Baking Brakes

[BentRod]

I sought advice on this when I first joined the GSR a some months ago. I said I would post results and a proceedure if it worked..

Well it worked


The problem:
I had soft brake pads. they had been sitting (like the rest of the bike) for about 12 years in a barn. could have been brake fluid, could just be deterioration, could been water absorbtion.

The Solution:
On the chance that it might be water absorbtion, I placed the pads in the oven to sort of dry them out. My goal was actualy to recure them, removing water and undoing a small amount of damage that aging had done to the pads' composition.
I heated them up to between 110 and 115 dgrs C, and left them to sit like that for about 90 minutes. I then cooled them down to 70 dgrs C over the course of another 60 minutes, and then air cooled them.

The Out Come:
I didn't have to buy new pads.

If you do this, DO NOT allow any part of the pad material to go beyond 120dgrs C. beyond 120, you start to get into temperatures that are used in the initial curing stages of brake pad production, which is also done at higher pressures. It is possible that around 130 and higher, you can cause the liquidation of some compounds, and the alterations of others which may not be visible, but which may alter the internal strength of the pad.
Also, heat and cool the pads slowly. steel and brake pad have different expansion rates.

Test the pads. remove the top layer of material, and then test how well they stop.
place weight on the pads. hit them with a hammer. make sure that they are tough enough to not fracture. how hard to hit is up to you. I cannot really quantify that for you.

If anything looks suspicious, or different from the original product, go buy new pads.

 

[max]

Thanks for the tip. Right now I probably wouldn't take the risk and just shell out a few bucks for new pads, but I'll be going to Zimbabwe in September with the Peace Corps and it's always cool to learn a survival trick for places where I couldn't just run down the street for what I need.

 

[trippivot]

Trip's brake testimony

Trip's brake testimony

isn't this is the same as riding with light pressure on the brake lever?= heating the pads up to temps that vaporize any water

soft pads? any cheap pad-- i.e.E.B.C. Black (non metallic) is made soft and designed to be,also it will glaze the rotor.
ever seen a mirror finished disc? that is damage from the cheapest brake pads available.

metallic or semi metallic pads are twice as expensive and keep the rotor dull and abrasive.= maximum braking

leaking forks ruin brake pads the oil saturation never "bakes out"

who bangs their brakes with a hammer?? you are trying to kill someone or what?

don't fool around with the braking system of your motorcycle. you'll be very sorry.

I know you all know what you are doing, but I have scooped pieces of my friends off of the highway because of brake failure. I hope none of you never have to witness this.
my $.02

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

you can usually get pads on ebay for $10 why take the risk

 

[BentRod]

I did this because the result is satisfactory for me. I am doing this on a budget, and as much as I would love to shell out a little coin here and tehre for all sorts of parts, I can't. So I cut costs everywhere I can with sacraficing safety.

Sqdance, 10 bucks is probably cheap enough, and if I had found some when i looked, i would have gotten them.

Trippivot:
First off, I'm sorry to hear you've had to witness such things happening to your friends. It is unfortunate that motorcycles does have this inclination.

No, it is not the same as riding with you pads just touching. Baking is done at a controlled temperature for an extended period of time, in a dry environment. Cooling is also done at a controlled rate.
Abrasives are one way of stopping. but they are by no means the be all end all.

As to the hammer, well, if i had a shop press or a vickers hardness tester i would have used it, but i don;t so I used a hammer. I will assume you mean only the best in concern for my and other's safety, and that this is not a shot at my diagnostic ability.

I gave the above tip to be used with a grain of salt.