Sometimes is pays to stay out of the garage (brake pads, Part 1)

[michael 324]

EBC HH brake pads in my hot hands and I'm ready to get out the tools.

 

Front brakes first. Eyeing up the two bolts I debated within myself to break out the air tools as they so rarely get used these days. Nope, today is an "all hand tools day."

 

Pads, copper grease, torque wrench and work gloves.

 

Off comes the front caliper, out come the pads. About 25 percent left based on my eyeballing the new and old. But wait, the old don't look like the new.

 

Grrrr. I've received pads for the non ABS model, so will have to exchange them for the correct items. Clean up all the bits, reinstall the clips and pads, lubricate and bolt. Carefully torque, clean and pack my tools.

 

<fade to black…re-open morning time, fully suited in the morning warmth of the tail end of a western heat wave>

 

I load my pannier liner with work clothes.  Slip the bike of the centre stand and whaaaa. It doesn't move…..<mumble> must be in gear. Neutral.

 

Nope. The front wheel is locked up tight.

 

I disobeyed my first Rule of Garage. I did not test ride the bike after fiddling with it.

 

So the car it is.

 

Home at night I pulled the caliper to discover fairly quickly i reversed the "upper," (small) clip, which was really meant to go in one way only. The tab merely locked into the petal of the disc.

 

Fixed. Well the tools are out, I'm nearly on the floor anyway so bed myself into the creeper for a little roll around the machine.

 

Sh*t.

 

While cleaning the chain I feel, then see. The master link clip is gone. Missing. AWOL. So it's off to the shop tomorrow to obtain a replacement before I ride to work again.

 

I shoulda stayed outta the garage.

[Tonyj 6,907]

Ah a classic case of breakfixing , a situation where has your intentions are good but you manage to make a simple task a mammoth operation which will include many trips to a shop while this is over an extended holiday period just to draw out the problem.

As an expert on this approach i suggest never checking anything if it's important at the last minute as it will always need doing and the shops won't be open or you manage to loose , bend ,break something completely not associated with the job in hand thus making it worse only to have your partner say how's it going out there ,Ggrrr. :0)

[Guest chicken george]

While cleaning the chain I feel, then see. The master link clip is gone. Missing. AWOL. So it's off to the shop tomorrow to obtain a replacement before I ride to work again.

 

No rivet link? I don't know if I could trust a clip for that one reason.

[stordz 901]

Good post, made me smile..... sometimes we all have days like that. I look forward to part 2.

[michael 324]

No rivet link? I don't know if I could trust a clip for that one reason.

Interestingly enough, that's the chain installed by the dealer  prior to my Utah road trip. The same chain I peered at closely and said to myself, "I should run a little safety wire through there."

 

And never got to it.

 

*sigh*

[Guest bonekicker]

You realized your mistake and will learn from it-- when working on any vehicle--always check everything twice-- and test it after--Michael thanks for posting members will take note of it I am sure  

[michael 324]

Off topic ('cause I'm not done with the brake pads just yet):

I recommended to a friend of mine to paint his garage floor red.

"Why would I want to do that? Concrete paint usually comes in gray/grey."

 

Cause every fastener you'll ever drop will disappear onto a gray/grey floor. Now a *red* floor....they're more readily visible to the human eye.

[Huskyteer 1,091]

That's an excellent tip!

[Guest Rev Light]

I have also made the mistake, in the past, of fiddling with my bike on a Sunday, when I could get no spares, then breaking it.

 

Never muck about with a bike, unless you have the spares to fix it, or an alternative for the next day.

 

I managed to break a spark plug, and had nothing to put in its place.

 

Ho, hum.

 

Rev Light

[michael 324]

So as a result of my acquiring the "wrong," brake pads. I have a set of new, never opened, still in the box EBC brake pads for non-ABS 2012-2014 NC700.  For exact fitment, I recommend you peruse the catalogue to ensure accuracy.

 

 

FA196HH front.

FA140HH rear.

 

As this group has been most instructional, helpful and friendly, I'm offering them for 50% of what I paid, plus postage. That would be $33 USD (or equivalent), and postage from Vancouver area. 

 

I know I could place in adverts….I'm just more inclined to carry on this conversation.

 

Here's the catalogue link:

 

http://ebcbrakes.com/Assets/ecatalogues/2015-Intl-MC-Catalogue/2015-intl-mc-catalogue.html#p=48

Edited July 19, 2015 by michael

[michael 324]

No rivet link? I don't know if I could trust a clip for that one reason.

 

I've now safety wired the link, rather than breaking out my old ('70's era) riveting tool…..one half lazy added to one half expeditious. It's the first master link keeper I've ever lost.

[trisaki 2,029]

They generally only come of if fitted wrong way round / as the chain goes up the rear spkt the closed end should be upper most

[michael 324]

Yes, the "head," goes in the direction of travel, much like a comet….while it was fitted correctly by the dealer that installed it, i suspect it hadn't completely "clicked," fully into place. Annoyance, yet didn't result in a full release of the chain.

