, this is only 2-5% pressure - it works kinda like a manually activated rebound/compression adjustment.

I also use the rear a lot in parking lots when I am doing throttle control braking (ie: paying a lot of attention to the throttle at very low speeds where I can't front brake and throttle control at the same time...).

Still, I get 18k out of rear pads. I figure 20k per set (front + rear) is good.

[Rob O]

Hey, BMW-K, do you have an 1150 with Evo brakes? And you're getting 18K out of the rears? You must really have the touch, brother, because my dealer tells me my rear brake wear is normal. Of course, we all know dealer training consists of memorizing two statements:

"They all do that, sir."

"That's normal."

Rob

[Wayne Dowers]

My pads look fine but my rear rotor is more scored than the fronts. I don't use the pedal itself very much. Mileage is 18,000.

[MikeH]

I've just changed the rear pads on my R1100RS at 26K. with EBC HH pads. The fronts still have loads left on them - I would expect them to last twice as long as the rears. As in my last post on the old BBS, I just hope that the EBC pads don't cause excessive wear.

I tend to be easy on brakes but do use them continuously in the conventional manner with most bias on the front. I also often trail the rear, especially when conditions are slippy. I like having control over the brakes and have never really liked the idea of linked brakes, as per the 1150, although the EVO brakes are very (overly) effective. I guess that with that setup, high wear rate is unavoidable, but Doug's account would seem to quash that theory.

[Phil Thomas]

I have always found that the EVO brakes favour the rear brake too much, hence the heavy wear. If I ride at normal road speeds for about five miles or so using only the handlebar brake lever the rear brake disc is very hot, whilst the front discs are cold. I checked a long time ago that there was no drag by riding for a few miles without using the brakes at all, and then freewheeling to a halt. All three discs were stone cold.

My rear pads have lasted about 12K miles - I'm now on the third set. The front pads at 24k are original.

Regards to all,

Phil Thomas R1150RS UK

[cat0020]

MY 02 R1150RS has EVO2 brakes, now at 21K miles, I'm on my third set of rear pads, front pads are still the original set. Last pair of rear pads worn to the metal during trackday.

[gezerbike]

.....I have to agree with Doug here...best spirited riding of a BMW is done with the motor and transmission....we do Deal's Gap and the surronding roads every year and you hardly ever see brakes lights come on from the faster riders.....set the suspension with the motor and tranny entering the corner and just ride out of it. I have friends who downshift a bike to stop it at stoplights and signs but here I just use the brakes...why waste clutch to come to a stop? And with the new brakes on my '02, front lever is all I ever use anymore ........the key to riding a BMW fast is the word smooth.....

[Clunkshift]

I have an '02 1150 with EVO brakes. New rear pads at 18000m and still on original front pads at 20000m. I normally only use the front lever but do drag the rear brake to calm things down on bumpy corners and when a need to brake occurs while cornering.

[dickybeau]

Anyone care to post info on this?

Ricky :dunno:

[DougM]

Anyone care to post info on this?

Ricky :dunno:
Here you go:
The Pace (http://www.micapeak.com/info/thepace.html)

[BMW-K]

Hey, BMW-K, do you have an 1150 with Evo brakes? And you're getting 18K out of the rears? You must really have the touch, brother, because my dealer tells me my rear brake wear is normal. Of course, we all know dealer training consists of memorizing two statements:

"They all do that, sir."

"That's normal."

Rob

Oh, sorry Rob, my bad. I am on an R1100RS, non-EVO brakes.

[Dee Duble Yuh]

I'm trying to get used to using the handle-bar ("front") lever only, rather than the traditional 67% handle-bar/33% foot or whatever on a conventionally braked bike.

After a few weeks with my new R1150RS I realised I was using the foot brake only for gentle braking. When I analysed why I realised it was simply because I found the handle-bar brake too fierce for gentle braking.

