Seaking Posted May 3, 2009 Share #1 Posted May 3, 2009 Argh close call.. Just a heads up for those not too sure about their brakes on the Venture.. I was starting to hear strange sounds from my rear brakes when I applied them but when I checked the pads I could see quite a bit of wear left on the one side but the inside pad I couldn't see properly.. but hey, if the outside pad has life left to them then the inside pads must also, right? Egads no.. Just because the noise was making me nervous, I opted to change the pads out anyway, what the heck, start of the season, at least I'll know they'll be good for most of the rest of the summer.. and dayum!! Might as well say it was metal on metal.. Though the outside pad showed life left to it, the inner pad was wore right down to the metal pad holder.. wow.. Good thing I didn't decide to push it further.. It certainly didn't sound like a worn pad metal to metal sound but now I know what it sounds like on this bike.. The hardest part of the job is taking the bag off the bike.. So when in doubt, get in there and check.. I was quite surprised how badly worn they were.. wow. and Phew for going ahead with the pad change.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOO Posted May 3, 2009 Share #2 Posted May 3, 2009 Yeah, one side wears a lot faster than the other side. If you get to them in time you can swap them and make the pair last longer. Just not a very good design. BOO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N3FOL Posted May 3, 2009 Share #3 Posted May 3, 2009 I've read a lot about the rear brake pads on the Venture. The inside pad really seems to wear faster than the outside. For the last 3 months, I have been very conservative on how I step on my rear brakes. Lately, I have been squeezing a lot harder on my front brakes than my rear. You did not mention anything about the condition of your rear rotor, so I assume that you caught it before it damaged anything on the brake system. Thanks for sharing your experience. Ride safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyRich Posted May 3, 2009 Share #4 Posted May 3, 2009 It really is very easy to change the brakes on these bikes. That's why I would never go easy on any set of brakes. The bike must braked properly to maintain control. Don't ever favor one set of brakes over the other just because your afraid of wearing them out. Loss of control is a lot worse than scratching up a rotor or replacing pads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted May 3, 2009 I've read a lot about the rear brake pads on the Venture. The inside pad really seems to wear faster than the outside. For the last 3 months, I have been very conservative on how I step on my rear brakes. Lately, I have been squeezing a lot harder on my front brakes than my rear. You did not mention anything about the condition of your rear rotor, so I assume that you caught it before it damaged anything on the brake system. Thanks for sharing your experience. Ride safe. Thanks all who replied, I was wondering if my rear brake system might be pooched but sounds like it's a common thing for one pad to go before the other.. it'll be that one extra thing to look out for.. almost worth the while to get an articulated inspection mirror to help view the inner pad. The disk appears to be in good condition.. nothing gouged or out of the ordinary.. I'm typically a heavy front brake user and usually only use the rear brake when maneuvering in tight spaces or slow paces.. that old 70/30 rule kinda thing.. old habits lol.. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share #6 Posted May 3, 2009 It really is very easy to change the brakes on these bikes. That's why I would never go easy on any set of brakes. The bike must braked properly to maintain control. Don't ever favor one set of brakes over the other just because your afraid of wearing them out. Loss of control is a lot worse than scratching up a rotor or replacing pads. I had pooched the installation of my front brakes last year requiring me having to 'stupidly' ride the brake with bad brakes to the shop to get them replaced properly.. Not sure what I had done to pooch it up but it got fixed.. So when it came time to do the rear I was apprehensive about it.. I don't remember the front brakes being changed the same to be honest.. