Girly brake pads, e-shops and doing it

[ChillMan]

My front brake pads have 0.5-1 millimeter left on the grooves, so I am looking into my alternatives. It's the first time I change brake pads, ever, so bare with me.

Waiting for a quote from a mechanic, my guess is total £100 total, original parts.

The service manual makes it look like something I can do myself - that would be satisfying!

Sweden e-shops: one has EBC HH, total £55 excl postage. Another shop had original parts, total £71 excl postage.

UK e-shops:
"Square Deals" has EBC HH at total £50 incl postage. They also had some options, such as Kyoto Standard, EBC Organic, and "Gold-Fren" (HH quality like the EBC, but at better price).

"Demon Tweeks" has EBC HH at total £49 incl postage. (They actually are noticeably cheaper than square deals, but postage eats up the savings).

Worldoftriumph.com original parts £83 incl postage.

Some random Ebay auction (seller in the UK) total £42 incl postage. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151430863829

Any risk that Ebay pads are pirate?
How are Gold-Fren compared to EBC HH?
Will EBC HH feel very abrupt, or there's still excellent control?

Any thoughts from the brilliant Girly-panel? 

[HockleyBoy]

Have used all of those pads myself over the years and not really noticed any major differences. All seem to wear about the same.

I think I have Gold-Fren on at the moment.

Not aware of ebay pirate copies.  I usually shop around on Ebay for the best price when I need pads and get the best value at the time, never had any problems.

[ChillMan]

Thank you, that sounds comforting.

Mechanic price: Pads 2x £35 and work £23. Total £93. Close to my guess. It would be "Carbone Lorraine".

[Bixxer Bob]

Carbon Loraine is a good make so you're safe there.

I've always used EBC HH on my Blackbird and when I changed my Tiger OEM discs for EBCs  I used EBC HH as well.  I'm not sure that was the best decision as they've always felt hard, almost glazed right from new.  They stop  the bike ok, but don't have the same feel as they do on the Blackbird.

Consequently I  bought their new "V" pads which are semi-sintered.  I've only just fitted them but will let you knowhow they get on.

[ChillMan]

Interesting, yeah I wouldn't want some robot ON/OFF feeling to the brakes. I love the 100% control I currently have with the current pads (whatever they are...)

On Ebay I now find Gold-fren HH for total £31. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sintered-Goldfren-Brake-Pad-For-Triumph-Tiger-955i-EFI-T709EN-Front-LH-2001-2006-/111367662878?hash=item19ee07ad1e

[Bixxer Bob]

Used them before I used the EBCs, front and back, as good as anything else.  Like Sin says, it's hard to tell one from another.  Don't be put off by my EBC experience, it could be a number of things, such as not bedding them in properly, bedding them in too gently, Tiger doesn't brake hard enough to need sintered pads (leaving out Chris and Howie here, we're talking about the large majority), me just being too slow.  It could be any one of them.

[ChillMan]

Thank you.

Is it likely that my mechanic cleaned and lubricated the brakes inside during the yearly service in April this year? (I was watching a video on Youtube by "Delboy" who shows how to do it on a Girly).

According to the service manual, you do not take the caliper off to change pads.

(EDIT: I ordered the Goldfren from that Ebay shop, so now I more or less HAVE to do it myself... whoohoo! The satisfaction... if it works! :) And £31 instead of £93 is a huge difference.)

[Bixxer Bob]

you can do them on the bike if it goes smoothly, but a couple of tips: 

If you don't have a screwdriver that fits exactly the cap on the pad retaining pin, buy one.  They round off if you don't and are then a bugger to get out.

Use  a good quality allen key to remove the pin.  Even though I use copper grease every time I have mine apart, they are still stubborn.

If the retaining clips fall out it'll be hard to figure out how to refit them while the caliper is on the bike, but not impossible.

If you do need to remove the caliper you don't have to break open the brake lines as you can work next to the wheel (was just doing it this afternoon).  Have some threadlock ready for the caliper mounting bolts in case you have to remove them.

Good luck and give us a shout if you need anything 

[KuzzinKenny]

you can do them on the bike if it goes smoothly, but a couple of tips: 

If you don't have a screwdriver that fits exactly the cap on the pad retaining pin, buy one.  They round off if you don't and are then a bugger to get out.

