Brake wear in just 3500 miles

[W14]

Just passed State Inspection at 15K, no problems with pads

[stevewfl]

Just passed State Inspection at 15K, no problems with pads

State Inspection?  Wish my state would inspect my pads for me. Where is this?  And is there a fee for this service?

[PH14]

State Inspection?  Wish my state would inspect my pads for me. Where is this?  And is there a fee for this service?

I don't know where he is, but here in Pennsylvania yearly inspection is required, and yes, there is a fee.

[VirginiaJim]

Many states have vehicle inspections and some don't.  VA inspects once a year.  Used to do it twice....what a pain.

[Pokey]

Nothing like state gov stepping in when they shouldn't be.

[W14]

State Inspection?  Wish my state would inspect my pads for me. Where is this?  And is there a fee for this service?[/quote]

I am from Virginia and as VirginiaJim said, vehicles are subject to an annual state inspection which includes brakes, lights, horn, etc.  The fee is $12. Its about safety, so I don't have an issue with it.

Have not quite figured out how to insert a quote

[rcannon409]

I've ruined brake pads from cleaning products. I've never seen a police motorcycle with even a spec of moon dust on it. Is there any chance some cleaning product is softening the pads, thus causing them to wear quickly?

[stevewfl]

Wow I remember required inspection in SC wayyyyyyyy back when.  Haven't seen it there nor here in FL for years.

[PH14]

Nothing like state gov stepping in when they shouldn't be.

I don't have an issue with it. They aren't stepping in where they shouldn't be since they are inspecting vehicles registered to be used on their roadways. I would never let my vehicle go to the point it wouldn't pass inspection but so many do and thankfully here in PA they get them inspected and fixed. Nice to know when they are behind me and I need to use my brakes. We used to joke that once we passed the PA line into Ohio you would see fenders flapping in the breeze from the rust, and it was often true. Those vehicles wouldn't have passed inspection in PA. 

[Conrad]

I don't have an issue with it. They aren't stepping in where they shouldn't be since they are inspecting vehicles registered to be used on their roadways. I would never let my vehicle go to the point it wouldn't pass inspection but so many do and thankfully here in PA they get them inspected and fixed. Nice to know when they are behind me and I need to use my brakes. We used to joke that once we passed the PA line into Ohio you would see fenders flapping in the breeze from the rust, and it was often true. Those vehicles wouldn't have passed inspection in PA. 

I wish that every state would do this. They need to make sure that vehicles are safe enough to be on the roads and to make sure that folks are driving with insurance. I"m sure that you'll all seen folks driving around in some POS junker that has no business being on the roads at all.

[stevewfl]

On the flip side, many states such as SC abandoned this because all it was good for is "service stations" (back in the days SC had those) would ALWAYS find something wrong to justify a repair.

It was a hellofa racket and SC ended it.

Thats why I couldn't believe some states still deal with it. Maybe some states have a state inspection center or some government control measures that keep it fair and I just don't realize it =)

I know in 1996 in AZ I had to connect the car muffler to some hose contraption for smog (and we had to temporarily remove our high performance chips , I don't know if they still do that sillyness or not either

[VirginiaJim]

As far as I know, VA has independents doing the inspections.  I've never run across any station that fabricated repairs in the Commonwealth.  However, assuming something is found that can cause a rejection, the owner of the vehicle isn't obligated to get it fixed at the station who rejected them.  They can get it fixed somewhere else and then come back to get it reinspected for a $1.  There's really not an incentive for inspection stations to fabricate a rejection.  The rejection sticker is good for 15 days, I think.  I've had a few things over the years to cause rejections and then fixed them myself.  While this is a PITA to get done yearly (with many vehicles), at least they check the safety stuff.  I'm grudgingly glad that they are there.  They are heavily inspected by the State Police who administer the program.

[lt1]

RE the topic - many/most motorcops are young, exuberant males who enjoy power - guns and motorcycles.  Ie not too different than many/most of use, except for the age thing.  I would guess that most of us would wear out our brakes faster if we knew that we were immune from tickets and that someone else would be paying for maintenance and repairs.  Having said that, 3500 miles, IMHO, is a sign of either abuse or a failure.

