Replaced unevenly worn front brake pads today

[LarryJa]

I had noticed that my front brake pads were getting a bit thin. So, i replaced them today.
All eight removed pads varied in wear thickness. A couple were pretty thin. A couple seemed hardly worn, & the rest still had a little life left to them.
The wear thicknesses didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason to them, in particular.
I did change all the front brake pads, as recommended in the triumph shop manual.
Is the varying wear thicknesses of my front brake pads typical, or this unusual?
It is pretty curious, to me, to see them vary as much.

[Noggin]

Glad you asked that question, I too recently replaced all the front pads on my bike, also finding the same as you, assumed it was just the way thing wore out, but then remembered that the back and (some) of the front brakes are linked, can't remember which ones now, but they seem to be the one that have done most work.

[Coconut]

The Linked Brake System operates on the two lower pistons
of the front right Caliper only.

It woidkl be reasonable to expect the lower right pair of pads
to wear a little more than the other six.

If there is any great variation across the other pads then
it could indicate that there is a little air in the brake line / caliper pot
for the piston(s) operating on the thickest Pad(s),
or that there is a little air in that Brake line / Caliper,
restricting the full pressure being applied to the Pad(s).





 

[smash]

I don't think I've ever seen brake pads wear evenly on a motorcycle.

[rpeters549]

Since the calipers are right down near the wet/gunky/dusty road, they pick up a lot of crap.
Many people will annually disassemble the calipers to unsure the pistons are clean, pins are lubed, etc.  If all parts are moving as intended they will wear more evenly.
But, I agree with above - they always seem to be a touch uneven.

Even cleaning mine they stay uneven - because I rarely use the rear brake.

[Yaga1973]

Originally Posted by smash

I don't think I've ever seen brake pads wear evenly on a motorcycle.

Based on my experience, I'd agree with this.  LOL!

[LarryJa]

Today, I realized an interesting product of my front brake pad change.
I, finally, got the time to take my bike out & wear in those new front pads. I immediately noted that the front brakes had a load more "bite" to them with the new pads! I replace the previous pads with exact replacements the the "hh" ebc pads that the PO had already been using.
Previously, I had been disappointed with the initial bite of the front brakes, but not any more.
Very interesting.....

[GhostRiderZZ]

Holy thread resurrection batman etc...

I happened across this thread after cleaning up the front calipers, after having to replace a leaky fork seal...and just wanted to assist with anyone else noticing uneven pad wear.

I found the same when removing the pads (have owned the Trophy for about a year now) as its the first chance I have had to remove them and take a good look.

I noticed that some of the pads were more worn than others (bike has approx 57, 000 miles) and that some pistons were sticking out more than others.

I removed the pads and checked the operation of the pistons, and found some not moving very much.

After cleaning with a toothbrush, brake cleaner and some elbow grease....all pistons now operate as before. I popped the old pads back in (while I wait for some new ones in the post) and took the bike for a shakedown, brakes operated smoothly and felt strong.

If anyone else wants to try this, its something thats probably worth doing annually to keep check of your brake operation and prevent the pistons seizing...

Do one side at a time so when you do operate the brake lever, one side bites the disc and you dont overextend the pistons.

Get a bucket of hot soapy water and a toothbrush, and loosen caliper mounting bolts and pad retaining pins while caliper is on the bike.

Remove and hold / get assistant to hold caliper.

Take a look into the caliper and at the pistons, operate the front brake lever GENTLY and look at which pistons move and which dont.

Push all pistons back in.

Remove top or bottom pair of pads and repeat. If you have a sticky piston, hold others in place while operating brake lever...this should allow the stuck piston to move.

Get the toothbrush in and clean the pistons as best as possible.

Push back in with your thumbs and operate the brake lever again to check movement of piston....all should be nice and smooth.

Rinse and repeat with other pads and pistons and put back together!

Finally - take a look at the pad retaining pins, if they are notched or overly worn, they can cause the pads to bind and not grip the disc evenly.

Forgot to take photos / video, but this Dave Moss video on YouTube should really help and pretty much explains everything I did above!

Ride safe!!!