Use  a good quality allen key to remove the pin.  Even though I use copper grease every time I have mine apart, they are still stubborn.

If the retaining clips fall out it'll be hard to figure out how to refit them while the caliper is on the bike, but not impossible.

If you do need to remove the caliper you don't have to break open the brake lines as you can work next to the wheel (was just doing it this afternoon).  Have some threadlock ready for the caliper mounting bolts in case you have to remove them.

Good luck and give us a shout if you need anything 

Hey BB !! remember that this is a guy the said " Drilling out rivets is a bit over my head, I'm afraid"

sorry  ChillMan but if ya cant operate a drill you should let yer mechanic do yer brakes to be on the safe side  but watch him do it to see whats involved in a brake overhaul 

take care

KK

[ChillMan]

Thanks for the tips! It will take 1-3 weeks to get the pads.

The grub screw is supposed to be 3Nm but maybe it gets corroded/stuck over the years between removals.

[Bixxer Bob]

Thanks for the tips! It will take 1-3 weeks to get the pads.

The grub screw is supposed to be 3Nm but maybe it gets corroded/stuck over the years between removals.

[Bixxer Bob]

Hey BB !! remember that this is a guy the said " Drilling out rivets is a bit over my head, I'm afraid"


KK

good point Kenny

[Sin_Tiger]

Where doing a pad change in situ is an option, I'd not recommend it until you have a bit more hands on experience.

This is nothing personal. When you renew pads you have to push the pistons back into the calipers. Three things to watch out for:-
1) Clean around the pistons with degreaser or brake cleaner, personally I don't like WD40 for this job. Use an old tooth brush and a thin strip of cloth wrapped around the piston to remove the residues. This reduces the chance of pushing crap into the seals.
2) When pushing the pistons back careful that when pushing on one only the other doesn't pop out,is easier to do than you might think. Push both at the same time or restrain one.
3) As the pistons go back you will be pushing fluid back into the reservoir, if the fluid has been topped up since the last pad change it's possible to overflow the reservoir, keep an eye on the level.

When you've done it with the calipers held in your hands, you'll feel more confident about doing it where is not so easy to see what you're doing. The money saved can be put to good effect collecting some good quality tips to make the job easier and all those little bits and pieces you always find in a mechanics tool box that you can't buy.

If the brake fluid hasn't been changed for more than a year, I would strongly recommend you do this at the same time.

Plenty of good advice on how to do that if you have a look at the how to sections.

[metalguru]

 

Certainly with all the advice from Sin.

As an add, after cleaning the pistons and surrounding area a small amount of ACF50 will stop the pistons from seizing in the calipers. It will also prevent rust forming on the pistons. After a few years testing in all weathers it works very well.

The rear caliper is prone to stiffening up in the slides. To eliminate this the small rubber seals on the housing pins needs to be removed and the caliper body cleaned of all corrosion as this increases the pressure on the pins and prevents the caliper sliding to take up wear and causes a binding rear brake. Re-assemble all sliding parts with ACF50 after a thorough clean.
Have also used ACF50 on the pad pins on the front calipers to great affect as copper grease will tend to cause galvanic corrosion due to dissimilar metals used.

[ChillMan]

Those grub screws are #¤$% stuck!

While waiting for the pads, I today tried opening the grub screws using the biggest best screwdriver I have. It fits very well. BUT... all it resulted in was slight damage to the head and not one degree turned. I tried both front calipers.

Why make it so shallow knowing they will get very stuck with corrosion? Why not a hex or torx head? Now that would make sense! :)

A collegue adviced to spray some 5-56 on the grub screw and let it sit for a day or two before trying. 5-56 is very famous here, it's a type of "penetrating oil" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetrating_oil
I hesitate because it's close to the brakes.

Never saw, or heard of, ACF50. Possibly it's similar?

I understand now that new thicker pads will cause the caliper pistons to push the brake fluid back, and that a too full reservoir might overflow when doing so.

Reading all your nice advice here points me in the direction that maybe this is a lot more involved than I thought. I am sure the £23 for the work of the mechanic will increase if I bring my own ebay-pads though. :)

BTW, a previous owner has put an unknown front brake fluid. My mechanic at the yearly service in April this year said that it "tasted" (?!) like a silicon based fluid and he never saw that before (?!) but thought it was one that didn't really need changing. (He did change the rear one, a standard fluid.)