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OEM brake pads

yticolev

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Have a 2012 NC700X, 26,000 miles and the front pads are worn out. This seems excessively fast for my riding style (slowing down before braking). Are the OEM brake pads organic? Half an hour online search here and Google failed to identify OEM pad material.

Lots of buying choices with OEMs the hardest to find and the most expensive at mid fifty dollars. From comments here, most seem to buy EBC HH sintered. Suggestions? I do like quiet, so that suggests organic. And based on my relatively low miles per year, should last a long time. The OEM braking power seems to be sufficient for my needs up front.
 
OEM pads are HH sintered metal. Pull them out to check - HH is stamped on the back and no organic gets to HH ratings. FA and G maybe.

Both my NCs that I rode over 30,000 miles each still had original pads with lots of pad left. Everybody's different of course, I think I use the front brake a lot.

Google search 'nc700-forum.com brake pads' and get plenty of reading material :)
 
Thanks for the search tip. Yes, some very helpful threads about brake pads. Haven't read any yet that identify OEM pad material so thanks a billion for that.

For others with questions about installation, this thread has good tips on the first page.
 
Thanks for the search tip. Yes, some very helpful threads about brake pads. Haven't read any yet that identify OEM pad material so thanks a billion for that.

For others with questions about installation, this thread has good tips on the first page.
You probably won't trust me but you can tell just by looking at them that they are sintered metal. The secondary reason is that they are HH rated and organic pads tend to not be able to meet the HH specification for both cold and hot performance so they can't achieve an HH rating. Beyond those two as they wear they create very little brake dust unlike ceramic or organic pads.
 
If they're worn out, just throw some more oem on it if you don't want an aftermarket pad. They don't cost that much and you only need one pair.
 
$50 for 9 years of use is pretty reasonable if you ask me. A set of OE front brake pads for my FJR (dual disc) was $138
 
Do you have a DCT or a manual 2012? The reason I ask is that if you have DCT ABS with the 3 pot front caliper, I may (or may not) have a set of pads that I’ll never have any use for. I’ll have to look.

BTW, I like the feel and longevity of the NC700X OEM pads so I’m going to stick with them. (I put EBC on my Goldwing and disliked them, went back to OEM). My 2012 NC front and rear pads are original and are at 51,000 miles. I’ll be changing them soon.
 
Do you have a DCT or a manual 2012? The reason I ask is that if you have DCT ABS with the 3 pot front caliper, I may (or may not) have a set of pads that I’ll never have any use for. I’ll have to look.

BTW, I like the feel and longevity of the NC700X OEM pads so I’m going to stick with them. (I put EBC on my Goldwing and disliked them, went back to OEM). My 2012 NC front pads are original and are at 51,000 miles. I’ll be changing them soon.
Thanks but have the manual. Too slow for the recommendation, the EBCs will be here tomorrow. Probably late so I'll attempt to change them on Wednesday. What was it that bothered you about the EBCs?

I stopped by a Honda shop last week as I guessed the OEM have an audible indicator. Appears to brake normally and quietly but at speeds of under 10 mph, it makes noise. Bizarre. Service guy told me that once that happens, you have about 500 miles left.
 
If the service guys' recommendation is the reason for changing you owe it to yourself to at least take a look at the originals. They don't have audible wear indicators but they do have visual wear indicators set in the leading edge of the pad. Dust or a bit of glaze can cause low speed noise and a little roughing up with 80 grit sandpaper restores quiet operation.

The owner's manual illustrates what the pad wear indicator looks like and where it is located. With a small mirror and a flashlight look from below up into the caliper. Manipulate the mirror to view the brake pads edge-on and view the wear indicators one at a time. I took a picture of the owners manual page and of the outboard brake pad in my 2013. Yellow points to the brake disk and the wear indicator circled in red. This pad has plenty of pad material to go before the wear indicator will be close to or at the disk. My wife contributed the make-up mirror.

IMG_1146.jpgIMG_1145_LI (2).jpg
 
Thanks Dave. Maybe I shouldn't have taken him at his word, but it just reinforced my own guess. Will check out visual indicators before changing the pads. It does seem odd to hear noise only at low speeds. Guess I have to take the pads off for clean up at a minimum anyway? Or can I ignore low speed noise as braking at speed seems completely normal assuming the visual indicators are OK?

Feeling a bit stupid here. I have a service manual that I was planning on reading before the replacement, should have read it or at least looked at owner's manual before ordering pads. But if I need them, they are at least here.
 
