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I think I mentioned I replaced brake pads last week when I got a new rear tire put on. I used aftermarket, and today decided I wanted to put stock pads on since I was not impressed with the aftermarket (they were grabby.. not smooth in application, and appeared to be somewhat hard on the rotor.)..

Anyway - when at the dealer I took the new pads out of the box and looked at them - and one of them - brand new - is thinner than the other one. When I took my old ones out last week - one was noticeably more worn than the other. Guess what - the thinner new one is the same pad as the more-worn one, so it really wasn't "more worn" it simply started life thinner.

I can't even begin to fathom a reason for doing this - but the aftermarket pads were the same way.. inside pad is about 3/32" (1.5-2mm) thinner than the outside pad. Just seems very odd to me.

Oh - with a new set of stock pads in - braking is back to ultra smooth again. The replacements I used were Carbone Lorraine sintered metal brake pads - the AA touring ones. They are sintered pads (high metal content), the stock pads appear to be organic (very low metal content.) I don't recommend the Carbone Lorraine pads.

Curious indeed! If you ever find out why, let us know.

I had read less than flattering experience with the Carbone Lorraine pads and went with the EBC sintered. I don't find them grabby at all. They are wearing much better than the stock and so far the rotor is just fine.

Bill,

I had good luck also with EBC brakes on my K75S.. I think during warranty I'll just stick with BMW pads since then if the rotor goes bad it can't be blamed on off-brand pads.. may think about alternatives after warranty is up.

The only reason I went with the Carbone Lorraine pads was - they were what my friend had in stock (private shop..) It wasn't for cost or any other particular reason than my original ones were really worn out and the back wheel was off..

What about brake dust on the aftermarket pads, more or less?

deilenberger wrote: Anyway - when at the dealer I took the new pads out of the box and looked at them - and one of them - brand new - is thinner than the other one. When I took my old ones out last week - one was noticeably more worn than the other. Guess what - the thinner new one is the same pad as the more-worn one, so it really wasn't "more worn" it simply started life thinner.

I can't even begin to fathom a reason for doing this - but the aftermarket pads were the same way.. inside pad is about 3/32" (1.5-2mm) thinner than the outside pad. Just seems very odd to me.

I am guessing here, since my bike is home in the garage, but the outside pad is the active one? and the pad has to be thick enough to compensate for the depth and runnout of the cylinder in the caliper. The other side is static is it not?

Could it be that one pad is a softer material and it's thicker in an attempt to equalize the wear? I can't imagine why BMW would do this, but I suppose it's possible.

[quote="Dan-A]I am guessing here, since my bike is home in the garage, but the outside pad is the active one? and the pad has to be thick enough to compensate for the depth and runnout of the cylinder in the caliper. The other side is static is it not?[/quote]

The outside is the active pad - but it would only need to be thicker if something wasn't working right keeping the sliding caliper from sliding. In my case - everything appeared to be working perfectly since the inside pad (thinner one) wore out before the outside one.

Still makes no sense..

NeilS wrote:Could it be that one pad is a softer material and it's thicker in an attempt to equalize the wear? I can't imagine why BMW would do this, but I suppose it's possible.

Neil,

If that was true - then I'd expect them to wear out at the same time. That isn't what happens.. the inside (thinner) one wears out first. My bike, a friends GS..

It's a puzzle..

There probably IS no good reason for it.. but we'll never find that out from BMW.. :-)

I'm off riding my birthday ride in West Virginia - unsuccessfully looking for a straight road. No luck yet - but I have until Friday to find one.. It's a dirty job, but I'm doing it for you guys..