It may be that rear brake pads wear out so quickly because riders are tending to use the foot brake as the only way to brake gently. :dunno: My bike came with brand new rear disk and pads (at only 32k miles). Perhaps the previous owner did the same thing I used to do.

I tend to brake gently - by anticipating problems and so on - as per The Pace recommendations. So I hope the new rear disk will last longer than the original... if I'm still the owner then! Frankly, when I brake hard I don't need to use the foot brake anyway, 'cos the rear tyre is barely touching the ground! Maybe when I'm touring two-up with luggage it'll be different...

[rock cod]

Hey Doug,thanks for the link to"The Pace" always good to read,seems I remember reading "The Pace Two" a follow up or sequel,if you will,to the original,any idea where that may be???written by same gent,I believe

cool,I am now a "RS Fan"

[bobo]

I just had a new ABS pump installed and have a few totally subjective impressions. The pump was replaced by the dealer during a routine brake fluid flush. They and/or BMW covered the whole cost of pump, installation and the requested fluid flush. It had about 40K miles since new. The excuse for replacement was that the "pump wouldn't shut off". It seemed to be fine when I rode in.

But now after a 2000 mile breakin here's what I think is different. The pump is quieter, no more whine. Does that maybe mean it's not working as hard? I think now as well my gas mileage is up a couple of mpg. Does that maybe mean the brake(s) are not dragging?

I was replacing the rear brake pads with each tire change, since I put on a tire at the same time as the ABS pump fiasco it'll be a while till I can judge pad wear.

Do you suppose the tolerances in the ABS pumps could be so broad, that some cause the brakes to drag, while some (maybe the newer ones) work more like they should?

bobo

[JimVonBaden]

Do you suppose the tolerances in the ABS pumps could be so broad, that some cause the brakes to drag, while some (maybe the newer ones) work more like they should?

bobo
My friend's R1150R rear brake actually caught on fire the other day. Turns out the fluid relief valve was blocked by an improperly adjusted foot pedal and it wouldn't release the brake fully. Could be yours is partially blocked or occasionally blocked.

Make sure your foot pedal is properly adjusted. This seems to be a fairly common incident.

Jim:cool:

[MikeH]

Just a brief report to say that the EBC HH rear pads that I've just fitted are excellent. They are a big improvement over the standard pads and give better stopping power now they're bedded in. Whether they will last 25 K., I'll have to wait and see.

Now I can't wait for the fronts to wear out so I can change them over. :)

[rock cod]

Sorry to be drifting off topic here,but I changed my front pads to the EBC HH,and do I really like the way they stop now,Mike,I changed mine at 26k miles the stock originals still had 60% life left,it may be some time before you change,that is,if you wait...

[Pep]

I have a 1994 R1100RS... No Integral/Servo Assist... I am NOT a subscriber to "The Pace" most of the time [It's good to practice w/o brakes, but it's not the quickest way to ride]... I use the rear brake fairly agressively to set up for turns and to trail brake if I go in too hot [Or lose my nerve... Whatever ;) ]... I go through about three rear pad sets for every front set... I use Galfer blues... I really don't use the front brakes much at all when I'm riding twisties... Just a tad here and there at the end of longer straight sections... Mostly just the rear in the tight stuff...

[Garth Fawcett]

I tend to have to replace my back pads with every second back tyre 'I do tend to use it a lot for seting myself going into tight corners at speed (power on with a touch of rear break) .My front are the original but are on there last legs at 135 k

[MikeH]

Sorry to be drifting off topic here,but I changed my front pads to the EBC HH,and do I really like the way they stop now,Mike,I changed mine at 26k miles the stock originals still had 60% life left,it may be some time before you change,that is,if you wait...Rock, I don't tend to use heavy braking (except in emergencies :eek: ) and the fronts work well anyway. Plus the fact that being a tight fisted englishman with zips on my pockets, I believe in getting value for money. :D

My front are the original but are on there last legs at 135 kGarth 135 k. is amazing! I assume that we're talking kilometers not miles?