VFR800 Front brake pad positioning

The inner front right brake pad on my bike likes to sit in an odd position. In the photo below you can see how it sits at the edge of the guide slot. All the other pads sit nicely seated into the retainer slot.



This pad sits so low that the retainer clip actually rubs on the outside edge of the rotor when I move the bike backwards.
I've cleaned the brakes but did not remove the pistons because I don't have a seal kit, but the pistons move freely. I can move most with one finger but some take two fingers of pressure. I installed new brake pads even though the existing ones looked almost new. I've lubricated the installation but still even the new pad sits differently than the rest. I did notice that the retainer clip on the left caliper needs to be pried out while this one on the right just falls out on it's own when I remove the pads.
Also, my pads never seem to fully clear the rotor, they always lightly touch the rotor. The rotor has about 60% service thickness and the old pads looked good to me. When I ride on the highway for 20km, stop and immediately touch the calipers and rotors they are only slightly warmer than ambient temperature.
Do you normally see a gap between the pads and the rotor and are your pads well seated into the retainer clip slot?

 

Rubbing on the rotor is normal, the pad should be REST on the surface of the rotor. As for the retainer clip they do fell off and sometime will not hold the pad in place. You can order a new retainer if you wish but they should work fine. The do flow on one end and the other end hold up by a pin.

 

As Scubalong said, rubbing of the pads is normal, and is the reason disc brakes are better for race applications than drum/shoe setup. Disc/pad combo is quicker, cools better, is simpler, etc, etc.
To me it looks like someone forced pads in the retainer, and thus bent it a bit, so now it does not stay in it's place. Normally you would have to pry the retainer off, so if yours is loose, try to bend little ears back in, so it stays on the mount bracket, or just order a new one, they are cheap enough.
A loose retainer clip like that can sometimes scratch discs quite a bit, and you do not want that
As for temp, the calipers on bikes are exposed to air stream, they are not enclosed like on cars or trucks, so they cool off much better. Caliper/pad/disc heat is an issue only on track days, and even then, mostly on "turny" tracks.

 

That's not normal pad positioning... it seems that bending the bracket might seat the bracket in the guide slot better but will loosen the grip on the pad. It looks like the caliper (or is it the bracket?) is so worn that the clip does not seat properly. If that's the case, you might need another caliper or bracket. I remember there was a member who experienced this a few months ago and posted about it. But before you shell out the money for either a caliper or bracket, try replacing the clip anyway.

 

I'd guess that the locating clip in the middle between the pads is not positioned properly.

 

I had that same problem. I fixed it as discussed here:

Dangerously worn front brake caliper (yes, caliper) - Sixth Generation VFR's - VFR Discussion

 

^^^ This is the post I was referring to, but I had the wrong forum.:koolaid:

 

I think you guys just freeing paranoia :crazy:
If you know the principal of the brake work then you should not be concern.

 

Wow, I have never seen a worn out caliper mount like that! It is not a caliper itself, it is a mount, so no need to change the whole caliper, just the mount, which is much cheaper part .... But damage like that is very interesting. Thanx for the post!

Looking at your video, it also looks like damage is not really over the whole caliper mount, just the edge of it. Could it be caused by stuck guide pins? In essence, caliper would create a torque on the pads, causing the mentioned damage, since it would push the pads outwards, instead of squeezing them together.

It would have been interesting to see if your pads were worn evenly.

I guess lesson learned is check your brakes, and check them often !