My rear brake tends to squeek or squeal(sp?) or maybe whine when I use it. It doesn't do it all the time, though. It shouldn't be worn out yet, the bike's only got 6000 miles on it. The front brakes don't give me any trouble. What the heck could it be?

It could just be a buildup of brake dust. GO to an auto parts store and get some brake cleaner. I think It's only like $5 or so. And  ***Important*** use a rag to clean it off, not compressed air. Those pads have asbestos.

I thought asbestos is forbidden for use in brake pads    At least in Europe it is. Now everything is made of sinter-metal.

Yeah, no brake pads have been made of Asbestos for about 20 years.

OEM brake pads are a matrix of carbon and organic fibers.

okay, i'll try that.

Quote from: sanityfreeMy rear brake tends to squeek or squeal(sp?) or maybe whine when I use it. It doesn't do it all the time, though. It shouldn't be worn out yet, the bike's only got 6000 miles on it. The front brakes don't give me any trouble. What the heck could it be?

Some brakes just squeal due to brake design and/or pad material.  The rear brake squealed badly from new on my 97 GS, but the 02 GS rear does not.  I got rid of the squeal by changing to EBC Kevlar pads (black).  You can put the Kevlar pads on the back and the HH pads on the front if you need them.  When the 1500LC Intruders came out a few years ago, they had the squeakiest rear brake I ever heard.  Suzuki has considerable experience at designing squeaky rear brakes.   :lol:  :lol:

All my Hondas got a very squeaky front disc brake after about 30k miles.  I would clean the dust, add the anti squeal stuff, and even sanded the pads.  Would fix it for a day or two and then the squeal came right back.  I tried many different types of linings and found the EBC Kevlars best at eliminating or reducing the squeal to a non bothersome level.  The brakes squeal at slow speed and when applied lightly, if you brake a little harder the squeal usually stops.

Pads can quite easily wear away in 6000 miles, so first thing to check is that you are not getting the shriek of metal on metal.

While you're looking at the pads, check that you have the anti-squeal shims fitted.  It's a common fault to leave these off when changing pads.  They look like very thin copper or bronze coloured sheet metal and sit on the back of the pads away from the disk.  Also, smear the back of the pads and the faces of the pistons with a very thin film of copper-slip grease or special brake anti-squeal grease.

kind of a stupid question, but can someone measure a new brake pad and tell me how thick the pad itself is? then i can look at the current pad and judge approximately how much pad i have left...

i know it's not metal on metal. in a theory, shouldn't the front brake wear out first?

mine does it too.  last time i had the rear wheel off I cleaned the rotor up and then applied some anti-seize compound to the backs of the pads.  that' seems to have helped quite a bit.  Once in a while they will squeak, usually when i'm going pretty slow like GsJack said.  

jake

Quote from: sanityfreekind of a stupid question, but can someone measure a new brake pad and tell me how thick the pad itself is? then i can look at the current pad and judge approximately how much pad i have left...

i know it's not metal on metal. in a theory, shouldn't the front brake wear out first?

The pads have a groove thru them vertically near the center of the pads.  When the wear reaches the bottom of the groove and the groove disappears, pads should be replaced.  Take the inspection cover off the top of the rear caliper and you should be able to see the groove unless it's worn away.  Cover just pops off by hand.

I use the rear brake a lot and get about 12-14k miles from pads.  Get 20-25k out of front pads.  Your usage will vary! :lol:

i'll check that in a few. do the front pads have that groovy groove, too?

Quote from: sanityfreei'll check that in a few. do the front pads have that groovy groove, too?

Yes.