BlueSky

Today I rode the Kawasaki about 40 miles each way to the monthly retiree luncheon. On the way there, a truck stopped suddenly in front of me and I hit the brakes hard. The new BT45 rear tire broke loose, seems to me way quicker than with the replaced Metzler Lasertec. I was able to modulate the rear brake without going down. I smelled the burning rubber. The Bridgestone V rated BT45 is a dual compound rear tire with the harder compound in the center. I shoulda bought a sport bike tire. Then on the way back a rain cloud dropped it's bottom on me and I found out it doesn't grip very well in the rain either...... Oh well! Famous last words!

Maybe organic pads would be the best choice. But, I have my doubts about the knowledge of the author of this article. For example the statement that organic pads don't generate as much heat as others is not true. Brakes work by converting kinetic energy into heat. For the same stop on the same car all pads will generate the same amount of heat. It also talks about ceramic not "holding" as much heat as metallic. I think what happens is the ceramic pads do not conduct heat as well so for the same stop ceramic pads will not get as hot as metallic pads but since the heat has to go somewhere, it goes into the rotor. So, the rotor will get hotter with hard braking compared to metallic pads. This may be good if there is a problem with brake fluid getting too hot because if the heat goes into the rotor and not the pads, the caliper and fluid will not absorb as much heat. Brakes with ceramic pads will not fade as quickly with repeated stops as metallic pads. And I think there is a difference in semi-metallic pads and metallic pads. I think that sintered pads are metallic pads and are different from semi-metallic. I may have just exceeded my knowledge of braking systems! Ha!

I don't think it's that unusual for oil to be blow up into the air intake since that is where the engine base is vented in most cases. Some owners are putting catch cans on the vent line on autos to catch the oil that would have been blown into the air intake. The harder you run the engine, the more likely this can happen. I wouldn't worry about it unless it's excessive. I have noticed my Kawasaki blows some oil into the air intake. I mostly ride it around town and I love winding it up in the gears!:banana:

I'm thinking I will replace my rear pads with ceramic pads since they don't grip as much as semi-metallic and metallic pads. The rear brake is to grippy anyway.

If you never have an accident due to worn tires, it may have paid off. If you had one accident that worn tires contributed to, it would have been worth several sets of tires to prevent it. I bought my stepson a really nice Miata with only 12k miles on it. His previous driving experience was in a FWD Ford Focus. Now with rear wheel drive and worn tires on the rear and not much experience he spun it out in the rain and caused a wreck. The Miata was totaled. No one was hurt but the driver of the car he hit had back problems so he contacted an injury attorney and sued. We sweated that one out for over a year before his lawyer and my insurance company settled the case after my ins co's PI filmed the guy working when he said he couldn't work any more. Anyhow, I sweated for over a year and brought the case to a close after I hired one of the best attorneys in the state of FL in that field to help. My ins co even paid my attorney's fees in addition to their attorney's fees! So yeah, I would have bought several sets of tires if I could have avoided that fiasco.

Something to think about for sure. Also, if the discussed washer has an inside diameter that matches the bolt diameter and outside diameter that is as large or larger than the flat aluminum surface it's being pressed against, I see absolutely no concern in pressing it against the aluminum. it the torque is great enough to deform the aluminum surface, it is enough to deform it without the washer being sandwiched between them. Seems to me.

Check the fluid of course. It may need bleeding.

Put some Gumout with PEA in the gas on that 09 and ride it for a while. My 07 was running a little ragged at low rpm when I bought it but some Gumout and riding it cleared it up. It will clean the carbs to some extent.

I was beginning to worry about you not having seen you on the forum for a while. Glad you checked in and glad you're having fun!!! Very sorry about Mom.

That's seems outrageous. Here in NC, the sales tax on autos is 3% every time it's sold. Back in the early 70's I bought and sold a lot of cars with no sales tax but later in that decade, the sales tax was added to the sale of used autos so I quit selling as many.

