brakes?

[bhouse1587]

ok so i have an 04 gs500f and i wanted to know about how long brakes should last?

and i need a new rear brake pad and rotor where can i get these any and all brands and what you prefer?

Thanks

Tim

[hmmmnz]

how long is apeice of string?? depends how hard you are on them, racers get through a set of pads in a race, but naormal riding you'll get up to around 10k miles,
have a look at the pads through the side of the caliper, you'll see how much you have left

[scratch]

The smoother a rider you are, the longer your brakes will last (because you don't have to hit the brakes when entering a turn).  I get between 12k to 15k per set, both front and rear.  EBC HH brake pads for the front, EBC GG Kevlar for the rear.

I would suggest a EBC rotor as a replacement; they seem to be the least expensive.

[ducati_nolan]

A set of brake pads should last you somewhere between 100 to 15,000 miles. Seriously, it's just a matter of how hard you use them.

Usually you can find brake pads on ebay for not too much. I have some on my bike right now and they work about as well as stock. I also have some fancy ones ready to throw on there when these wear out, also from ebay. Any bike shop should be able to order some for you as well.

For the rotor, I don't know about new ones but the rear brake dosn't have that much braking force on it, so I'd just look at getting a good used one. If yours is warped or grooved, you could also have it surfaced or turned, as long as it's thick enough.

good luck 

[gsbarry]

Pads go to a local dealer or yeah ebay works too..... EBC or SBS are great.
Rotor ..... if its not warped or seriously grooved out than dont replace it. I race motocross and havent had to replace a rotor once, and thats alot more abuse than on the street with my GS. Rotors should last for years just as long as you stay on top of replacing pads.

[ninja_steve]

do you so a lot of locking up the rear brake?  i have never had to replace rear pads on any of my bikes before.  i just don't use the rear brake on street bikes 

[gsJack]

I'm as smooth as they come but I still use my brakes, but I use them smoothly.      I used the EBC black organic linings on the GS's for over 100k miles and got 10-12k from the rears and 20-25k from the fronts.

Turned my front rotor blue in the mountains a couple times with the EBC blacks so I went to the EBC HH front pads about a year ago and to the EBC HH rear pads this spring and no I haven't locked them up yet.   

I'm continually amazed when people don't use the excellent rear brake on the GS500, what a waste.  It's great for braking into corners and braking in corners and adds a lot of stopping power to the GS when used with the front brake with HH pads on both.  With my 250# planted on top of it, the rear brake works like a 2nd front disc for me.    

I wore out 4 Hondas that had very average rear drum brakes and rarely used them, really discovered the rear brake with the 1st GS back in 99.

About a month after I got the first GS a car started to pull out in front of me and I hit the brakes and low sided at about 30-35 mph when the excellent rear brake locked.  Haven't come close to locking it again in the 120k GS miles since.  Scroll forward about 6 years to about a year ago and I'm cruising in Shaker Blvd out in the boonies where it's 2 lanes and the fancy homes are set way back and there are lots of trees and hedge rows and I'm passing a small box truck coming towards me and just as I get to the rear of it a deer appears running out from behind it and my right foot which is always poised for action clamped down just the right amount and I just missed the deer as it cleared my path.  Constant use of the rear brake made this happen, my hands and feet think faster than I do now and do what they have practiced.  Use it or loose it.   

I would, however, suggest about 100k miles of practice with the rear brake before putting the HH pads on the rear.

[mp183]

I have 23,000 on my 2002 and brakes are fine.  Part of that 23,000 is in NYC.  I ride the bike
in a spirited fashion but use the transmission to assit braking.  Meaning I downshift through every gear
keeping the revs on the high side to survive in what NYC has to throw at me.
I have a V-Strom 650 which is my long distance bike and at 30,000 brakes are fine.
My riding buddy who also has a V-Strom wore his rear at 42,000 but the front still had plenty left or is it the other way around?
But these are mostly long distance miles where you hardly touch the brakes.
It all depends how and wher you ride.  If you don't downshift and need to use your brakes often you'll smoke your brakes pretty quickly.
We had vans in NYC that made local deliveries and had to change the brakes every 10-12000 miles.
They were loaded to capacity and needed to stop often and quickly.
Elsewhere those same brakes will last you 50-70,000 miles.