Is it just me or does that inside pad look like it's put on backwards or something???? Looks like the actual brake pad material is facing away from the rotor. I realize the pad material shouldn't be high above the rotor, just looks funny in that picture. Looks like there is basically zero pad material left though.

Here's my opinion...sounds like a good time for you to get more familiar with your bike and it's equipment, and remove the caliper to better inspect the pads and take better pictures for us, and then you can install the new pads yourself. Literally all you have to do is remove 2 bolts and wiggle the caliper slightly until it comes off, while being careful not to scratch the rim when taking it off. Same process for reinstalling the caliper. And be sure to NOT touch your brake lever while the caliper is off. I believe they are 2 12mm bolts if I recall correctly.

And the big #1 thing to remember, once you reinstall the caliper and tighten both bolts, pump the front brake lever several times until it gets hard again before riding. And of course, always be careful making sure the brakes are working good when you ride it again.

I could change these pads for you in literally 5-10 minutes, don't waste your money at the dealer paying them to do it unless you are just really not comfortable doing it yourself. It's quite simple. If you choose to do this yourself, feel free to pm me or we can chat here in this thread, and I can walk you through the entire process.
 
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The camera angles preclude seeing the wear indicator for each pad but the minimal distance between the disk and the metal backing plate of each pad does show there is not much pad left. It’s time for the new pads. When you get the new pads installed and note the large distance from backing plate to the disk it will show how little pad left can be estimated just by looking at the end of the caliper with a mirror. Good pics.
 
Thanks all! Will go ahead and change them. Actually what impressed me most was how far out the piston appeared to be. And on the inside pad there is a metal piece (shim?) very close to the disk. The backing plate is invisible to me on the bike but easy to see on the EBC new pads.
 
Is it just me or does that inside pad look like it's put on backwards or something???? Looks like the actual brake pad material is facing away from the rotor. I realize the pad material shouldn't be high above the rotor, just looks funny in that picture. Looks like there is basically zero pad material left though.

Here's my opinion...sounds like a good time for you to get more familiar with your bike and it's equipment, and remove the caliper to better inspect the pads and take better pictures for us, and then you can install the new pads yourself. Literally all you have to do is remove 2 bolts and wiggle the caliper slightly until it comes off, while being careful not to scratch the rim when taking it off. Same process for reinstalling the caliper. And be sure to NOT touch your brake lever while the caliper is off. I believe they are 2 12mm bolts if I recall correctly.

And the big #1 thing to remember, once you reinstall the caliper and tighten both bolts, pump the front brake lever several times until it gets hard again before riding. And of course, always be careful making sure the brakes are working good when you ride it again.

I could change these pads for you in literally 5-10 minutes, don't waste your money at the dealer paying them to do it unless you are just really not comfortable doing it yourself. It's quite simple. If you choose to do this yourself, feel free to pm me or we can chat here in this thread, and I can walk you through the entire process.
Well, in addition to those installation steps, you are going need to deal with pushing back the caliper pistons and managing excess brake fluid. With that much pad wear, it’s possible that pushing the pistons back in enough to fit brand new pads will overflow the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir.
 
Well, in addition to those installation steps, you are going need to deal with pushing back the caliper pistons and managing excess brake fluid. With that much pad wear, it’s possible that pushing the pistons back in enough to fit brand new pads will overflow the master cylinder brake fluid reservoir.
Valid point, unless it's still got the oem brake fluid in it and has never had any added to it, which probably isn't all that uncommon LOL. In which case it needs to be changed anyways, which is also a fairly simple job, given you purchase a $10-15 bleeder kit with hose and catch cup from Advance Auto Parts.

This is good experience, you'll learn how to change your own brake pads and cycle through new brake fluid. The more you learn about your bike and how it works, will always benefit you in the long run, not to mention save loads of money. We're here to help you along the way if you choose to do it all yourself.

In order to compress the pistons back into the caliper, use one of the old worn out brake pads, lay it across the pistons and use a large pair of channel lock pliers to compress the pistons. Utilizing the old brake pad in this manner will allow for equal and straight-on force to be applied to the pistons upon compressing them. And it would probably be best to remove the fluid reservoir cap and check the brake fluid level before you compress the pistons in preparation to install the new pads. If the fluid level is near the top, you can suck some out with something like a dropper or plastic syringe, or use a couple of shop towels and soak some up and discard the towels in order to reduce fluid level. If the fluid level is near the bottom of the reservoir, you can just leave the cap off, compress the pistons while simultaneously stopping to check the fluid level (or have someone watching the fluid level as you compress the pistons). Then, after you get the new pads installed in the caliper and mount it back on the bike, you can work on flushing out the old brake fluid with new.

