Dems da Brakes

One of the advantages of mapping out this trip so far in advance is that I can spread out my expenses over the course of the year. One big expense that I just had to invest in was new brake pads for the Tiger.

At the end of the road on Mt Baker.

The bike was purchased used last year. It's a 2009 and had about 9,000 miles on it. When I got it checked out by my mechanic (I-90 Motorsports in Issaquah), he gave me about 2,000-3,000 miles to go before the brakes needed to be replaced. Sure enough, the warning squeaks started kicking on my trip back from Mt Baker last month.

Replacing brake pads on a motorcycle is something that most mechanically-minded riders could handle during a w
eekend afternoon. But then, I'm not mechanically-minded and the weekend afternoons are meant for riding.

To replace the pads, the mechanic needed to pull off the disc brake from the tire, pull apart the brakes, insert the pads and then reattached. Here's a video from the UK in which the narrator replaces the brake pads on an old Tiger. I'm more than happy to have a professional do this for me.

What I need is a motorcycle maintenance class. This would save me some money in the long run. Plus, it would provide a sense of Zen.

However, I did get a free popsicle when I picked up the bike.

So one key tip I picked up from the mechanic is that in contrast to new tires (bought those last year), which can be a little slippery for the first hundred miles, new brake pads can make stopping somewhat abrupt.