Rear brakes pads wearing at different rate.

On the last couple of times that I replaced the rear brake pads I've noticed that the movable pad (piston side) wears out twice as fast as the stationary side.
The rear brakes have just over 12000 miles on them and I can see the difference already.
What's your thoughts.

They are EBC pads

Sounds like your rear brakes are dragging. Could be smc problem, dirty calipers and or pins...dry sliding pins...or Poor fitment because of ebc pads.
Or air in the system. I would replace all pads with oem parts then do a complete flush and bleed on the brake system.

Bill144 said:

On the last couple of times that I replaced the rear brake pads I've noticed that the movable pad (piston side) wears out twice as fast as the stationary side.
The rear brakes have just over 12000 miles on them and I can see the difference already.
What's your thoughts.

Click to expand...

Might be the sliding pins are hung up ... (1) when was the last time you removed the rear caliper, and (b) what steps did you take to mount it back?

+1 on above... def bleed, lube all that requires same like pins, slide area, and a good brushing down of all parts and calipers ( toothbrush in brake fluid works well, just watch paint )

Igofar said:

Sounds like your rear brakes are dragging. Could be smc problem, dirty calipers and or pins...dry sliding pins...or Poor fitment because of ebc pads.
Or air in the system. I would replace all pads with oem parts then do a complete flush and bleed on the brake system.

Click to expand...

I have replaced both sliding pins and put a light coat of anti-seize on them. I've cleaned the pistons with brake fluid and they seem to work well. As for OEM brake pads - I did order them from a US supplier but they would not fit. They were too thick and allowed no room for the brake disk to fit in the slot at the back. A Canadian supplier told me that the Canadian ST's have different pads???
As for air in the system that is possible. The brake system on this bike is the hardest to bleed of any bike I've owned, but why would air in the system cause one pad to wear quicker.
I have about 93000 miles on the bike.

You should check the spring clip in the top of the caliper is correctly positioned, this can hang up the pads if incorrect.

I always use ACF50 for cleaning the caliper and ALWAYS clean the entire caliper and pistons at any pad or tyre change... ensuring the sliders and the hanger pin are clean and lubed.

The OEM pads for the rear are thicker and they do fit, if the pistons are properly retracted.

Any other pads may not have the correct shape cutout in the nose of the pad that fits into the clip at the front of the caliper, this can also cause problems.

on Firstpeke's comment.

When you say you put a light coat of anti-seize on the sliding pins.....are you referring to the Pad Hanging pins? or the dowel pins that the caliper bracket slides on to?
If you put anti seize on those two large sliding dowels, you will want to remove the caliper and clean them off asap. You only want to use a rubber friendly grease on those.

Bill,
I was a bit leary about working on and bleeding the ST1300 ABS brake system when I first got my bike.
After posting, talking to members, buying a motion pro bleeder and reading the below links, no more fear.
If you in the neighbourhood of Vancouver, stop by and we can do it together.

Read the PDF file on this one.
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?135125-ST1300-Brakes-Avoiding-the-Pitfalls

This is the best brake procedure to me that is posted on here.
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?68913-ST1300-Brake-Fluid-Replacement

In a nutshell, this is how it's done. I use a motion pro bleeder.
https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?109878-ST1300-Brake-Bleed-Procedure-VIDEO

Firstpeke said:

I always use ACF50 for cleaning the caliper and ALWAYS clean the entire caliper and pistons at any pad or tyre change... ensuring the sliders and the hanger pin are clean and lubed.

Click to expand...

What part of the caliper do you clean with ACF50? Just the external surface of the caliper?

I remove the pads and clean the entire caliper with ACF50 using an old tooth brush... I then wipe it with a rag or cloth which soaks up the excess ACF50.... I usually remove the clips when cleaning.
The sliding portion is removed and the pins cleaned and re-lubed with the appropriate grease....

Pads are cleaned with a small screwdriver to remove caked on brake dust, thin film of copper grease on the back before refitting, hanger pin is cleaned and stuck in the copper grease until refitted.... I leave a good bit of copper grease on there and have no problems....

The ACF leaves a film over the entire caliper which in time dries up or washes off, but it seems to hold the piston corrosion at bay.....

When assembled the calipers look very good.... I often use a paintbrush to reapply ACF to the unions and external surfaces after washing the bike....

Great care is taken not to contaminate the pads at any time..... I also clean the discs with brake cleaner before reassembling the caliper and pads, just in case there is any cross contamination.

I use ACF50 on the frame and all nuts and bolts are treated and if not critical are copper greased on assembly.....

Threadlock is used on any critical nuts or bolts.

Firstpeke said:

I use ACF50 on t

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to see who carries it locally.

I see ACF-50 is "specifically designed for the Aerospace Industry" ... after you've applied it, does you ST take to the air?

Well my first ST had a bad landing and the second was briefly airborne before also having a bad landing.....

On the premise that any landing you can walk away from is a good one, the second was not so good.....

I now ride an NT700V......

But still use ACF50... made by Lear Corporation apparently and a genuine anti corrosion fluid, unlike some water displacing fluids commercially available....

I buy the litre bottle with the free pump spray.... lasts a long time and is best used when at room temperature, as opposed to our local temperatures in anything but the height of summer.

I also use a brush or rag to apply rather than spray..... putting bolts etc into a small container and pouring a little ACF in to let them soak until ready to be refitted...

The rag used to wipe up excess can then be used to wipe other metal surfaces, like wheels, handlebars and so on....

When used on black plastic it works rather well too.......

Igofar said:

When you say you put a light coat of anti-seize on the sliding pins.....are you referring to the Pad Hanging pins? or the dowel pins that the caliper bracket slides on to?
If you put anti seize on those two large sliding dowels, you will want to remove the caliper and clean them off asap. You only want to use a rubber friendly grease on those.

Click to expand...

Tomorrow - Sat 6th we are heading out to Westoc in Fortuna. Maybe we can have a talk about the problem.