I had the brake pads of my multistrada 1200 touring changed today for the second time since I bought it. The bike is 18 months old and has done around 11000 miles. I was told that the brake discs are ridged. Should I ask to have them changed under warranty or will I be refused?
They are wear and tear items unfortunately. The important thing to check is the thickness. There's a wear limit on them and that's a much more important consideration than any ridge that may be in place.
Well they said ridged. Meaning that there are grooves arround the discs. Does warped means the same thing?
£203 each. The "ridging" doesn't necessarily mean that they need changing. By their design, friction occurs and whenever it does, wear takes place. The new pads will bed down to give as full a contact as possible. Unless you've run the pads down to the metal, they "should" be ok for a few more miles. How bad actually are they??? The wear limit on the thickness is a more important consideration.
They didn't say how bad they are or not. Wouldn't the ''ridging'' mean that the brake pads get worn off quickly?
Possibly. Depends how bad it actually is though. Ridges, although small, appear after a short while in use, it's a function of their operation and how much dirt gets between the pads and discs. The size of the ridges is a question......it's like saying the pads are 50% worn. All that means is that you're half way through them.
Ridged and warped are two different things. Warped means literally that, another words they dont run true and you can feel a pulse in the lever under hard braking and the pistons get pushed back intot he calipers resulting in a soft feel on the lever. Ridged is not uncommon and shouldent mean accelerated wear on new pads,it just means until the pads get time bed into the shape of the disc surface the braking effort may be less than perfect.
I've been concerned about my brakes for some time. I dropped my bike off for it's first service and when they examined it (because I insisted) they said it looked like there was a 'hot spot' around the disc which could indicate they are warped. Surely this should not happen on a bike that has only down 7,000 miles and has been like this for the last 2,000 (when I complained before and all they did was bleed them). I would have thought that this would be a warranty repair in this case?
Had mine replaced under warranty as they were warped not sure of the mileage 5-6k ?. Indications were excessive vibration when braking. Spoke to dealer and they put a clock gauge on to check for distortion/run out, result replace disks.
My front discs have exhibited this pulsing at the lever (at low speeds and light braking) for over 5k miles now (currently 10.5k miles). I had the pads swapped out for sintered ones and the discs were measured for run out, but were within tolerance. The pulsing is still there, the discs have become heavily scored and when wet, the brakes "groan" badly just as you pull up to a stop. However, the stopping power is phenomenal now, so I can put up with it until the discs wear down (at about 20k miles?) at which time I will have aftermarket discs fitted, which I think are about half the cost?
The normal operation of the ABS system under hard braking also causes a "...feel a pulse in the lever..." effect. The ABS pulsing is even and regular, and only felt under very hard braking; the pulsing of a warped disc may be irregular, and is likely to be perceptible even under moderate braking. It is as well to understand the difference before you try and complain to your dealer.
...and when replacing discs if not under Warranty, may I suggest BrakeTech USA. Go cast iron & organic pads. Just a thought.
