| Author | Message | ||
     M2me |
I've got my 2001 M2 in the dealer for the 10,000 mile service and a couple of surprises have come up. Rear brake pads and rotor! They claim the rear pads were completely gone and now the rotor is damaged. I didn't think I used the rear brake that much and they say the front pads are fine. Do rear pads wear that fast? And that much worse than the front? It's weird that this topic was being discussed recently on SacBORG. I would have assumed that the front pads would wear out first. Steering head bearings. I don't wheelie (really!) and I didn't notice any notchiness in the steering. Is it common for steering head bearings to wear that quickly? Wouldn't I notice some notchiness in the steering? I was a little nervous about doing the 10,000 mile service myself and now I'm nervous that I'm being ripped off. It's like being caught between a rock and a hard place. | ||
| Cyclone1 |
M2me, Perhaps you've used the rear brake more than you thought...they should have saved the old pads to show you (at least that's what we do) I'd ask em' if I was you. Steering head bearings...yea, I could see that. I had my frame chromed around 11,000 miles (02' M2) and my bearings were starting to show some serious wear. And trust me...I don't do wheelies either. Might pop it off the ground every once in a while, but that's about it. Most steering head bearings I've replaced weren't notchy, but you could tell that they weren't far off from becoming excessively worn. Keep in mind that your dealership is trying to cover their ass by assuring your safety. We never let a bike go w/o making sure all the lights work, the brakes are good, and the tires have some life left in them. At any rate (like I said), I would defenitely give them a call/stop by, and see if they still have your old parts to show ya  Frank | ||
| M2me |
Frank, Yeah, I'm definetly going to ask to see the rear rotor. I'll ask to look at the steering head bearings too but I probably won't see much. I would probably just put the old ones back in without really knowing what I was doing. That's why I took it to the dealer. I want their expertise but am also nervous about being ripped off. I suppose everybody feels that way a little bit. The bike is supposed to be done either tomorrow or Wednesday and I'll know more then. | ||
| Koz5150 |
I talked to a friend who just had his 883 in for a 1000 mile check-up. I was picking on him because he always seemed to have a gob of grease at the bottom of the neck. He told me that he asked about that at the shop and the guys told him they pack as much as they can in there to keep the bearings from wearing out. It's a common problem. So I guess you situation is very possible. | ||
| Kcbill |
M2me it doesn't sound like any big deal to me. The head bearing wear is normal on these bikes. You will have to pay attention to your rear brake usage. Keep an eye on your brake pads so it doesn't cost so much when you need brakes. Ask the dealer to show you where to look if you don't know. It really doesn't sound bad at all to me. The head bearings will cost you the most and take the longest to do. I think head bearings are about 75 bucks and the labor to pull front end. Rear brake will take about 1/2 hour or so to replace. They will have to pull the wheel off. I'd guess your around 500.00 bucks or so. | ||
| Johnc |
This is what my steering head bearings looked like at 15000 km. There was almost no greas in them from the factory. I packed the new ones with Belray waterproof grease and filled the steering stem with grease as well as there are no seals.  | ||
| Blake |
Steering head bearings are CHEAP!! Like maybe $15 for the set. They had to already have the front end off to grease them, might as well replace them too. They are not trying to rip you off on the bearings. They are not sealed bearings and if exposed to moister will begin to pit. The rear brake is another issue. If your disk is just a bit buggered/grooved but still has adequate thickness, I'd keep it and just throw on a new set of pads. If you use the rear brake, the pads will wear out in a hurry. The rear brake only has between one third and one half of the pad area of the front. | ||
| Josh_ |
Rear brake: last time my S3 was looked at, the rear pads had worn down almost all the way, plus they started wearing crooked, wore down the piston at an angle and started wearing through the connecting pin. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Regarding the rear brake... My rear pads were SHOT at 19K miles. The outside pad was just to the metal leaving very fine lines on the rotor. The inside pad was about 1/2 gone. Closer inspection revealed a caliper that wasn't sliding on the pin. Pretty much let the outside pad drag all the time. I retrospect, I recall feeling the drag once in a while. I also had a problem with the brake light coming on by itself once in a while, usually after riding in the rain. Appears the caliper had been sticking for some time. All sliding brake mounting parts now have high temp moly grease to prevent future problems. The rotor wasn't groved enough or warped to replace so I left it in place. When I replaced my head bearings this spring, the looked much like Johnc's above. I replaced mine with sealed bearings. They cost a total of $26 for the sealed version vs $15 for the unsealed. The lower bearing was much worse than the upper. Pretty much as expected due to the loading but the dirt is really a big factor also. Josh, make sure your calipers move freely on the pins. I had to get a small bore brush and carb cleaner to get all the crud out of my rear caliper pin hole. The caliper now floats the way it should. YMMV Brad | ||
| M2me |
I got my bike back on Saturday after waiting about a week for the rear rotor. It runs and rides awesome! Almost better than new. The rear rotor was the most expensive surprise, $69.50. Actually, that's less than I thought it would be. The steering head bearings were $13.95 each. Now I've got a new problem. I just noticed on the work order that they put in 6R12 spark plugs. At first I thought it was a typo or something so I went and checked the plugs. Yep, they are 6R12s. According to my owner's manual they should be 10R12s. I'll have to call them tomorrow about this. Overall I think St. Paul HD/Buell did a pretty good job with my 10K service. Yes, there have been some suprises but so far they have been friendly and courteous with any questions that I've had. I'm sure I will be able to get the spark plug situation worked out without any problems. | ||
| Piggos |
I'm always amazed how inexpensive HD and Buell parts are. If you were buying BMW parts, the rotor would probably be $269.50 and the steering head bearings would be $73.95 each. Hey, let me tell you about my $211.00 Ducati rocker arm... | ||
| Koz5150 |
I found that I noticed no difference running Autolite 4162 (I think, I would have to go home and check) plugs in my 2002 M2. They are less then $2 a piece. Thing is if the 6R12s work, I wouldn't bother changing them. | ||
| Blake |
Koz, What will you tell M2me when his rear piston melts down?  M2me, Get those plugs changed asap. | ||
| M2me |
I finally rode over to St. Paul on Saturday to have the plugs changed. I went up to the service desk and explained what had happened. I was greeted with a lot of puzzled faces. Nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. One guy asks me, "What does your owner's manual say you should use?" 10R12s. "Hmmm, are you sure?" Yes. A younger technician wandered over and was asked, "This guy here says Buells should use 10R12 plugs. Is that right?" He said, "Yeah, he's right. Buell even put out a Service Bulletin about it." So they said wheel it in and they'd swap out the plugs. I grabbed a can of Coke and wandered around for about ten minutes while they put in the right plugs. The service writer that I originally worked with came out later and greeted me by name and asked how the bike was running, etc. So that was nice. I just hope that younger tech spreads the word about the proper spark plugs for Buells. At least he knew about the Service Bulletin.  Anyway, I now have new 10R12 plugs and the bike is running great so I'm happy.  |
