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Just When You Think You've Seen It All...

BajaRon

BajaRon

Well-known member
I'm not trying to make anyone look bad here. I don't want this post to become a referendum on any person. We all let things in life go from time to time. My intention is not ridicule, but to educate.

This customer is a great guy and I respect him. So please, be kind if you choose to post. I'm only trying to encourage everyone to take care of your ride so that it can take care of you.

For example, Tires...
SpyderTires Worn.jpg

Or Brake Calipers... What the Red Arrow is pointing towards is what is left of the Wheel Side Inner Pad. The Outer Pad was completely worn away and the Piston was running directly on the rotor.
Spyder Brake Caliper Worn.jpg

Or Brake Rotors... The original Rotor is the same thickness across the entire face
Spyder Rotor Worn.jpg

Or Brake Pads...
Spyder Brake Pad-1 Worn.jpg

This is an original, brand new EBC rear pad compared to what is left of the Inner pad we removed from the caliper (stood on edge). The Outer pad was completely gone except for the small piece shown above.
Spyder Brake Pad-2 Worn.jpg
 
Hey, he got his money's worth out of those items!!!! 🤣 But yes Ron, you're right, there is a limit to how far you should stretch it out! Man, he must have launched himself over the bars at the first stop sign from the shop!! Wow
 
Last edited:
How could people not know they’ve worn through the entire pad and the backing plate and started grinding away the disk with the caliper piston? It must have felt terrible under the pedal and made an horrendous noise.

Whether using the OEM or EBC pads wouldn’t matter, ignoring the sounds would result in the same outcome for either.

Grinding through the backing plate takes some doing. I’m surprised the disk itself held up as well as it did.

The thing is, the owner must have been topping off the brake fluid to account for the increased system volume. Wouldn’t you think, where is all my brake fluid going?

I would suspect the system was throwing up ABS codes for a long time.

As for rear tires, you can argue about ballooning rear tires all you want, but when you see the center down to the belts, regardless of why, you need to change them. I suspect even with a car tire such a person would run a car tire down to the belts too.

I suspect the bike wasn’t getting oil changes either, any tech would have spotted this on his check around the bike. Anyone who does their own oil changes is unlikely to have not seen or ignored these issues.

This is why we need state inspections back for states that have dropped them.

Just shocking.
 
mecsw500 said:
How could people not know they’ve worn through the entire pad and the backing plate and started grinding away the disk with the caliper piston? It must have felt terrible under the pedal and made an horrendous noise.

Whether using the OEM or EBC pads wouldn’t matter, ignoring the sounds would result in the same outcome for either.

Grinding through the backing plate takes some doing. I’m surprised the disk itself held up as well as it did.

The thing is, the owner must have been topping off the brake fluid to account for the increased system volume. Wouldn’t you think, where is all my brake fluid going?

I would suspect the system was throwing up ABS codes for a long time.

As for rear tires, you can argue about ballooning rear tires all you want, but when you see the center down to the belts, regardless of why, you need to change them. I suspect even with a car tire such a person would run a car tire down to the belts too.

I suspect the bike wasn’t getting oil changes either, any tech would have spotted this on his check around the bike. Anyone who does their own oil changes is unlikely to have not seen or ignored these issues.

This is why we need state inspections back for states that have dropped them.

Just shocking.
Click to expand...
Hey Dad, could you look at my Spyder for me, the brakes started to sound like they are grinding a year ago?
 
That situation was a braking accident ready to happen. A little bit more, piston wears out, fully pushes out enough to leak brake fluid. NO BRAKES!
 
Whew doggy it must have been a sight to see sparklers igniting when braking. Thanks for the reminder to take some time before and after our rides to inspect.
 
This past weekend I copied the data from various spreadsheets I have for the Spyder to the Service History app on my Zumo 590. Amongst the standard items I deleted from the history categories was any reference to chain lubrication, air filter cleaning and tire pressure checking because the last item is a preride check, every time, and I don't use a K&N air filter so I don't clean but replace the air filter IAW the maintenance schedule at 19K. The best service step I've taken was switching to EBC fully sintered brake pads and EBC rotors. Now it's just a couple of taps away and there's no need to check the computer.
 