RE the hijack - Maricopa county, AZ is one of the very few places with annual motorcycle smog/emission inspections.  $19/year.  Cars also have inspections, but the newer ones are biennial and just and OBDII test.

[SPX]

RE the topic - many/most motorcops are young, exuberant males who enjoy power - guns and motorcycles.  Ie not too different than many/most of use, except for the age thing.  I would guess that most of us would wear out our brakes faster if we knew that we were immune from tickets and that someone else would be paying for maintenance and repairs.  Having said that, 3500 miles, IMHO, is a sign of either abuse or a failure.

RE the hijack - Maricopa county, AZ is one of the very few places with annual motorcycle smog/emission inspections.  $19/year.  Cars also have inspections, but the newer ones are biennial and just and OBDII test.

23 motor officers where I work, and 20 are over 45 years old. That kind of destroys your theory, huh? 

How the police bikes are treated is less a factor of "having fun" with them than it is doing what needs to be done to get the job done. For an officer than works the highway, it's fairly common to go 0 to 100 to 0 virtually all day long doing stops. Obviously, applying brakes at high speed as the gap closes is going to wear them out quicker than a rider who doesn't ride in that fashion.

[lt1]

23 motor officers where I work, and 20 are over 45 years old. That kind of destroys your theory, huh? 

How the police bikes are treated is less a factor of "having fun" with them than it is doing what needs to be done to get the job done. For an officer than works the highway, it's fairly common to go 0 to 100 to 0 virtually all day long doing stops. Obviously, applying brakes at high speed as the gap closes is going to wear them out quicker than a rider who doesn't ride in that fashion.

Not really.  Age was only one factor.  I said nothing about having fun.  I did use the word abuse. 

[556ALPHA]

Our age range is 41, 45, 46, and 47.  A little maturity is definitely looked for in the process.  But you are correct that there are many 0-75-0 stops that occur daily using the BMW RT's.  If we rode C14's then maybe 0-100-0.   

[Eric119]

I don't know about you, but I do engine braking more then I use the brakes.  I have about 16k on it and the front brakes are probably still have 75% left.

Sine you set the bike up as patrol bike, could it be the accessories weight down the front?  Or the LEOs were just out of shape like they showed in COPS?   

I'm quite sure it's not an out of shape issue. The bike is loaded with about 100 lbs of gear plus another 75 lbs of electronics and emergency equipment. Riding is a lot of quick acceleration and deceleration. And very aggressive riding.

[Eric119]

Our age range is 41, 45, 46, and 47.  A little maturity is definitely looked for in the process.  But you are correct that there are many 0-75-0 stops that occur daily using the BMW RT's.  If we rode C14's then maybe 0-100-0.   

Having both bikes in the unit I definately agree. BMW RTs handle pretty good but no way can keep up with a C14..Nana na na, hey hey good-bye

[Eric119]

I would guess that most of us would wear out our brakes faster if we knew that we were immune from tickets and that someone else would be paying for maintenance and repairs.  Having said that, 3500 miles, IMHO, is a sign of either abuse or a failure.

I'm not sure where you are at but in my area if we drop a candy wrapper someone is calling in to complain. No way we could high speed horse. Sides they get enough on track training to run it out of system. Lastly, all the crashes responded to is enough. Too many incompetent cagers out there.

[Eric119]

How many miles have you gotten out of the front tire?  Maybe I am going out on a limb but is it possible you are enjoying the new found joy of acceleration the the RT did not provide and therefor have to get on the brakes very hard to stop?     BTW I only get about 4,000-4,500 miles out of a front tire on the RT.

About the same as you; 4k to 4.5k  Depends somewhat on the particular tire, weather and where patrolling. Tend to flat spot sooner when working a lot of freeways. One new tire we are more & more impressed with is the new Bridgestone BT023. I know what some of you will say. Bridgestone is crap. with BT021 I completely agree. The BTO23 is a completely different tire though.