Brake fluid tip. These bikes require Dot 4 fluid. Buy a small bottle of it. You shouldn't need more than a small bottle of it and a small bottle is easier to pour than a bigger bottle. This matters because brake fluid is corrosive and will ruin various surfaces if it is spilled and sits on the surface for a while. If any spillage occurs, clean it off immediately, maybe even with something like some rubbing alcohol if a lot is spilled.
 
And something I always do is take some fine grit sand paper and smooth up the pin that holds the pads in the caliper when you remove it, then mildly apply some standard moly grease on the pin before installing it with the new pads. This will help the pads back off of the rotor when braking isn't applied and create less drag.

You may think "dang, I need to buy a brake bleed kit, large channel lock pliers (if you don't have any), maybe some sockets/wrenches, brake fluid (not expensive), on top of brake pads I've already bought?" Yes, this first time, it might cost a little extra to do it yourself, but still probably cheaper than a dealer will charge, you do it yourself so you know it's right, and you are equipped now to do it again next time, or on your next bike, and it will cost even less next time.

Good luck!
 
Valid point, unless it's still got the oem brake fluid in it and has never had any added to it, which probably isn't all that uncommon LOL. In which case it needs to be changed anyways, which is also a fairly simple job, given you purchase a $10-15 bleeder kit with hose and catch cup from Advance Auto Parts.

This is good experience, you'll learn how to change your own brake pads and cycle through new brake fluid. The more you learn about your bike and how it works, will always benefit you in the long run, not to mention save loads of money. We're here to help you along the way if you choose to do it all yourself.

In order to compress the pistons back into the caliper, use one of the old worn out brake pads, lay it across the pistons and use a large pair of channel lock pliers to compress the pistons. Utilizing the old brake pad in this manner will allow for equal and straight-on force to be applied to the pistons upon compressing them. And it would probably be best to remove the fluid reservoir cap and check the brake fluid level before you compress the pistons in preparation to install the new pads. If the fluid level is near the top, you can suck some out with something like a dropper or plastic syringe, or use a couple of shop towels and soak some up and discard the towels in order to reduce fluid level. If the fluid level is near the bottom of the reservoir, you can just leave the cap off, compress the pistons while simultaneously stopping to check the fluid level (or have someone watching the fluid level as you compress the pistons). Then, after you get the new pads installed in the caliper and mount it back on the bike, you can work on flushing out the old brake fluid with new.

Brake fluid tip. These bikes require Dot 4 fluid. Buy a small bottle of it. You shouldn't need more than a small bottle of it and a small bottle is easier to pour than a bigger bottle. This matters because brake fluid is corrosive and will ruin various surfaces if it is spilled and sits on the surface for a while. If any spillage occurs, clean it off immediately, maybe even with something like some rubbing alcohol if a lot is spilled.
I don’t mean to nitpick but just to possibly save someone some grief, I suggest that the reservoir cap at least be set in place, or a shop/paper towel be placed on top of the reservoir while pushing the pistons back in. If the pistons should move quickly, brake fluid can possibly squirt out of an open reservoir and onto painted or plastic surfaces, which as you pointed out, can cause damage.
 
And something I always do is take some fine grit sand paper and smooth up the pin that holds the pads in the caliper when you remove it, then mildly apply some standard moly grease on the pin before installing it with the new pads. This will help the pads back off of the rotor when braking isn't applied and create less drag.

You may think "dang, I need to buy a brake bleed kit, large channel lock pliers (if you don't have any), maybe some sockets/wrenches, brake fluid (not expensive), on top of brake pads I've already bought?" Yes, this first time, it might cost a little extra to do it yourself, but still probably cheaper than a dealer will charge, you do it yourself so you know it's right, and you are equipped now to do it again next time, or on your next bike, and it will cost even less next time.

Good luck!
I have another approach to the retaining pin. To clean it I brush it with a fine stainless steel brush that is about the size of a toothbrush. Both the Honda Common Service Manual and the model specific Service Manual recommends the pad retaining pin be installed dry and free of grease and that's what I do.

If one is not prepared to clean the pin all the time, with a few miles the grease on the pin collects road dust and grime which makes a paste that inhibits the free movement of the pads on the pin.
 
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