Had my service and first MOT done on my Multi S at Riders in Bristol last Thursday. After which they said my front pads needed changing as they'd almost worn out after only 5k miles, now I'm no riding God and not a demon on the brakes, but after some thought this doesn't seem like a lot of miles out of the front pads to me. My questions are what mileage are you lot getting out of your pads, and or do I have a problem with sticking calipers if so should it be repaired under warranty ? p.s. Have Ducati extended warranty
I've typically changed front pads at about 10k miles on my 1200S DVT bikes. The M50 Evo calipers on the S models after 2015 use pads with a lot less thickness of friction material than the calipers on older or Standard Multistrada models with the 320mm diameter disks. The manual says the minimum thickness is 1 mm, see below:
I'd take a look myself first. I've had 8k out of mine so far and they were on the bike when I got it and still plenty left. If they were low, I'd change them and clean the calipers and pistons at the same time.
Mine were making funny noises last time out so i've just changed them and as above post #3 clean the pistons before you replace the pads.Torque up all your caliper bolts correctly.
Multi seemed to use front pads more than any bike I’ve had (off track). 2013 MY I went thru 2 sets in 12k miles and they needed changing again. DVT was similar, 5k needed changing. Tbf both had done trackdays too but only a couple of days each
So do you guys have the dreadful disc wobble thing? I have tried everything but seems I just will have to buy new discs now...gutted
Replacing front pads after 5 - 6 thousand miles seems very low to me. My 2014 twin spark has done over 13,000 miles of road use, no trackk, although that includes a lot of motorway miles including 2 trips to Italy, 1 to Porto and several mini UK tours. I'd definitely check if the pistons are sticking. Either by spinning the front or by an on road test. @laava what is the disc wobble thing? Is it the same as warped discs? TB
Dealers (in my experience) always change brake pads very early, partly as they're making some profit on the parts, but also because many/most people wouldn't know how to tell if their pads were nearly shot and the dealer has some responsibility to make sure the brakes don't fail before they next see the bike/van/car in a year's time.
laava, I'm sure you have already but no harm in asking. Have you checked and cleaned the bobbins ? My last bike had this, and cleaning the bobbins fixed it. My current bike has what feel like glazed patches on the disc. I don't get pulsing like you describe but can feel the bike doesn't brake evenly. This can be seen on the MoT rollers with fluctuating brake force. A good clean of the discs with a Scottish pad and brushing the pads plus filing a taper on the leading edges of them makes it go away for a while.
I had that on braking but discs weren’t warped. I’d always assumed it the nature of the semi floating discs and bobbins having that slight movement.
You've said this just at the right time, mine has started doing this. Knowing the answer is a relief. Thanks TB
Agree - The bobbins need to be able to rotate and wiggling them about often will free up a stuck bobbin, Cleaning the discs will also make a big difference not with water but with something like methylated spirits that will evaporate very quickly and leave no deposit on the disc. Personally I don't use expensive brake cleaner when Meths will do the job just as well if not better. And you can have drink afterwards!
