New brakes fitted correctly?

Howdy Folks

I had new brakes and tyres fitted a couple of days ago at a local garage - The bike feels revamped!!

I originally bought brake pads (EBC HH) to do it myself but the screw holding in the pads was stuck and I didn't have the tools to undo it.

Anyway the garage managed to do it no problem but today I noticed the front discs showed signs of uneven 'wear'. (See pictures)




The right disc has a newly cut sharp line running though the centre
The left disc only appears to be receiving the top half of the pad
The rear disc looks normal (no pic)



is this normal?
Will the pads wear down to be even?
Has the garage made an error / Should I go back and get them to fix this?

 

Can you send some photos of the calipers from the side and from the front?

Something doesn't look right. Those pins can sometimes hang up and need to be cleaned up / replaced and lubricated so that the caliper can float.

What kind of garage did you take it to? One that specializes in motorcycles?

 

Right Side:


Left Side:


It was my first time going to this garage but it is quite well known with good reviews, specialising with both cars a motorcycles.

Let me know if you need more pics/daytime pics

 

I'd worry about the unswept area, but pads may wear in. The groove could be some grit embedded in the pad.

 

I'd worry about the unswept area, but pads may wear in. The groove could be some grit embedded in the pad. A really good shop would have cleaned the brake pistons, which they did NOT.

 

I would say the slider pins may well need a good cleaning/lubricating. I don't think I ever heard of EBC pads coming with FOD embedded in them. I don't like your garage and would immediately take it back for them to put right. They let your bike out with the most important safety system on it working at maybe 75% efficiency at best.

Next time check in here before hand and somebody will certainly lead you by the hand to do the job correctly by yourself.

Cheers,
Glenn

 

Yah, I'd be disappointed as well that they didn't bother to clean up the slider pins or the pistons.

They didn't do a very nice / clean job. I'd go back to them and ask them to make it right.

 

I recently fitted new pads to old discs (90,000km). At first they looked a little like yours and had poor power and a bit of shudder, but after 200km the disc surface now looks normal as the pads wore into the contour of the disc, and the power has come on strong.

I would suggest as a check that you pull the calipers off the forks, and confirm that they will slide on the sliding pins freely. You should also be able to do this with the caliper mounted by pushing the calipers inwards towards the wheel, which will also push the pistons back in. If they're all moving freely I would reassess the discs after a tank of gas and see how they look then.

 

So I went back to the garage and spoke to one of the managers.

He had a look and told me something similar to Cadbury64: The discs are old (70k+ miles) and already have their own set of grooves. There is a slight lip at the edge of the disc which is thicker than the inside causing a slight separation between the flat pads and the disc which should overtime wear down and cover the disc completely.

As for the groove on the right disc, it could be some caught shrapnel or 'a new groove forming due to new pads' - not sure how accurate that sounds.
but all in all the clips and calipers look in order (despite being dirty) + no loud scratching when applying the brakes.

I will however check the calipers myself as Cadbury64 suggested and see where it goes from there...

 

Did they tell you how to bed-in new pads?? There IS a special procedure for doing it right. :triumphant:

Any time pads are changed it's best to degrease and lightly sand the rotors.

 

no they didn't mention anything about bedding new pads aside from riding normally for a couple hundred miles.

Is it worth this 'special procedure'?

 

No. We used to bed in new pads on the race car - race pads, extreme use. Totally different animal to street pads. Do as they advised and ride normally. Don't practice panic stops until this couple of hundred normal miles are done - unless you really do have to panic stop. The don't even think about the pads, just do it.

Cheers,
Glenn

 

OK will report back after some miles!

 

Update:

600 miles later and the pads have pretty much worn to the discs for the most part. Some new grooves have been cut, some deep some shallow although nothing to worry about according to the mechanics.

Although:

When I press the front the brake it feels as if the pads continually touch and release off the disc brake - causing a smoothly jerky stop.

I have been told the front disc brake is slightly bent causing this - How strange. There is no reason for the discs to have gotten bent, the only work that was done was to change the brakes.
I went back to these same mechanics and was told it could either be a disc lock staying on while riding (definitely not) or the discs heating up.

My question is:

is it worth to straighten the original brake discs ( 71000 miles )

or

Buy new front discs and pads - If so the OEM discs or any other recommendations?


Thanks!

 

Don't risk straightening that rotor! I don't know how or if it can even be done safely, but it isn't worth the potential consequence of bending it in any way. It's surely getting a bit thin at 71k. You could always check the manufacturer's minimum spec for machining and go from there. Maybe that's what you meant by "straighten?" Probably just some new ones for peace of mind though.

 

Well, I'll be the contrary one here. I know they have been straightened before by at least one member of a Honda V4 forum I am on. These rotors are not cast like car rotors. They are stainless steel. That member used a hard, flat surface and a block (I think) on top of the rotor and pounded away. He mounted and checked with a dial indicator until they were close enough. I don't know if he got them completely back in spec, but it solved the pulsing he was experiencing. I ALSO CANNOT REMEMBER IF HE USED ANY HEAT. This part is important, so do some more research. Sometimes my memory isn't 100%.

As was said, at your mileage and condition, you're likely better off replacing them. Try for some lower mileage ones off eBay. FWIW, these stainless rotors are a bear to machine. Their hardness make them vibrate badly on the lathe, even if you find someone with a suitable adapter to mount to the lathe.

Cheers,
Glenn

 

If I do get them straightened it would be here: http://www.motoliner.com/motorcycle-brake-disc-straightening.php - quoted £110 on the phone

or

What are the best brake discs I can get for the VFR. I've been looking at EBC-x
or would the originals be best?

 

Geeze, on one of my '86 700S i dial-checked the rotor and corrected the warp (or bend) by shimming (ABOUT .004" under ONE OF the bolts, one thickness of a beer can +).

 

I don't think your discs are worth the money to get them straightened what with the grooving, BUT I certainly wouldn't be paying 225 pounds each for new ones. Look at eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/97-HONDA-...512035?hash=item3d0944d923:g:kMwAAOSw4UtWS3FR . There is nothing wrong with Honda's quality.

 

Update 2:

Had the discs and brakes checked at another bike garage.

Turns out dirty calipers were causing the brake pads to stick to the disc, applying much pressure to them when riding = lots of heat = bent discs.

They cleaned and lubed the calipers and the problem pretty much went away - something to do with the floating discs moving more freely.

There is however a barely noticeable vibration when applying the front brake at slow speeds. Not sure if im ready to spend money replacing the discs just yet.


Thanks to all who helped!