have i run out of brakes?

[phaedrus]

i've been getting some squeaking from my brakes recently, so I pulled out one of the front pads and then I realised something important. I have no idea what to look for. By the way that the green paint goes all the way to the disc side of the pad and the brass-like flecks on the face, I would think that I've munched through the entire thing. Am I right?

edit: how long do they normaly last

[bugjuice]

looks like you've got plenty left yet.. The green paint is only to pretty up the back. You don't want anything on the sides or the face of the pads - ever. That groove in the middle will give you a good idea about how much is left. When the pad is down to the bottom of that groove, then it's time to get some new ones. How long they last? Well that'll depend on how you ride the bike.

One word of caution - you've mentioned you've got no idea what to look for, which would indicate you aren't too familiar with brakes and their workings. Just be real careful and real sure about how you reassemble everything - you're counting/riding on your work here..

[phaedrus]

looks like you've got plenty left yet..

One word of caution - you've mentioned you've got no idea what to look for, which would indicate you aren't too familiar with brakes and their workings. Just be real careful and real sure about how you reassemble everything - you're counting/riding on your work here..

thanks for that. it's all back together and stops. I'd read somwhere that comets came with soft brake pads, so the new squeaking noise made me start wondering about them.

[bugjuice]

sometimes brakes squeak a bit when they're cold. If they always squeak bad, then may be get them checked out, or take the pads out and check there's no stones, brake dust or dirt trapped between the pads and disc. The 'brass' bits in the pad are meant to be there, don't worry ;)

[Flyingpony]

From the photo your brake pad looks fine.

As for the squeak, it might have something to do with how hard you brake.
If you do mostly light braking then try some heavies and it'll go away for a while.

My bike front brake used to squeak when it was new too, and a-now-and-then heavy braking got rid of it. With some km under the belt and a different braking style, the squeaks are gone.

As for brake pad life, so far I've done 12,000km of nearly pure commuting without any worries and they've plenty of life left.

If you are deeply worried, go back to the bike shop and ask them to give it a quick look and maybe spin around the block. They'll tell you up straight the situation.

[JohnBoy]

a few heavier applications should do it, if not you might have to strip them down and clean them if the noise gets too much. i clean mine about every 3rd or 4th wash

[GKTaylor]

Your ZX7 always had squeaky brakes when cold when I owned it - the only time it didnt was when I used the original factory pads - I found them to be the best of all the pads I tryed on her. PS nice shots of you crashing her - brought a tear to my eye!

[vifferman]

Crikey (wowsie!) - how the fork do you guys diagnose anything from that crap-arse picture? :spudwhat: I couldn't even see the brake pad!

However (BUT!) what these guys have said (they're geniuses, I tells ya!) is correct.
As for the squeaking - that could be because the surface of the pads is all glazed and shiny (just guessing here - like I said, I couldn't see nuttin). Give them a clean with some brake cleaner, and the surface a bit of a scuff up with sandpaper.
Also, behind the pad there should be an anti-rattle shim - thist also helps to stop squeaking. If this is missing, or a bit tired, or stuck, or full of crap, it could also contribute to the noise.

[GKTaylor]

Ya know - they might not even be in there at all (anti-rattle shims) I put three sets of pads on that bike and don't recall seeing them, I recall what your talking about vifferman on one of my older suzuki's years ago, I thought they may have done way with them due to the stainless plate on the back of brake calipers which applies pressure to the pads top edges???

[vifferman]

I thought they may have done way with them due to the stainless plate on the back of brake calipers which applies pressure to the pads top edges???
I dunno, but they were there on my VTR1000, and I recall reading somewhere that you could buy aftermarket ones.
But then :whocares: I just pluck stuff like this out of the air, or regurgitate crap I read on the interdweeb or whatever...
But at least I didn't say the squeaky brakes needed lubrication. :whistle:

Speaking of which - the 'old school wisdom' was to put a bit of Copperslip or whatever on the back of the pads to stop squeaking, but I read recently on the interdweeb that this is very naughty, regardless of whether any of it finds its way onto the disks, as it does bad things to caliper seals. :nono:

[John]

Squeaking can also be something you _really_ dont want, ask a mech to test the disk for warping...

[bugjuice]

Squeaking can also be something you _really_ dont want, ask a mech to test the disk for warping...
on a commet 250? yeah, if you've been trying stoppies..

[ManDownUnder]

One word of caution - you've mentioned you've got no idea what to look for, which would indicate you aren't too familiar with brakes and their workings. Just be real careful and real sure about how you reassemble everything - you're counting/riding on your work here..

Good call dude... very good call.

This is life and death stuff..

[John]

on a commet 250? yeah, if you've been trying stoppies..
Good on you for not having an utter clue :)