Front Brake Pads

[willpower719]

I decided to check out the front pads since I just rolled over 21,000 miles on the trusty '14 Valk. The right hand caliper had approx 50% left on both sides of the C. The left hand side had approx 50% on the inboard side pad and down to the metal on the outboard side. New pads on the way just curious if anyone else encountered this and the remedy?

Thanks

[ledany]

Not at all, pads were equally used. I was not crazy about the OEM pads, I bought TWR Lucas pads, I think they are far better.

[bscrive]

Ledany,
Do those pads squeal at all?  I bought some EBC pads for my old Interstate and it sounded like rocks grinding when I put the brakes on.  I went back to the OEM pads.

[Robert]

Pretty normal in most cases but the things to check are calipers movement on the slides. Pad pins that secure the pads are not dirty and causing the pads to hand and air in the system.

Bscrive

You know we have the sintered pads on our bikes? EBC pads are mostly sintered and that would cause the noise and feel you were talking about, if you used sintered after the normal factory pads. When I changed the front rotors on the 1500 and went with the sintered pads everything was ok but with the stock rotors it was not a pleasant noise.

[ledany]

@Brian : fortunately the Lucas pads are OK. But with the OEM pads I had a constant rubbing noise, even though I was not using the brakes. The dealer said " It's normal with the Tokico "  ???

On my former BMW K1200 R and later K1200 GT, I had a steel noise when using the brakes and I never found a satisfying solution.

[willpower719]

I don't know if its a "no no" to shed a dim light on a parts provider on here but my experience with a popular brake pad site was less than savory. They wanted $71.00 per caliper (3) totaling around $220!
I checked my local Honda dealer and they wanted around $50 per C(Honda OEM). A local bike shop wanted $40 per C. I couldn't believe the pad manufacturers site was that much more than Honda OEM or  the same exact pads from another source! Just needed to vent! Feel better.

[bscrive]

My front pads started making noise this weekend, so I decided to pull the brakes to have a look tonight.  The right side was fine, but the left side was not.  The inner pad was worn twice as much as the outer pad.  I decided to check to see if a calliper piston was seized, but they all moved fine.  The sliders though were pretty caked with brake dust.  I cleaned them off and I have a set of pads on order to put in.  I know I could run these for a while yet, but I never take chances with brakes.

[willpower719]

Bscrive I had the exact thing happen to me. Changed both sides and keeping an eye on it. I also discovered the rear requires removing the wheel to get the caliper off.

[ledany]

Nope. I changed the rear pads recently (what a mess !) and I didn't remove the wheel.

I think you have to dismantle the calliper from the left side of the bike. I installed Lucas MCB 840 SH but it could have been Brembo 07H04308 

[Robert]

Yes Ledney is right no need to remove caliper or rear wheel.

[Firefight100]

Brake pads are evaporating!  New 2014, now with 16 thousand on it.  And two trips were all highway each over 5k .  So 6k of normal town and short highway use.
My front end has had a grinding noise since new, like sand in the pads?  Anyway though I would check them again and found the l inboard pad is down thru the pad.  other pads wearing evenly. Rotor is in good shape thankfully.
So now it sits on jack stands waiting for new pad to hopefully get here next week....  I ordered two sets... So 16k and needs brakes? 

[ledany]

In french, "malabar" is the colloquial word for strong ! " un malabar " means "a strong man ". Maybe that's the explanation ?
I hope you ordered sinter pads (Brembo or TWR Lucas) they are the most efficient I know. 

[Firefight100]

I ordered 1 set of organic and 1 set of carbon fiber.  I have used sintered on my other bikes but they do wear out the rotors excessively.  So now I am staying away from them.  I have had great look with the carbon fiber ones too, but lots of black brake dust to clean off the wheels.

[ledany]

Yes, still ! I've ben using sinter pads for years now and my bikes had often more than 62,000 mls and the rotors were still OK. To tell the truth, I don't mind the rotors weariness as long as I have the maximum possible braking efficiency ! 

 - and I always thought that the malabar gum was french because of the silly name -

[Robert]

I have used sintered on my other bikes but they do wear out the rotors excessively.  ]

The 1500 is not made for sintered brakes but the 1800 and many bikes are. The difference is the metal the rotor is made from.

[bscrive]

Any issues with using ceramic pads on our bikes.  I found a complete set of fronts and rear on eBay for a ridiculously cheap price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Rear-Ceramic-Brake-Pads-2014-Honda-GL1800-Valkyrie-Set-Full-Kit-ye-/152552902671?fits=Model%3AValkyrie+1800&hash=item2384dc900f:g:aZYAAOSwJH1ZHaqv&vxp=mtr

[Firefight100]

I ordered mine off amazon.  Cant beat the price.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W2GWAZS/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Robert]

Ceramic will be fine on our bikes as the ceramic are not as hard on rotors as the sintered.