bad brake pads

[kawboyCAFE]

hey guys & gals. i got my vulcan 500 on march 17 this year. i have put a little under 4,000 miles on it so far. last saturday when i got off my bike at work i decided to look at my front brakes because they were squeaking more than usual. i was shocked when i looked at them. there was about a hairs width pad left on them and that was it. the 650 vstar i use to have had over 17,000 miles on it when i changed the pads and they looked better than these. well, i called my local dealer and told them about the pads. normally dealers dont have to honor brake pads under warranty because it is considered a wear-&-tear item. but i lucked out because my cousin works the parts counter and they gave me some new pads and set it up to come out under warranty. so i got lucky on that one. well, just thought i would share that with you guys.

by the way, have you guys had your pads wear out prematurely? just curious.

[GeorgiaRider]

I just replaced mine at 18,300K miles and I had enough brake to last through the weekend per the shop, so I let them keep it. They put EBC brakes on them and I didn't notice any of the annoying squeaking after riding for about 20 miles.

[Triangles]

My '06 has 9k and I need to check the brakes. You're supposed to replace them when there's 1mm of pad left. I think I'm getting close. I had good results with SBS ceramic pads on my gz250 so I'm getting them for my vulcan. They're sold under the parts unlimited brand / catalog.

[fastpakr]

I just installed a set of EBC FA85's this morning. No squeaking at all. Not sure how many miles were on the existing set of pads. They appeared to be OEM Kawasaki pads, but they may not have been the factory set. A bit under 24k miles on the bike.

[burkbuilds]

My OEM pads needed replacement before 11,000 miles. Compared to the GZ250 I was riding before, that was a lot, but based on some of your comments here, maybe not what I should have gotten, especially considering that I put a very high percentage of my miles on riding the Interstate, where I rarely need to use the brakes.

[fastpakr]

I just went back to make 100% certain that mine were oem and can't lay my hands on them. In any case, I put 8k on the bike before replacing them and they were already fairly thin when I bought it last Fall.

[kawboyCAFE]

i guess mine just had some crappy pads on it from the factory. oh well, atleast i got some pads for free to replace them. if these wear out quick too, i am getting some good aftermarkets next time. i probably will anyway.

[burkbuilds]

These should be good pads for about $16 delivered USD.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/1504687464 ... 602_263632

[fastpakr]

Have you dealt with the seller before? I'd be a little hesitant to buy brandless pads from someone on eBay. The EBC's are only $30 from Motorcycle Superstore.

[burkbuilds]

This is the same seller I bought from last Fall when I replaced my OEM's and they've been great so far. (over 8,000 miles and counting). The pads I linked to are a step up from the ones I bought last year, and the seller has a 99.7% positive rating with several thousand e-bay sells. I'm working in the R & D department with NAPA right now in the automotive brake division (Raylock) and based on what I am seeing there, I'd guess most of the brake pads for just about anything are probably being made in China now and the distributor has the burden of making sure they are manufactured to specs and meet the Quality expectations. If you feel better about paying $30 for brakes from a local retailer then go for it, but they probably aren't any different than any aftermarket brakes of the same materials you'd get from any retailer right now. Now, having said that, I'd also have to say that not many aftermarket parts are made as exactingly as the OEM's are for fit and finish, but that doesn't mean that they won't out perform the OEMs in durability and other performance areas. Good luck with whichever you decide to buy.

[fastpakr]

As long a you've already dealt with the sellers product it wouldn't really concern me much at all. I've already replaced mine so it's kind of a moot point,I was just curious.