Uneven brake pad wear question

[SatchelHopkins]

Hi all,

My question is on a 2012 1200RT, but I think that it would be a pretty generic question so I put it here.

I had my rear caliper off today and was able to take a close look at my rear brake pads. They are wearing unevenly. Meaning the left pad material is about 2mm thick and the right one is closer to 5mm. I've always been accustomed to a brake caliper kind of self centering as the pads wear to maintain even wear. Is this situation that I have indicative of something not working correctly?

Thanks

 

[Geekmaster]

It could be that the slides are not well lubricated and binding up. That could cause one side to ride closer to the disc and wear more. I would recommend taking off the caliper and doing a thorough cleaning and lubrication.

 

[SatchelHopkins]

It could be that the slides are not well lubricated and binding up. That could cause one side to ride closer to the disc and wear more. I would recommend taking off the caliper and doing a thorough cleaning and lubrication.

Thanks. I'm going to replace the pads and I will go over it when I do.

It make me cringe to think about pressure only being exerted on one side of the disc. It is a new to me bike, so this is assuming that the person before me didn't just replace one pad or something.

 

[langoptc]

When inspecting, make sure that the slider pin is in good condition making sure there is not a groove worn into the pin that could be causing the pad to stick.

 

[SatchelHopkins]

When inspecting, make sure that the slider pin is in good condition making sure there is not a groove worn into the pin that could be causing the pad to stick.

Thank you, will do.

 

[tomcatt]

Thank you, will do.

Yep. Good advice here. Check the pins, lube them and accept that with a floating caliper, uneven pad wear is the nature of the beast.

 

[SatchelHopkins]

Just an update. I finally got my pads in the mail and went through this thing. It's amazing to me that the rear brakes are much easier to replace than the headlight bulbs.

Anyway, the pistons that the caliper float on were very free moving, no problem there. The pin that the pads ride on was a bit crusty, though not bound up. It could have been enough to cause uneven pressure though the holes in the pads quite larger than the pin. I'm thinking that the wear over time may just come with the territory as @tomcatt mentioned above.

I cleaned and polished up the pin, so that will either keep it from happening in the future or it won't. At least I have the peace of mind that everything seems to be in good shape.

 

[gregfeeler]

Just an update. I finally got my pads in the mail and went through this thing. It's amazing to me that the rear brakes are much easier to replace than the headlight bulbs.

Anyway, the pistons that the caliper float on were very free moving, no problem there. The pin that the pads ride on was a bit crusty, though not bound up. It could have been enough to cause uneven pressure though the holes in the pads quite larger than the pin. I'm thinking that the wear over time may just come with the territory as @tomcatt mentioned above.

I cleaned and polished up the pin, so that will either keep it from happening in the future or it won't. At least I have the peace of mind that everything seems to be in good shape.

I've seen uneven (side to side) rear pad wear on a number of the bikes I've owned with Brembo calipers. Couldn't ever find a reason so have just been careful to inspect both pads for wear.

 

[SatchelHopkins]

I've seen uneven (side to side) rear pad wear on a number of the bikes I've owned with Brembo calipers. Couldn't ever find a reason so have just been careful to inspect both pads for wear.

Thanks for the info Greg. I'll keep an eye on it going forward.

 

[tomcatt]

I've seen uneven (side to side) rear pad wear on a number of the bikes I've owned with Brembo calipers. Couldn't ever find a reason so have just been careful to inspect both pads for wear.

The reason is: it's a floating caliper. Doesn't matter what brand it is. Fixed calipers (with opposed pistons vs a floating caliper with the piston(s) on just one side) normally have more even pad wear.

 

[m_stock10506]

I'm not familiar with the caliper on the 1200 bike, but uneven pad wear on the one-sided caliper of my 1100RT was due to the caliper pin having some corrosion on it and sticking enough to hold the one side of the caliper against the rotor. This can also happen when the pad guide pin has dirt or rust and doesn't allow the pad to freely slide away from the rotor. The caliper pin was a remove, clean and grease procedure. After that it's just been a check to see if the caliper moves freely. The pad guide pin is a clean with wet/dry paper then coat with a little anti-sieze at every pad replacement.

 

[PGlaves]

I'm not familiar with the caliper on the 1200 bike, but uneven pad wear on the one-sided caliper of my 1100RT was due to the caliper pin having some corrosion on it and sticking enough to hold the one side of the caliper against the rotor. This can also happen when the pad guide pin has dirt or rust and doesn't allow the pad to freely slide away from the rotor. The caliper pin was a remove, clean and grease procedure. After that it's just been a check to see if the caliper moves freely. The pad guide pin is a clean with wet/dry paper then coat with a little anti-sieze at every pad replacement.

This situation can easily be examined with one of those remote sensing "aim it at it" thermometers available on Amazon or at Harbor Freight for not too many dollars. Check one side of the disk vs the others and/or one side of the pads vs the other.

 

[tomcatt]

This situation can easily be examined with one of those remote sensing "aim it at it" thermometers available on Amazon or at Harbor Freight for not too many dollars. Check one side of the disk vs the others and/or one side of the pads vs the other.

Please share with us what your temp readings were when doing this.

 

[PGlaves]

Please share with us what your temp readings were when doing this.

I don't remember. But the point is if one side is rubbing and the other is not, there will be a temperature difference. The actual temperatures will vary depending on the length of the ride before the test. But if there is a difference between one side of the disk and the other you can detect it.