Heads Up Gen 3 Rear Brake Wear

[MartyO]

I pulled the wheels off my 2014 ES to put on some new Pilot Roads. When I was putting it back together I noticed my rear brake pads are worn out. Found it just in time. All 4 sets of front pads have lots of life left. This is at 41,000 miles.

My 2006 wore all 5 sets of pads out around 50,000 miles and all sets wore pretty much evenly. The 2014 front pads are hardly worn and the back is way low. I know I'm harder on the brakes on my 2014 than my 2006 and they work great. Softer pads on the back and harder on the front then my Gen 2?

Just a heads up to check those rear brake pads on your Gen 3's.

Enjoy the ride,

 

[Allen_C]

I have 34.3k miles on my '14ES and still have about 1/3-1/2 left on the rear pads. I check every tire change and the wear seems to be even.

 

[HotRodZilla]

You sure your rear brake pedal isn't sticking?

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Thanks for the heads up. By the way I am envious of you and Allen for the miles you guys have racked up on your 2014. Its hard to add many miles with our short riding season and spreading the love with my other bikes.

 

[dcarver]

Thanks for the heads up. By the way I am envious of you and Allen for the miles you guys have racked up on your 2014. Its hard to add many miles with our short riding season and spreading the love with my other bikes.

..I'm still out there but it IS chilly. 21F for miles and miles the last two mornings..

...and to stay on topic, Thanks for the heads up, I'll be monitoring Naomi..

 

[escapefjrtist]

Good you caught it before metal to metal...thanks for the heads-up!

--G

 

[SkooterG]

I find it hard to believe there has been any kind of change from Gen II to Gen III rear brakes. I would first be concerned of some problem with your specific FJR.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Yeah, sounds a little odd, but worn out with front pads still good at 41k? First of all, if the brakes were worn out at 41k I wouldn't think that to be too abnormal, but maybe you need to use the fronts more. I have a buddy who wears his rears out also, and when I asked questions, it didn't seem he was doing anything unusual to cause it (i.e., he does use fronts enough). Check that back pedal though.

 

[wfooshee]

I, too, suspect a sticky brake pedal, but he doesn't mention issues with the cruise control.

MartyO, have you had issues with the cruise control not setting, or do you even use the cruise? Sticky brake pedal would mean brake lights on all the time. Check the pedal by operating it with your hand from off the bike, and watch it when you let go. Does it come all the way off by itself, or does it come off a bit slowly? Clean the pivot point, and that should be an annual thing, at least. Also, make sure you're not resting your boot toe on the pedal, even lightly, as you ride.

Was the pad wear eve, or one side only? Even points to pedal, one side points to caliper. The rear caliper is the sliding kind, just like the front brakes on a car, and if it can't slide, it hugs the rotor with one pad.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

My rears were gone at 18K on my 2014. Still using the original fronts, but they're close. But I primarily brake with the pedal, and it was a spirited 18K.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

57K on my '13, and still have a good amount of rear pad left...fronts in great shape. I got 75K out of my rear pads on Gen I, and 88K out of them on rear Gen II...hoping Gen III fares as well.

 

[MartyO]

I checked and the brake part numbers are the same on the Gen 2's and Gen 3's. I use the cruise often and it works fine. I check my brake lights and pedal action each morning. I do get an ABS light that flashes occasionally out of the blue. You can apply the brakes and it goes away. I'll see if my Yammie mechanic will check it out on my YES warranty.

If it was sticking I suspect the front pads of the linked brakes would be worn too and they are not. I primarily use my front brakes. Thanks to all for your experience and insightful suggestions.

I am fortunate to ride in Southern California. A lot of sunny days year around and we get to split lanes.

 

[Fred W]

If it was sticking I suspect the front pads of the linked brakes would be worn too and they are not. I primarily use my front brakes. Thanks to all for your experience and insightful suggestions.

No, the unified braking system has a proportioning valve in the rear brake circuit. You have to exceed a certain level of fluid pressure before it will break-over and apply pressure to the front lower right pads. The pedal being stuck (a very common situation on all FJRs) would cause the rear caliper to not retract fully, but would not be enough pressure to push past the proportioning valve.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Hmmmm. Thanks for the heads-up, MartyO. I was a 'front brake only' kind of guy until the FJR, and now use the brakes at close to a 50/50 ratio. Only have 21,000 on mine, but will start checking.

 

[HotRodZilla]

****...

Person #1: "Gosh, something's wrong with my brakes because this happens."

Person #2: "This is what's wrong."

Person #1: "No, that's not what's wrong, because I don't think that's it."

Person #2: "Ok!"

IF YOUR ABS LIGHT IS COMING ON, AND YOUR REAR PADS ARE DISAPPEARING, YOUR REAR BRAKE PEDAL IS STICKING. IT IS NOT A Y.E.S ISSUE, IT IS A MAINTENANCE ISSUE. KEEP IGNORING IT AND YOUR REAR DISK WILL WARP, WHICH WILL ALSO NOT BE A Y.E.S. ISSUE!

I mean...Unless you THINK it's something else, then it probaby is. Jeeze.

 

[mcatrophy]

****...Person #1: "Gosh, something's wrong with my brakes because this happens."

Person #2: "This is what's wrong."

Person #1: "No, that's not what's wrong, because I don't think that's it."

Person #2: "Ok!"

IF YOUR ABS LIGHT IS COMING ON, AND YOUR REAR PADS ARE DISAPPEARING, YOUR REAR BRAKE PEDAL IS STICKING. IT IS NOT A Y.E.S ISSUE, IT IS A MAINTENANCE ISSUE. KEEP IGNORING IT AND YOUR REAR DISK WILL WARP, WHICH WILL ALSO NOT BE A Y.E.S. ISSUE!

I mean...Unless you THINK it's something else, then it probaby is. Jeeze.

Or possibly a rider's foot leaning on the pedal a lot of the time.
Ps. My warped disc on my front brake was treated by Yamaha as a warranty issue, but that was a very low mileage.

 

[Fred W]

I would imagine that worn brake pads would be excluded under warranty as a "wear item", but a warped rotor, especially if it was due to a sticking brake pedal, should still be covered for the duration of the warranty, assuming that you have been lubing the pedal pivot per the maintenance schedule or having a Yamaha service center do all of the maintenance. While pads are supposed to wear out, a disk is not normally supposed to warp.

Now if you just have big boots and ride with your toe covering the pedal caused it, well all bets are off. I never think of that because I always ride with the foot pegs under the balls of my feet.

 

[HotRodZilla]

 

[Mudslide Miller]

Yes, your ABS light coming on is not normal. I have about the same mileage as the OP & have never had my ABS light come on. My rear pads are fine and I use them about 30 percent of the time along with front use.