 

Brake pad update:

 

I've now had the new brake pads for some time now. In the garage. Having had the old brake pads out of the caliper and in my hands revealed not as much wear as i had anticipated. So when I cleaned everything up, lubricated what needed to be lubricated and reinstalled, i realized an unexpected benefit. A little nicer feel at the lever.

Now that the pads have been measured, I've not yet felt the rush to install the new, knowing I have 30% +/- of decent material left. So in the ongoing west coast heat wave i've decided to hold off on installing the pads until the wet season. A nice time would be when the forks go off to the suspension folks for rebuilding and revolving I say to myself.

[aquaboy 105]

I think you really had a very good day because if you hadn't fitted the brake clip wrong you wouldn't

have spotted the missing chain clip!! Sorry but worst case could be dead by now!!

[djsb 493]

So which EBC pads are needed for the NC750X DCT (ABS). In the EBC catalogue there is no ABS listing for the NC750X front pads (as far as I can tell). Can you confirm that the front is the FA388 or FA388HH and for the rear it's the FA174, FA174V or FA174HH or is it the FA496, FA496V or FA496HH. This is a bit confusing. Also I'm assuming a semi sintered pad is the best compromise as I don't want to wear my disks out to much. However as I rarely use the brakes in anger unless in an emergency and then I really need to stop ASAP. Most of my riding involves using engine braking.

[Ralph 67]

I fitted semi sintered front pads to my 750X non DCT. I should have fitted HH sintered ones. The semis lack initial bite, feel and aren't as good as OE Honda pads. I suspect the HH will be fine. I'm going to order some HH pads and change after only 3 weeks of using the semis

Edited October 18, 2015 by Ralph

[fred_jb 10,265]

David,

 

I fitted FA196HH and FA496HH to mine - the 196 are the fronts and the 496 the rears.  The standard pads front and rear both seem to be sintered type, as are the EBC replacements. I re-used the existing shim thingy on the front

 

The original pads are marked as follows:

 

Front - Nissin TOYOS20AHH

Rear - Nissin NKX19EE

 

Fred

[glencoeman 129]

If you use a spring link, it is worthwhile smearing it in silicon to help to stop it becoming loose.

[rjp996 1,091]

Out of interest on the Honda website http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/adventure/nc750x-2014/specifications.html

Under the 'Wheels' section it appear to say the front original pads are sintered and the rear resin mold pads (what ever that really means)

 

Brakes Front 320 mm single wavy hydraulic disc with 2-piston calipers and sintered metal pads Brakes Rear 240 mm single wavy hydraulic disc with 2-piston calipers and resin mold pads

[fred_jb 10,265]

 

Out of interest on the Honda website http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/adventure/nc750x-2014/specifications.html

Under the 'Wheels' section it appear to say the front original pads are sintered and the rear resin mold pads (what ever that really means)

 

Brakes Front 320 mm single wavy hydraulic disc with 2-piston calipers and sintered metal pads Brakes Rear 240 mm single wavy hydraulic disc with 2-piston calipers and resin mold pads

 

Yes - I've heard that before, but the originals I took off my bike definitely look like sintered material.   I replaced them because they had stopped working effectively.  I don't know for sure why that was, but found a massive amount of grey lube paste on the back of the pads which I suspect had got on to the disk and pad - I believe the dealer put this on at the 600 mile service.

 

Fred

[dazznutts 167]

David,

 

I fitted FA196HH and FA496HH to mine - the 196 are the fronts and the 496 the rears.  The standard pads front and rear both seem to be sintered type, as are the EBC replacements. I re-used the existing shim thingy on the front

 

The original pads are marked as follows:

 

Front - Nissin TOYOS20AHH

Rear - Nissin NKX19EE

 

Fred

Do you need to fit the shim thingy that was on the orignal pad as i didnt when i replaced mine in august although i did keep it

[fred_jb 10,265]

Do you need to fit the shim thingy that was on the orignal pad as i didnt when i replaced mine in august although i did keep it

I've seen posts from other people saying they didn't fit it so I don't think it is essential.  I think the main function is to prevent brake squeal, and possibly act as a heat shield, though as it only fits on one side I'm not sure about that.

 

Fred

[dazznutts 167]

I've seen posts from other people saying they didn't fit it so I don't think it is essential.  I think the main function is to prevent brake squeal, and possibly act as a heat shield, though as it only fits on one side I'm not sure about that.

 

Fred

cant remember what side it came off though was it piston or other side of caliper 

[fred_jb 10,265]

cant remember what side it came off though was it piston or other side of caliper 

From what I remember mine came off the side nearest the centre of the wheel.  I will have a look in the morning and confirm, though of course I may have put it back on the wrong side!  Hopefully it only fits on one way.

 

Fred

[dazznutts 167]

thanks fred