New tires!

[elbandito]

Got my Shinko 009s mounted today.  What a difference... I didn't realize how old and worn my OEM tires were.  I actually had a hard time handling the bike in the beginning (thus making me real nervous approaching corners).  I've only got about 30 miles on them after a couple of errands but plan on putting a couple of hundred on them this week.  

I miss just dumping it over in the turns...  

Soon... soon  

EDIT:  Oh ya, replaced my rear brake pads and fluid too.  They were worn almost down to the metal backplates.  Odd... the fronts don't look that worn at all (and are the original pads).  I'm going to replace them and the front fluid anyway.

[2005B12S]

New tires make a workld of difference.

Seriously, all flaming aside, you should not be wearing rear pads before the front. This tells me you are not fully using the front brakes properly, the front is where 90% of your stopping ability lies. It is very common for new riders to be intimidated to use the front brake aggressively.

Find a nice clean patch of road and practice full stops using only the front brake. Get more aggressive as you gain confidence. You should be able to get the rear end very light under full braking.

In a panic stop using the rear as your primary braking source, the rear wheel will lock and you will slide into your obstacle.

Good Luck, Ed

[pmackie]

Seriously, all flaming aside, you should not be wearing rear pads before the front

A couple of other factors to consider here...I wore out my rears well before the fronts as well. Likely in part as I use the rear brake a bunch after braking and turn in to keep the bike settled in the turns (and I ride mostly turns ).

Pad composition is slightly different front to back on the 2nd gen 600 as well, although I would have expected the GG rears to wear better, but they didn't. The rear pad size is also quite small compared to the overall pad size of the fronts.

Make sure your pedal is adjusted so that your not putting light pressure on the rear pads as you ride as well.

[elbandito]

It isn't a fear issue for me at all.  I didn't expect my rears to be worn nearly as much as they are.  I guess it's a matter of my foot being "heavier" than my fingers.  I must just not be squeezing hard enough on the fronts.

If I recall correctly, I was taught to brake evenly (front/rear) in the MSF course.  I know most of the braking power is up front, but I do try and use my rear brake too.  Otherwise, why would it be there??

[Red01]

I don't know what they're teaching in the current MSF training, but use of the rear brake needs to be less and less as weight transfers forward becuase the available traction for the rear tire becomes less and less as weight transfers forward - and you don't want to lock a wheel, that means you've exceeded the available traction.

The rear brake IS useful at very low speeds, such as parking lot maneuvers and speeds below which countersteering comes into play. Getting heavy with the front brake here can lead to dumping the bike.

What's always good is to find a safe place and practice emergency braking to improve and maintain your proficiency so that it becomes natural.

[Red01]

Here's some good writing on brakes by David Hough (pronounced "Huff" in case you ever wondered), author of Proficient Motorcycling, More Proficient Motorcycling & Street Strategies:

Road Science: Braking - Part 1

Road Science: Braking - Part 2

No matter how good you are, it's always worthwhile to brush up. The skin you save will likely be your own.