Brake Discs

[vfrtom]

On Friday last, the bike received its 20,000 mile service. I was advised that the front discs were below the wear limit and required replacement. I have booked the bike in this Wednesday 28th and have been advised that the cost will be almost £700.
I am greatly shocked by this. I have ridden for many years and have never had to replace discs before. My previous bike was a Honda Blackbird with 70,000 miles when I sold it, and it was still on the original discs.
I do not believe that my riding style has changed, and although I acknowledge that the GTR is a heavy bike, I would not expect discs to wear in such a short time. If such wear is both normal and expected, I would question whether I can keep the bike as the running costs would become prohibitive.

Any of you guys had a similar experience
Thanks
Tom

[BigAlan]

Not being an expert on this but an expert on not spending money when i dont need to i would say this is excessive, ok i dont know the actual cost of a pair of disks right now but i am sure they wont be much more than say £100 and then its labour to change them, plus pads.

Me, i would research the cost of the pads then get my mate who knows stuff to do it for me while i help, and save a heap of cash.

Alan

[Kwikasfuki]

Discs at 20000 miles? Are you sure they aren't having you on? I know there are issues with discs warping, but not wearing out.

I would take the bike to another dealer and ask for a second opinion. You can get after market discs on ebay for about £150 I think. Add onto that the cost of pads.

You should be able to DIY. I don't think its a hard job.

[Boomer]

Bull

The dealer is having you on.
Mine has 48,600 miles on the original discs and there is not even a slight lip on them.
If I were you I'd check them yourself or get another independent dealer to take a look.
I am on my 3rd set of pads on the front.

If they have worn below the wear limit already then there is a serious problem with the brakes dragging which would probably affect the handling and ride quality. You would also have worn out about 5 sets of brake pads.

[Cartman]

Bull

The dealer is having you on.
Mine has 48,600 miles on the original discs and there is not even a slight lip on them.
If I were you I'd check them yourself or get another independent dealer to take a look.
I am on my 3rd set of pads on the front.

If they have worn below the wear limit already then there is a serious problem with the brakes dragging which would probably affect the handling and ride quality. You would also have worn out about 5 sets of brake pads.

TOTALLY agree with this

[vfrtom]

Thanks for the comments guys
The discs are definately worn. There is a sizeable lip on them
Am in correspondence with Kawasaki, so keep you updated
Tom

[Rusty]

Jeeeepers ...    .. keep us all updated Tom ... there is no way that would be £700 ... you could source the discs on E bay, then take them to Jo Bloggs down the road if you had to but it wouldn't be £700 !!

[Lonewolf]

I'd done 20k on the other GTR which was five years old and the discs were spot on. I'd definately say there is an issue with the brakes especially if you have a prominent lip as you described on the discs.

[O.C.]

Your bike is a 2010 model year with 20,000 miles

Kawasaki should deffo cover this under warranty. amke sure nyou tell them so !

[howard]

Hi I had my discs and pads replaced under warranty as they were distorted and the dealer is quoting the correct price as his hands are tied, he has to use gen parts and that is why its exspensive.
I would source the disc and pads from a un gen source and then get a independant garage to fit them,I  would exspect your bill to be £200 to £300 lighter than a main dealer.
I do think your front brake calipers need a good check as it seems unusual to have disc replacment at this mileage.

[2kwacks]

agree with the rest of them, discs should not show any significant signs of wear at 20,000 miles. if you can't get them under warranty for some reason, as a last resort only! use the mileage to your advantage and suggest they meet half the cost with you. if that fails, "sack the dealer" you can get a good set of quality discs and pads for under £400 and there easy enough to fit yourself

[100milesaway]

Tom I find it impossible to believe that a set of discs could wear to the point that you can actually detect a lip on the disc, unless the brakes have been binding, in which case as you sound like an experienced rider you would have picked up on it. so as someone has already said you need to go and face your dealer. I would expect no visible wear at all after your stated mileage. One question !!!!!! Have you owned the bike from new?

[viper]

when we had our merc serviced we were told that the discs needed changing at 24k.  I found out what the thickness of the discs should be and bought myself a cheap micrometer from aldi for £8, i measured the disc thickness and it was the same as when new, there was a " lip " on them but this was just a crud and brake dust build up. When i challenged merc they said its policy to change discs when changing pads . The car has done 55k now and still same discs. I know this is a car story but same rules apply, get your discs measured and compare from new spec.

If they are not warped and are a bit thinner i cant see this being a safety issue, id carry on running them and then id buy the cheap chinese  ones off ebay ( £130 set ) , ive had several sets and they are great , i think the brand is " arashi" , i have a test post for these on another forum

[shaggs147]

Funnily enough, mine's a 2010 bike with about 18000 miles or so on the clock, and I'm getting a little concerned about the wear ridges in the front discs. I'll have to measure the discs and report back.
Anybody know the minimum wear limit?
Maybe there's a batch of discs out there that are a little on the soft side??

[vfrtom]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I do not believe the dealer is shafting me, but I am in correspondence with kawasaki UK to see what their attitude is. Will keep you posted
Tom