I'd pass also. I bought my very nice 07 RSV last year from the original owner with 23k miles on it for $3,000. Admittedly, that was a lot less than it should have sold for. My personal philosophy is to pay more for one in good condition. 5 years ago, I bought my 89 Venture that is in pristine condition with under 6k miles on it for $3800.

I was thinking about using the washer on the rear bolt of the caliper but that might make an uneven connection with the front bolt. And it also appears at first glance that some metal may have to be ground off to get the front of the caliper to center on the rotor. Then I remembered something my Dad told me. He worked at the power generation station for a small town in the early 50's. The town got its power from several diesel generators. When a rod started knocking in those diesels they had to hone the babbitt in the rod to get it to fit the crank again. They used something like prussian blue on the babbitt and turned the engine to see where it touched the crank and where it didn't. Sounded like a slow process but it worked. Something like that could be done to make sure the front of the caliper was bolted back with the surfaces mating flat against each other.

For us non-metric folks, that's over 33mpg. Not too bad. Thanks for sharing!

Seems to me that it would be tough making money on motorcycles, used or new. There isn't that much profit in the sale of a bike, not like autos anyway. A dealership close to a major city in the south would have the best chance to survive I would guess.

When I was looking recently, it appeared that Chaparral had the best prices. I ended up buying from DennisKirk though.

I learned this lesson last year when I replaced my riding lawn mower engine. I was using an air operated ratchet and I stripped the threads in the block on a small bolt. It wasn't a huge problem. I just tapped the hole larger and used a larger bolt but it taught me a lesson about using power tools on aluminum.

Good point. Something to consider. I'll know more the next time I get my RSV up on the stand. I'd like to try to remedy this situation. There is a chance it can reduce the lockup problem with the rear brake or might even make it lock up quicker.

Well the point I was trying to make by posting the video link was to show that you just might be able to center the caliper with shims or washers or even grinding the front if you are careful. I'm going to try the washer. After I get my RSV back up on the jack I'm going to measure the front of the caliper to see how far off center it is and see if I can do something about it. Laying on the floor looking at it, it appeared to be closer to the inboard side, the opposite of the rear of the caliper. If so, it may take some grinding to center it. But the washer will probably center the caliper in the rear. I'll take a good look at it soon.

Thank you Sir for the video. I plan to use that washer idea.

After looking at the caliper position on my RSV, it would appear that Yamaha didn't machine the caliper holder (for lack of a better word) to center the caliper on the rotor. And from all the discussions, it would appear that Yamaha was consistent with all the RSVs. So, I strongly suspect that if the caliper was centered on the rotor, the pads would wear evenly. That's the why. Poor mechanical desgin by Yamaha.

This is a good reason to try to center the caliper on the rotor so the uneven wear may not happen. It's worth a try I think.

That's a really good point about not removing the left side muffler. Evidently, the video guy is relying on his calibrated arms to torque the axle nut correctly. I think I'd rather use a torque wrench! When I was 19 and even more ignorant than today, I rebuilt the engine in my 56 Chevy Convertible reassembling it without using a torque wrench on the head bolts, rod bolts, and main bearing bolts. I drove it very hard for about 7,000 more miles before trading it and it held up that far!!!?? My next rebuild at age 24 was on a 65 Chevelle 327 engine and I had access to the US Army craft shop that had torque wrenches so I used them that time. Man, those cars were so easy to work on.

I just looked at my RSV's rear caliper with the bag off and it is not centered on the disc. It is mounted more to outboard side at the rear of the caliper. The front of the caliper is a little the other way it appears. So, I think the washer may be a good idea because it probably will center the caliper on the disc at the rear of the caliper. After I remove my caliper and if the inside pad is worn more than the outside pad I think I will add a washer like the video suggested to see if that helps.

I watched the attached video. At about 2.22 of the video, the guy says the inboard brake pad wearing more than the outboard pad is an issue with these RSVs and adding a washer will correct the issue. Do any members have experience with this to pass on?

Sounds like you have been having a great time! Fantastic!