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Display Mesage #111365


Rear brake life
Written by attitudehats on 3/17/2012 at 04:44 am

Years ago, I acquired a neglected and abused 89 with 14k miles. I used it to
commute year round everyday in heavy to very heavy stop + go rush hour traffic.
About 5200 miles a tears. May not sound like much, but after a couple of years+,
I wore out the clutch lever where it connects. The whole was gigantic and there
was terrific slop. Started keeping track of how many times I pulled the clutch
in and out, and found out I was averaging about 450 in+outs Every Day(!)...well,
5 times a week meant 2,250 times, and in one year that meant 117,000 times! 2.5
years and I approached 250,000 times easy.

so..., unlike probably most PC owners here who drive more miles at higher speeds
and rack up the mileage, I don't, but I DO punish the PC hard asking it to do
this task. Obviously, in dense city traffic, I've got a lot of rear braking
going on. I use it and i don't think about it.

So I got this 89 with 14k, and at 36k I put new rubber on, thought about how far
up the rod I had adjusted the rear brake, saw the arrow lining up there, so I
inspected and saw the pads were about done. So new ones were installed.

To answer your question, Yes, it is indeed possible for rear brake pads to be
worn out in the 30k range, IF the bike was used like I am using mine.

I say inspect you rear brake adjusting rod, and see how far the wingnut has been
adjusted up the rod there. That should give you a better idea of what's left. If
the arrows are not close yo being lined up, your pads are likely fine. If you
hav an air hose handy, the next time you pull the rear wheel, make the time to
clean the guts there out real good. I suppose, depending on the environment,
there could be a whole lotta crud there, causing odd noises.

fwiw, I now have a 98 with very low mileage, so I'm paying much more attention
to everything.

High mileage isn't everything in analyzing sometimes.

hth

Marko


--- In ipcrc@yahoogroups.com, "revconprince" <daveinet@...> wrote:
>
> For those who have tons of miles on your bike, how long do the rear brakes
last? With 36K miles, is it possible for them to be be worn out? They started
making noise today. They also clunk when I first apply the brake. I really don't
want to pull the rear wheel if I don't have to, I have better things to do with
my time, but should I be suspicious of the pad wear?
>

Message Thread for message #111365