BajaRon said:
I'm not trying to make anyone look bad here. I don't want this post to become a referendum on any person. We all let things in life go from time to time. My intention is not ridicule, but to educate.

This customer is a great guy and I respect him. So please, be kind if you choose to post. I'm only trying to encourage everyone to take care of your ride so that it can take care of you.

For example, Tires...
View attachment 255623

Or Brake Calipers... What the Red Arrow is pointing towards is what is left of the Wheel Side Inner Pad. The Outer Pad was completely worn away and the Piston was running directly on the rotor.
View attachment 255627

Or Brake Rotors... The original Rotor is the same thickness across the entire face
View attachment 255629

Or Brake Pads...
View attachment 255633

This is an original, brand new EBC rear pad compared to what is left of the Inner pad we removed from the caliper (stood on edge). The Outer pad was completely gone except for the small piece shown above.
View attachment 255630
Click to expand...

All this from the same rider? :eek:
 
Albec said:
All this from the same rider? :eek:
Click to expand...
Yes, his tire was the 2nd one down in the picture. The one with cord showing. Other than the tire picture, everything else was off the same Spyder.
Woodaddict said:
That situation was a braking accident ready to happen. A little bit more, piston wears out, fully pushes out enough to leak brake fluid. NO BRAKES!
Click to expand...
Actually, the piston was out as far as it would go. It had musroomed from its contact with the rotor and we could not retract it. We only attempted it out of curiosity. We had to replace the entire caliper, of course. But there was no danger of losing brake fluid. Even if that had happened, it would only drain the rear brake system. The fronts would not have been affected.

I am not saying it was a safe situation. Just that brake systems are separated for this very reason.

He had replaced the front pads with EBC. So, essentially, he only had brakes in front, the rear brake had been completely inneffective for some time. It must have been an interesting experience.
 
You can laugh and joke all you want, but there are lots cars running around out there in exactly the same or worse condition. I agree with mecsw500, bring back the inspections,Utah eleminated theirs not too long ago and I think it was a dangerous move. Utah is on the way to setting a new state record for motorcycle deaths this year. Far too many are single vehicle accidents. I would how many of those were equiptment failures.
 
pegasus1300 said:
You can laugh and joke all you want, but there are lots cars running around out there in exactly the same or worse condition. I agree with mecsw500, bring back the inspections,Utah eleminated theirs not too long ago and I think it was a dangerous move. Utah is on the way to setting a new state record for motorcycle deaths this year. Far too many are single vehicle accidents. I would how many of those were equiptment failures.
Click to expand...
Like everything else in life, motorcycle maintenance runs the gambit. Everything is getting expensive and some just put it off. I feel a bit guilty for the prices we have to charge these days. But it's much less expensive to keep up with maintenance because ruined parts and the additional labor you risk by letting things go can really impact your pocketbook. Not to mention the risk of a hospital visit.
 
BajaRon said:
Like everything else in life, motorcycle maintenance runs the gamut. Everything is getting expensive and some just put it off. I feel a bit guilty for the prices we have to charge these days. But it's much less expensive to keep up with maintenance because ruined parts and the additional labor you risk by letting things go can really impact your pocketbook. Not to mention the risk of a hospital visit.
Click to expand...
You shouldn’t feel guilty. You have to charge a fair price within the prevailing economy otherwise you’ll eventually go out of business or be unable to pay your employees a living wage.

You are charging people for your expertise and like any other accomplished business that’s earned over many lean years I’m sure. You are allowed to make a profit and pay your employees properly for their expertise too. Just because you are an independent shop doesn’t mean you have to be the cheapest option, just the best value for money, and that is often not the same thing at all.

If people want the very cheapest option they should do it themselves, but we usually see how that turns out, and they end up in your shop anyway with a bigger bill and ruined parts.

A Spyder is not usually a primary form of transport. If you can’t afford a certain repair bill you can just park it until you can. Not to do so is the choice of the owner.

I’m a luthier. I’m good at it. I factor my prices on my expertise not on the money someone would like to save to improve their own personal financial situation at the expense of mine. I don’t feel guilty at all for what I think are my reasonable rates after 40 years of honing my craft.
 
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