Brake Pad Lifespan

[Blade]

On the average, I will get about 10 to 12K out of the front and about 7K street riding on the liter bikes. Racing I only get about 3K if I am lucky front and back.

Yeesh, only 7K out of the back street riding?  No lane-splitting here, but my commute is all surface streets, which means a lot of 4-way stops and traffice lights.

Yep that is about all I get, especially if I am doing a lot of twisties. I really do not use the rear as a brake but more of a reostat that will help me vary speed or help stop spinup.

[Sven]

I agree there's some contact but the rotor shouldn't be hot.  You could try an experiment and ride 10 - 20 miles in your "normal" riding position/style using only your front brake to stop.... if the rear disk is hot perhaps you have a stuck caliper.

On my way to work this morning, when it was only 84F, I forgot and used the back brake.  On my way home, when it was 105F, I remembered, and rode home (about 14 miles) with only the front brake.  WHen I got home, the front rotors were too hot to touch, and the back rotors were hot, but no where near as hot as the front...and I would expect them to be warm from the ambient emperature, the exhaust, the engine, etc.

With the lever lower, I did decide that I don't ride the brake without knowing it, my foot position is fine.

This was good practise, since it reminded me how little the back brakes really work, and also just as a reminder to stay off the back brake. When I rented the BMW R1150RT in June, it had linked brakes, which means you have no choice but to brake in the rear, regardless of whether you want to or not.

[android12]

I cant complain witht he OEM's Im near 16k and I see a lot of life left in front and rear. I was wondering about this too....

[mademiriam]

well...this topic has always intrigued me, but I didn't think i'd be involved in the discussion until maybe the end of this year.....While swapping my wheels out to get my new BT-016 (super excited about this) I noticed my front pads were shot! Totally gone, as had to find a place locally as I couldn't ride it anymore. Thats 7000km on a set of EBC metallics. In short the pads lasted as long as the rear tire. The rear pads also have 7000km on them and should be good for another season at least.
My riding habits with the weight of the bandit are beginning to get costly.