Hi chaps,
Just thought I'd give the GTR a bit of a service, changing oils and filters etc. The rear pads were shot, so I fitted a new set without a hitch. I removed the front calipers for a closer inspection of the pads, all ok, but am almost certain that I've found a crack in the right hand rotor. It runs from the outer edge of the rotor to the nearest drilling in the disc. I will have a closer look at it tomorrow.
I was wondering if anyone has had the same problem, and if so, did you get warranty on the rotors? My bike is now out of warranty, being a 2010 model, and has covered about 21000 miles.
Now I know the bike is out of its warranty period, but surely a disc should last a lot longer than that especially as its a safety issue.
The previous owner had the front pads changed, but I'm not sure if genuine pads have been used. I know car discs are a lot different, but you could bolt two bloody house bricks to them to use as pads and the discs would still last longer than 21000 miles.
Boomer...... I remember you buying new discs on ebay mate, are they still holding up well?
Cheers
Mark
Mark,
In my experience, my front discs were worn below the 4.5mm minimum thickness at about 20k miles and many others on here have reported a similar lifespan. Never seen anything that looks like cracking in them though. I think you will be hugely unlikely to get a warranty claim on them, unless they are still well over that 4.5mm wear level.
I chose not to replace the discs and now, with 39k on the bike, they are down at 3.98mm and still performing perfectly. I have just ordered some new Arashi discs (same as Boomer has been using) to try, not expecting much from them, but £127 a pair rather than £400 (Brembo) or £650 (Kawasaki) works for me.
Martin.
Cheers Martin, think I might go down the same route.
Had a word with Kawasaki today, without much joy as expected, telling me it's a service item bla bla. Bloody cheek I think though, they must be made of chocolate. Don't agree with their argument about how the bike is ridden, as its not thrashed, rarely 2 up, and I don't really hammer the brakes. The brakes should be designed to handle all riding styles and extremes, and with the abs its not like they're being constantly locked up. Think they have their head in the sand regarding brake discs.
I just replaced mine at 43k
Think I paid around £440 for OEM.
Brakes do need looking after.... But what you gain on the swings you loose on. Roundabouts. ;-)
Neil
Brakes are a serviceable item, as to whether yours have worn unacceptably or not is really a matter of debate
KHI, or for that matter, any manufacturer, are unlikely to replace brake items under warranty ob a machine that is out of warranty...its a bummer but that's the deal really
Hi O.C.
Brake pads are servicable items and are expected to be replaced at owners cost at a reasonable interval, but the disc itself should last at least 30,000 miles in normal use, same with bearings, these should not need replacing at less than 20,000. We should be told at the time of purchase, and repeated in the owner's manual if these things are expected. The manual tells you when you should expect to replace your air filter, the brake lines etc. Ther is NO mention of the need to replace discs or bearings and as such KHI cannot expect these to fail.
Coman
ps 11,000mls on my ZZR and 9000mls on my GTR and have had neither of these problems(yet)
Quote from: SirToU on May 23, 2013, 10:36:30 PM
Think I paid around £440 for OEM.
Neil,
Any chance you could double check this please? The Cornwall Kawasaki parts fiche shows the brake discs at £293.03 + VAT each, hence why I spent time investigating options. At £440, I would have happily bought OEM.
Martin.
Quote from: coman37 on May 24, 2013, 10:09:51 AM
Hi O.C.
Brake pads are servicable items and are expected to be replaced at owners cost at a reasonable interval, but the disc itself should last at least 30,000 miles in normal use, same with bearings, these should not need replacing at less than 20,000. We should be told at the time of purchase, and repeated in the owner's manual if these things are expected. The manual tells you when you should expect to replace your air filter, the brake lines etc. Ther is NO mention of the need to replace discs or bearings and as such KHI cannot expect these to fail.
Coman
ps 11,000mls on my ZZR and 9000mls on my GTR and have had neither of these problems(yet)
I suppose it depends on the definition of "normal use". It is of course reasonable to expect discs to last longer than, say 20,000 miles, but that depends on usage and that varies from rider to rider, hence manufacturers don't commit to wear expectations, as therer is no 'norm'
I suppose you could ask which is the best....a bike that has covered 20,000 miles per annum and is one year old, or one that has covered only 2,000 miles per annum and is ten years old.
I don't see the connection/comparison between brake discs and air filters :no:
Quote from: olde coney on May 24, 2013, 02:25:00 PM
I don't see the connection/comparison between brake discs and air filters :no: [/color]
Why not?
Are you saying that it doesn't matter if you ride your bike in the desert or clean mountain air because your air filter will not be effected?
:popcorn:
Since I've had the bike quite a bit of the mileage has been covered up and down the motorway, so the need for braking has been minimal compared to throwing it around the twisties. I just think 20,000 miles isn't a great deal no matter how you ride. Don't get me wrong, I love the can do anything bar off road nature of the bike, so will be keeping it for a long time to come I'd imagine. I would've thought kawasaki would be more interested to look at the discs though if someone reported a possible fail due to cracking. I guess I'll have to just get used to replacing some items when you wouldn't normally expect it with other bikes.
Not heard of rotors cracking. I've been told that the minimum thickness for the rotors (on the 2011 models at least) is 3.9mm so if you're below this threshold then that may explain it.
I notice on mine that they wear more significantly nearer to the axle, up to 0.4mm difference. It's so noticeable that you can feel it when pinching the disc and sliding your fingers up and down.
I'm currently claiming another set under warranty and took out the extended warranty explicitly because of the poor wear rate on the front discs. I've had two dealers tell me it's a known problem with the GTR.
I am having the same problem on a 2013 bike bought in April with only 3800 miles on the clock and the dealer is saying wear & Tear or it may be corrision, I clean the bike and brakes (brake cleaner) as it's a known problem they should do something about it! Service manual says nothing about stripping the brakes and doing anything to the discs.
You get more wear closer to the axle on most bikes.
This is because the pad is normally anchored at the top so the pistons tend to push the bottom of the pad farther.
I can't comment on cracked disks as my OEMs did 47k miles and were down to 4.0 and 4.1mm.
I replaced them with Arashi disks from China (see Ebay) for about £160 including shipping and import duties.
That is for BOTH front disks.
I think it was this guy I bought from.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Brake-Disc-Rotor-Kawasaki-ZX-10R-ZX-10R-ABS-GTR-ZZR-1400-ZZR-ABS-1400-BLK-/130923624880?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item1e7ba7f9b0 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Front-Brake-Disc-Rotor-Kawasaki-ZX-10R-ZX-10R-ABS-GTR-ZZR-1400-ZZR-ABS-1400-BLK-/130923624880?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item1e7ba7f9b0)
So far they are fine but I'm only approaching 52k miles on the bike now so only 5k on the disks.
No lip, wear seems even, no excessive scoring, but I will say this......
Ferodo pads for the GTR are crap.
I fitted them at the same time as the disks and they are coming out next month.
I'm gonna get some EBCs or DPs as these Ferodos are disintegrating.
They were cheap so I guess I got what I paid for.
How do you check the thickness of the rotars? Is there a special tool & one that can be recommended?
A micrometer 0-25 is one way, vernier clippers is another.
I have both.
Alan