At 11,000km are you seriously still on the stock tyres?  (Yes JasonB that IS how the rest of the world spells it )  Change them immediately!  They were not that good to start with and are now probably lethal.  As for the brakes, I have 25,000km on my '01 and neither the pads or the discs (all stock) are showing any signs of giving out any too soon.  BTW, tyres will last you 2 1/2 to 3 yrs max before the rubber goes hard and the bike starts to slip all over the place, much like yours is doing.  What year model do you have still on it's original tyres?

That's funny....

I read some REAL statistics (not bullshit ones like "EVERYONE who rides a motorcycle will crash!"    ) it ranked the USA as the most insular of all countries on the planet.

I cant remember the real numbers but it was like 80% of all those polled between the ages of 18-30 could not locate Japan on map and over half could not locate their own country on a map!  WWII ring a bell? That was Japan right? Hiroshima, The 'Fat Man' bomb dropped by the 'Bockscar'? You know where the New Mexico desert is where they tested the A-Bomb... surely!?  

I'm not here to bash the USA, I am a huge fan (Koby, Tyson, Dee Dee off FOX News), but I'm just make the point that we are on this board from a huge different number of countries and we all have different ways - that's what makes the world so great (and this board), different cultures and traditions. A bit of respect would go a long way.

I will crawl back under my rock with my History book now..... I like flame grilled BTW!  

Stay Safe

Does anybody know how much can teh front brake rotor cost? where to buy it?
[/quote]

Quote from: smpI posed the question in KM .. he answered without specifying.
Where the hell do you come into the equation?

Srinath, miles or kilometres? I'm unclear.
Thank you.

Very sorry man...I am no tire/brake expert...But I was talking miles not kilometers.
Sorry for all the rest of the flaming/name calling...I didn't intend to start it but I guess I baited some people into it.
Cool.
Srinath.

Thanks for all the input.
Someone asked how old my stock tires are... it's a 99 GS, got it this year with 2500 km on it ... so I guess they are in their 4th season.
I rode the Vancouver to Whistler Sea to Sky highway (also dubbed the "scream and die" due to so many casualties on this windy, coast mountain highway) ... I had a blast! I never got a skid or anything while cornering, actually, that's never happened.
The other night though when I was out, I just remembered that it was kind of cold out, I guess that could have played a factor... also, I had been riding two up all day and using the rear with the passenger on was fine, I guess I didn't ease up on it after losing the baggage.
Another question, do I want to stiffen or soften the suspension for riding two up? Planning a trip out to Vancouver Island this weekend with a friend.

Quote from: smpI just remembered that it was kind of cold out, I guess that could have played a factor... also, I had been riding two up all day and using the rear with the passenger on was fine, I guess I didn't ease up on it after losing the baggage.
Another question, do I want to stiffen or soften the suspension for riding two up? Planning a trip out to Vancouver Island this weekend with a friend.

Sounds like your tires need replacing basd on the previous posts. But, sounds like the factors you mention above contributed more to your tire breaking loose.

Best to dial in more preload on the rear shock when riding two up. In fact, the rear shock is so soft many have to go to the max preload for one up! There should be a tool in the tool kit under the seat (hopefully you still have that-if not one is available new, just not sure where best place to buy it would be). Use the spanner wrench (as itsw called in USA, not to be confused with spanner wrenches as open end wrenches are known in the UK...LOL) to turn the collar on the shock toward a higher number for more preload. Check johnla's site for picture of the tool- http://johnla2.tripod.com/  

Enjoy.

smp... I kinda got lost in all the posts, so I'm not sure if you got full answers to your original questions.

====
TIRES
====
I replaced the stock tires on my '99 at about 10,000 km for the front and about 8,000 km for the rear.  Like someone mentioned, look along the centerline groove of each tire for the "wear indicator bars".  They are little bumps of rubber that do not normally contact the asphalt.  When they start to get ground away by contact with the road, your tread has worn below its "safe" level.  Time to change the tire (to a BT45!   ).

I would be very surprised if both tires didn't need replacing before you get all the way home.  Perhaps the best thing about replacing the stock tires with BT45s while you're still in Vancouver would be the much improved ride as you go back over the Rockies.  You'll be glad you did!  (They will last longer than the "stock rocks", too.)


=========
BRAKE PADS
=========
You can visually inspect your pads, but you have to almost stand on your head to do it.  Each pad should have grooves (about 1.5mm wide) cut across the width of the pad.

-----------------
For the FRONT
-----------------
1)  Kneel in front of the bike and position your eye close to the right axle bolt.
2)  Look up and back at the calipers, sighting along the surface of the rotor.  The pads, of course, are the thin slices of material between the metal caliper bracket and the rotor -- they actually contact the rotor surface.
3) You should be able to see the ends of the 2 grooves in the material of each brake pad.  They appear as small square-sided voids in the contact area between the pads and the rotor.  (A flashlight can help out here, especially if you're out in the sunlight.)
4) The pad material was probably no more than 5 or 6mm thick when brand new, so don't expect to see a lot of material there.  But if the grooves are nonexistent (ground away) or 1 mm or less in depth, you should probably get a new pair.  I'm guessing that you'll be OK; my front pads lasted about 17,000 miles (27,000 km).

---------------
For the REAR
---------------
1) Kneel behind the bike and position your eye about where an imaginary line extending along the right side of the swingarm would cross the circle of the rear tire.
2) Look up and forward at the calipers and locate the pad material on either side of the rotor.
3) The rear pads are smaller than the front ones - they may have only one groove.  (I can't remember for sure.)
4) Same info applies regarding the depth of the groove(s).  If you tend to use the rear brake "too much", you may find that the rear needs to be replaced even though the front doesn't.  (Happened to ME in my "early riding career".)

---------------------------------

If you need to replace any pads, let me tell you about my experience thus far.  When they wore out, I replaced the stock pads on my '99 with EBC Kevlar (also called "organic") pads.  On my test ride I came down a gentle hill, applied the brakes, and thought "YIKES!  WHERE ARE MY BRAKES?"  It took me a while to get used to the reduced drag exerted by the Kevlar pads.  My second GS500E (a '96) still has its stock pads, and I can tell a DEFINITE difference between the two in terms of stopping power.  The stock setup feels almost too "touchy" for me now, because I ride the '99 way more than the '96.

The Kevlar pads will probably help the rotor last longer, but since you'll be doing some major uphill/downhill stuff on the way home, you would probably be best served by using OEM pads.  (IF you need to replace them, which I doubt you do....)  I have yet to try a "sintered" pad - I'm not sure I need the extra stopping power, and my understanding is that they will eat the rotors more quickly.

------------------------------

Hope this helps!

EDIT: I incorrectly reported the number of miles on my OEM front brake pads when I replaced them.  See corrected figures above.