rear sv650 pads finished in 3k miles

Hi All,

I bought a pair of EBC organic when my bike only had 24k on the clock and now it is more like 27k and for the past few days I did hear the metal scratching against a surface when rear brake is applied but never thought it could be the pads.

this morning I checked it and after roughly 3k miles the pads are totally gone and on bare metal. is that normal ?
Pads normally last 10-15k or more . One thing though, I did enjoy looking up the rear while riding slow speed occasionally so little drift but nothing that can finish a pad in less than 5 month or 3k . is that normal ?

my sv650 is 2005 reg
the pads I bought were
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EBC-GG-Org...00907106125%26

I have them pads. Shouldn't be gone after 3k. Sounds like its been constantly rubbing on the disk.

Has it been hard to push around?

no all good. no resistence etc but very surprised that it has finished that quickly .

how long should they usually last ? I am asking as it is organic which makes me think that they may finish off quicker due to their material etc as they stick better and try to stop the bike quicker.

[Biker Biggles]

If they have not been binding perhaps you have been resting your toes on the lever?

Could be that the linings have come unstuck. Otherwise I can't think why they would be gone so quick.

No that is definitely not normal. With the V-twin characteristics you should hardly be doing a lot of hard breaking. My pads would go on forever if not for the abuse I give them on a weekly basis and to this day and over 30k I'm still to finish a set. So you need to check everything from caliper, pistons to wheel alignment etc to make sure everything's working as it should.

[Fallout]

Is the wear uneven? If the calliper isn't in good shape with sticky pistons/slides you could wear away one edge on one pad and have metal on metal before the other surfaces of the pads get a look in. The sliding pin on my Tiger was seized and wore the edge of my pads down in no time.

Also might be worth addressing your braking habits? If you like to brake hard and do most of your braking on the rear you're stopping the whole bike with two little surfaces. If you're heavy then they'll be taking even more abuse. Whatever school of thought you come from, be it 100% braking on the front, or most on the front and a bit on the rear, the front should be your primary stopping weapon.

I personally only use the rear for occasional low speed control or when breaking on loose surfaces.

Thanks mate, I believe my pin etc is all good but rather an issue with the pads or maybe while riding I have rested on the brake pedal thus all gone .

it is bare metal on both side across the pad so suggest braking issue.

I have heard most people say use the front only but why not rear , surely it is there to help slow you down ?

I think it would even balance the weight transfer as opposed to forcing it all on the front so if you needed to do steering then you would not perform just as well as the front is almost fully loaded

[Fallout]

Ahhh, it's a whole debate with different opinions, and people argue different sides and come from different camps.

The facts are when you brake the weight of the bike moves forward and the front forks compress. The front tyre is compressed and deforms, giving it a larger surface contact with the road. At the same time the weight comes off the rear and it's surface contact becomes smaller. Under extreme braking, when the rear tyre is almost off the ground, it's surface contact with the road is almost nil (or nil when you're in stoppy territory! )

For this reason the front brake has all the power, and it's why you have two callipers and larger pads there. The harder you brake, the more grip the front tyre has and the better the front is at stopping you. If you watch motoGP riders they rarely use the rear brake, and in fact into many corners you can visibly see the rear wheel come off the ground. Applying rear brake there would just lock the wheel. They certainly don't have any problems tipping in, and will brake right up until the apex, easing off as they lean in more.

When you're not braking like a mofo, it's totally up to you how you use the rear. Many people like to balance it front and rear for stability and whatnot. People throw figures around like 70%-30% front/rear split and things like that. Personally I think that's rubbish because it's a dynamic process. The harder you brake, the LESS rear brake you want to apply, because the less grip the rear wheel has and the higher the chance of locking it up. So 70/30 split type figures are meaningless.

Then there is mid-cornering where some people will argue a bit of rear brake is safer than front brake, and they're probably right. Ideally you do all your braking before you tip in and you are on the power through the bend, as that's the best way to balance a bike.

Whatever you do, just do what's comfortable for you. Just be aware emergency/hard braking is where the rear has the least effect. It'll take you far longer to slow down and you're more likely to lock it.

As I said, I only use the front personally. I get my breaking done before I tip into a corner. The exception is with poor road surfaces (gravel), I'll use the rear because locking the front is pretty much a guaranteed off. I'll also use it for fine control on pesky mini-roundabouts or stupid super tight turns.

As I said though, many schools of thought on use of the rear, but everyone agrees the front is your primary stopping weapon.