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidley Posted May 3, 2009 Share #7 Posted May 3, 2009 The 2nd gens are notorious for wearing the inside pad faster than the outer. The caliper doesn't release the pads enough to get a proper clearance and thus will wear the pad as it's never fully disengaged. When I do a wash on the bike I take off the saddlebags to clean and I look at the pads by removing the plastic cover over the top and inspect the pads from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share #8 Posted May 3, 2009 The 2nd gens are notorious for wearing the inside pad faster than the outer. The caliper doesn't release the pads enough to get a proper clearance and thus will wear the pad as it's never fully disengaged. When I do a wash on the bike I take off the saddlebags to clean and I look at the pads by removing the plastic cover over the top and inspect the pads from there. Good advice, thanks.. I mentioned this to my buddy and he pulled his bag off and yep, he was that --> I started to mention this to a lot of the venture riders out here and they weren't aware of the issue but they'll be looking now.. Just glad it's a darn easy change over job.. Thanks to all for their advice and points of comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venture101 Posted May 3, 2009 Share #9 Posted May 3, 2009 How many miles are we talking about here when the inside pad is wearing out? I had the stealer check mine a few weeks ago due to a rear brake pulsating poblem. He didn't mention anything abnormal in the pads but said the pistons were dirty and a little sticky. He cleaned them and said that was the cause of the pulsating. I'm a service tech and didn't really buy into that theory. They pulsated on the first stop. I'm still debating on taking it back to this guy. If it wasn't warranty, I would just take care of it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djr Posted May 4, 2009 Share #10 Posted May 4, 2009 How many miles are we talking about here when the inside pad is wearing out? I had the stealer check mine a few weeks ago due to a rear brake pulsating poblem. He didn't mention anything abnormal in the pads but said the pistons were dirty and a little sticky. He cleaned them and said that was the cause of the pulsating. I'm a service tech and didn't really buy into that theory. They pulsated on the first stop. I'm still debating on taking it back to this guy. If it wasn't warranty, I would just take care of it myself. I had my rear rotor replaced once under warranty by the local stealer. They also replaced the pads at that time (at my cost) having one pad almost worn out and one pad only about 25% worn. Now my rotor is warped again, Yamaha said they will not replace it again because it's my fault (the stealer told Yamaha I was riding my brake) and they have not had any problems or complaint about the rotors warping. I replaced the brakes pads with a better quality pad and found that some of the pulsating went away. Also replaced the front pads and found the bike had a lot better feel to it and the brakes stopped making a chirping noise when stopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whanna Posted May 4, 2009 Share #11 Posted May 4, 2009 Rule of thumb - replace the rear pads when you replace the tire. Buy pads on eBay for 1/2 what the stealer gets. Even if you're throwing away 1/2 the pad life it's a lot cheaper than a chewed up rotor (like I have. Just need to get a few more pennies and I'll have he $150 I need to replace THAT...). If nothing else, keep checking those pads, swap them around (if you're comfortable with that), etc. Be safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiteSquid Posted May 4, 2009 Share #12 Posted May 4, 2009 When I replaced the rear factory Brickstone tire, one pad was about 50% while the other was about 30% gone, so I swapped them. I am going to check them often and replace early...... I will order two spare sets of rear pads and one set of fronts with my next "safety chrome" purchase.... just to have on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share #13 Posted May 4, 2009 When I replaced the rear factory Brickstone tire, one pad was about 50% while the other was about 30% gone, so I swapped them. I am going to check them often and replace early...... I will order two spare sets of rear pads and one set of fronts with my next "safety chrome" purchase.... just to have on hand. Gotta love that Safety Chrome.. It goes well next to the comfort chrome I think.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau-Kat Posted May 5, 2009 Share #14 Posted May 5, 2009 I discovered a deal on some pads one day here locally. I bought some dusty, parts shelf surviving EBC front pads for a 1st gen. The guy didn't know they were the same as the rear pads on the second gen so he figured he would never sell them. It seems there are not too many 1st gens near me these days. Bought the pads and a sack full of other stuff for under 20 bucks. I keep an extra set around because they also fit my VMax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAWoodworth Posted May 5, 2009 Share #15 Posted May 5, 2009 Just took mine off yesterday evening and yep the inner pad was worn about half way and the outer pad looked like new. I have a little over 14K on my 2007 RSV. I'm switching the pads around and hope to get at least another 14K out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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