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07 gs rear brake question

KBIKE

New member
Hopefully a quick question, I have a 07 GS and just replaced the rear brake pads, this may have come up before but could not find it , found the pads almost down to metal. I was surprised that there were this worn at 11K but at least I caught it before rotor damage.
The real question is that I now find even after just a very brief ride that the rotor is very hot, can barely touch it without getting burnt,

Touching the rear rotor is something I never do so I do not know if this normal, went into a little panic and followed up further taking it apart again and checking the glide pins for free movement and then lubed them, checked to see if anything was rubbing but do not see anything wrong, The brake seems to be functioning as normal, stops and spins as expected, spins free when parked, smooth, no indication of a warped rotor disk, abs kicks in when trying to lock it.

I then took out my 09 Kgt and found it does the same thing, I am guessing that this is normal for rotor to run this hot, hoping I do not have two bikes down although with BMW you never know.

Anybody out there touch the rear disk lately and is this a normal condition for this bike, I will check in with dealer but just wanted some real world feedback , it seems to me that the rotor should be cool or at least a only little warm like the fronts , this seems odd that that BMW would let this run this hot as normal because you would think it could cause warpage and other problems, any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks
Rick
 
The caliper actually is supposed to slide on a set of pins that come off the caliper carrier (the part that bolts to the final drive). I couldn't find a picture but those small rubber boots you see between the caliper and the carrier actually covers these pins. The caliper should be pulled off the carrier and those pins lubed every time you change pads. If not they get rusty and the caliper sticks and the pads drag and wear down faster.
I was going thru rear brake pads in less than 10k on my GS until a friend showed me that trick.
 
If the rear wheel spins with very little drag after a ride then your caliper is sliding OK. But they can and do hang, sometimes, if not lubed periodically. It is normal for rotors to get hot from the proper light pressure of pads on the rotor- too hot to comfortably touch if you've been riding a while. The continual cleanng and heating of the rotor surface is, among other things, what makes disc brakes far superior in wet weather to drum brakes.

Rear brakes on an R1200 last in proportion to how much they get used. If you use them a bunch, 11K wouldn't be silly short but most riders seem to rely fully on the linked front system so get maybe twice as much or a bit more miles.

The stock rear system has poor feel so doesn't encourage much use. I found that when I got rid of the stock pads and changed to EBC HHs (harder) to improve feel, I used the rear more and got even less pad life than otherwise.
 
Thanks Paul and Racer,

Paul I know about and did lube the slide pins , one was dry the other fine, not a problem , Racer my 07 GS does not have linked brakes that I know of , old school type rider and I do not use the rear brake that much, realizing of course it is alway wearing on the pads anyway, although I did buy the bike used.

The odd part is the short distance I need to drive to make the rotors hot , but as stated before my 09 Gt does the same thing.

I did talk to the dealer today and he indicated it is normal for the rear disk to run hot, mentioned the heat from the final drive and smaller disk then fronts as reasons, I feel like I am chaseing a non issue but still unsure why so hot so quickly. This can not be for the pads or the disk.


Thanks for the help and thoughts,
Rick
 
Rick,

I had the same problem on my 2007 R1200ST. After checking the rear caliper and finding no problem, I decided to allow the integrated brakes to do the rear braking instead of using my right foot. The result was a rear rotor that wasn't any hotter than the front rotors. Apparently I was overbraking on the rear, causing undo pad and rotor wear.
 
... my 07 GS does not have linked brakes that I know of...

You have ABS? An '07 came with I-ABS II (Integral ABS version 2). The "integral" part means that both front and rear are operated with the front lever. It is a partially integrated system in that the foot pedal only operates the rear brake.
 
And if you do have ABS, and are using the rear pedal for more than parking lot stuff, or holding the bike at a stop.. you're over-braking the rear. The sliding pins DO cause drag, so some warmth is normal, but hot enough to burn is hotter than it should be and you probably want to check the caliper movement on the pins/mount. Also make sure the rear reservoir isn't overfilled (it will be if brake fluid is added between pad changes..)
 
Thanks marchyman, I do have ABS and after the comments I looked into the Integral ABS version 2 further, I was unaware of the linking of the front brake and the rear on my 07 GS, see it now, but never really felt it though when braking.

I guess this makes sense now why the rear brake are hot even after thinking i am not not using them, checked in with second dealer today and they also confirmed that the rotor being hot is normal, as I mentioned my GT runs the same way.

deilenberger, I did check the brake fluid and it is alright , slide pins are free and the wheel spins freely, I still think the heat can't be good for the bike, have another friend who owns a 09 RT will check his rear rotor temp as well.

Thanks again
Rick
 
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