Ignoramus M620 rear brake question(s)

[AK ducati]

Hi-apologies in advance for my beginner questions!  I have an 06 M620 that I bought last year.  Since then I've changed out the chain, and the usual oil changes (only 5 months of riding weather up here).  The bike has about 15000 miles on it so far (bought it at 9000).  Anyways, was riding in from work today and used the rear brake in my parking lot going very slow, and I heard a scraping noise.  I think I can safely assume my rear brake pads are toast.  I don't any bike stores in my town, but I could ask a friend in Anchorage to go to the local Ducati dealer and mail me down the parts.  What parts would I need, besides the brake pads? Also are the stock pads good? If not any suggestions on better replacement pads?  I've never even changed out pads before but a friend of mine can help, as long as I have all the parts.  Thanks again!

[Howie]

Brake noise can come from many causes.  Step 1 is first examine the brake.  How much lining is left?  What is the condition of the rotor; any scoring?  above or below minimum thickness?  Is the caliper functioning properly?

   Minimum lining thickness on your rear pads is 1mm. 
   Minimum thickness on your rotor is 3.6mm.

[AK ducati]

Thanks for the reply.  I'll be checking it today after work-it started pouring last night so couldn't really have a look at it.  But thinking back, when I got the bike last year the rear brakes always were kind of weak and the pedal had a lot of play (brake fluid level is fine).  Since then I've put on about 6000 miles, so it's probably the pads, but I'll check the rotor thickness as well.  If it is the pads, are there any other options instead of OEM?  I'd have to ask a friend in Anchorage to go the Duc dealer and ship them up otherwise.  There is a NAPA in town that I could go to.

[Speeddog]

Lots of options on pads.

I doubt NAPA can help other than with brake fluid.

[AK ducati]

Hmm, I guess the easiest thing then would be for me to get the OEM pads from a dealer (since I'd have to ask a friend to pick them up and mail them to me).  I was looking at the pics posted in the tutorial section for how to change pads in the front brakes for the S2R1000.  Is it the same concept for the rear? i.e., unbolt the caliper from the disc, remove the pins, replace pad and backing plate etc? And is there anything else I'd have to do after changing pads?  This is new to me and I don't want to screw it up!

[1.21GW]

Check some of our sponsors for brake pads.  There are some non-OEM options out there and I believe ca-cycleworks has a page on their site talking about the different characteristics of each brand/model with respect to friction, amount of brake dust, etc.

General consensus is that unless you do a lot of hard riding or track, OEM is fine.  I've read that some people put a stronger pad on the rear because the rear is a weak brake anyway in terms of stopping power (i.e. front ~ 80% of stopping power).

As for what you need to do, the mechanical part is pretty easy.  Check out this site.  Some other good tutorials on there, too.  I think the hard/crucial part is not the mechanical install but rather the initial break-in process.

http://www.ducatisuite.com/brakepads.html

[1.21GW]

Here's the cycleworks chart on brake pads:

http://ca-cycleworks.com/products/brakes/brake-pads

[AK ducati]

Hey-thanks so much for the helpful directions and links!  Hopefully I can get the bike on the road in a couple of weeks at the latest!

[1.21GW]

Couple of weeks?!?  Your summer will be over!  Disable the rear brake and ride without it while you wait for the pads.   

[AK ducati]

Hmm...I may have been thinking of riding if it was a really nice sunny day regardless    I figured a couple of weeks to include shipping as well.  

[ducpainter]

What is a rear brake?

I rarely use mine, whether on the street or track.

[AK ducati]

Guess I'll just have to make a conscious effort not to touch the rear brake pedal out of habit while riding!

[AK ducati]

Hmm....

[d3vi@nt]

^^ 

[AK ducati]

I might have to start paying attention to things other than fish biology...